turkey meatball casserole

Meatball casserole bake is an easy, versatile, and healthy recipe made with Italian turkey sausage, red sauce, pasta, and mozzarella cheese.

Meatball Casserole

whole wheat pasta (any shape you love)

whole wheat bread (for making 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs)

turkey

egg (lightly beaten)

salt

Parmesan cheese

parsley

onion

garlic (minced)

oregano

red pepper flakes

red pasta sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)

frozen chopped spinach (squeezed dry)

mozzarella

Preheat

Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Boil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until barely al dente according to package instructions. You want it to still be firmer than you would ordinarily eat it, as it will cook further in the oven. Drain, toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, then set aside.

Pulse the bread slices in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Measure 3/4 cup crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Add the ground turkey, turkey sausage, egg, salt, Parmesan, and parsley. With your fingers or two forks, mix lightly until the ingredients are combined, being careful not to compact the meat.

Form

Form the mixture into 2-inch balls. You should have about 28 or so balls total.

Cook

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep, oven-proof skillet over medium-high. Add the meatballs, then cook, turning a few times, until all sides are browned, about 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a plate.

Simmer

To the skillet, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Add the onion and cook until beginning to brown and soften, about 4 minutes, then add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the jarred pasta sauce and spinach. Return the meatballs to the pan and let simmer in the sauce until they are cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Assemble

Once the meatballs are cooked, add the drained pasta and the 4 ounces shredded mozzarella to the skillet with the meatballs and sauce, then gently stir to combine. Top with the remaining 4 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese, then transfer the skillet to your oven.

Bake

Bake until the cheese is melted and lightly crisp on top and the edges are bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, then enjoy!

A delicious Homemade Italian Comfort Food Recipe. Choose your pasta and make the perfect Family Dinner Dish.

Mini Turkey Meatball Casserole

white bread (crusts removed)

milk (I used 2%)

parmigiano (freshly grated)

garlic

pepper

olive oil

pelati tomatoes (nothing added) ((14 ounces each))

basil (if you prefer you can use 5-6 fresh basil leaves)

water

Parmigiano

white sauce (homemade

pasta

Soak the bread in milk for about 2 or 3 minutes, then squeeze out moisture and crumble. In a medium bowl combine the crumbled bread with the ground turkey, parmesan cheese, egg,  and spices, mix well. Form the mixture into small meatballs.

In a large frying pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown meatballs on all sides. Remove the meatballs and set aside.

FOR THE MEATBALLS

In the same pan add the tomatoes, garlic, spices and water, stir to combine, then add the meatballs and gently combine. Cook until thickened.

While pasta is cooking pre-heat the oven at 350F (180C) and lightly grease a medium to large baking dish.

While the sauce and meatballs are cooking, cook the pasta a little harder than al dent. Add the drained pasta to the sauce, gently combine, then pour into the prepared baking dish, drizzle with a simple white sauce (bought or homemade). (You can omit the white sauce but believe me it is sooo good with it). Sprinkle with the shredded firm mozzarella and freshly grated parmigiano.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

FOR THE SAUCE

This looks amazing! i have to make this during the weekend. you have some amazing recipes! 
but I do have one question for you Rosemary, can you make a Chicken boscaiola recipe, please. i am curious as to what mushrooms and ingredients you might use. Thank you.

Oh my goodness, this was absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for such a great dinner dish!

I’ve been gearing up to make this recipe for a week now. So excited! Looking it over again I have two questions:

1. Dried basil or fresh for the sauce?
2. The Parmesan for the meatballs, how much goes in there?

Yum!! It looks wonderful. To me the kitchen is the heart of the whole house and not matter how many times we have family or guests and we're getting the last minute things together we are in the kitchen talking about -----FOOD! I will definitely make this recipe. Grazie!

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Meatball Casserole

Mini Turkey Meatball Casserole

Top 2 turkey meatball casserole recipes from across the web

The most viewed turkey meatball casserole recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Meatball Casserole

Mini Turkey Meatball Casserole

The most viewed turkey meatball casserole recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine