These turkey meatballs simmer in an easy marinara sauce in the slow cooker! Each meatball is flavorful and packed with fresh herbs. In fact these beauties are gluten free and dairy free but they'll make any meatball lover a fan at first bite.
1poundlean ground turkey, can substitute lean ground beef if preferred
½cupfresh parsley, chopped
¼cupfresh basil, chopped
1egg
1teaspoonsalt
1teaspoonpepper
Marinara Sauce
28ouncescanned crushed tomatoes
14½ouncescanned diced tomatoes
1tablespoongarlic, minced
1tablespoondried parsley
1tablespoondried basil
1tablespoondried oregano
1teaspoononion powder
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonblack pepper
Instructions
In a large skillet saute your diced onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. When onion is almost done (close to translucent) add in the garlic. Give it a quick stir and remove from heat. (Garlic can get some browning but you don't want to burn it.)
In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients including the sauteed onion and garlic. Use your hands to gently roll into meatballs approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. This produces 18 - 20 meatballs. (Ground turkey is mushy so don't expect it to behave like ground beef. Your meatballs won't be very firm until they've been cooked and that's okay.)
Place meatballs in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Add all marinara ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Garnish with additional fresh chopped parsley or basil if you like. For an entree, serve over noodles, spaghetti squash, zoodles, or veggies. Of course these meatballs also make a delicious appetizer!