I’ve been super into meatballs lately. Now that’s a something I never thought I’d type. But it’s true. Meatballs are easy, flavorful, filling, and you can serve them in more ways than just with pasta and red sauce. These Spinach and Feta Turkey Meatballs boast sautéed spinach to help you pack in more greens and bits of crumbled feta for extra richness and a little salty kick.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
The recipe below is just for the meatballs themselves, since there are several different ways you can serve them. They are pictured above with the classic pasta and red sauce, plus some zucchini that I quickly sautéed in the same skillet after the meatballs were finished cooking.
Other Ways to Serve Your Spinach and Feta Turkey Meatballs
You can add them to salads, serve them over a bed of rice with roasted vegetables (like I did with my Beef Kofta Meatballs), make a meatballs sub (with red sauce and mozzarella on a roll), or just change up the sauce to pesto or an alfredo sauce.
Since there are so many ways to serve these Spinach and Feta Turkey Meatballs, they are perfect for meal prepping. They hold up excellently in the refrigerator, and will also easily withstand freezing and thawing.
Can I Make These Meatballs Without Breadcrumbs?
The short answer is yes, but they will not be the same texture. The breadcrumbs and eggs keep the meatballs soft and moist, as well as acting like a glue to hold the meatballs together. If you leave out the breadcrumbs, you’ll also need to leave out the egg, or else the mixture will be too wet to shape. Because the meatballs will be more delicate, they may not hold up to cooking in a skillet, so I suggest baking them on a cookie sheet in a 375ºF oven for about 20 minutes. The resulting meatballs will be more like the texture of a hamburger, and will not have a nice browned exterior, but are still quite tasty. Also keep in mind that because you are using fewer ingredients, you may not get as many meatballs.
Can I Bake the Meatballs?
Yes, you can bake the meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet in a 400ºF oven for about 20 minutes. Baking time can vary depending on the size of your meatballs, so make sure to break one of your larger meatballs open to make sure they have baked through. Another thing to note is that when meatballs are baked instead of cooked in a skillet they will not get the same type of browning action on the surface.
Can I Use Frozen Spinach in my Turkey Meatballs?
Yes. If using frozen spinach, make sure to get frozen “chopped” spinach so that you don’t have any large or long stringy pieces of spinach. Let the spinach fully thaw, then squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible before adding it to the meatball mixture.
The zucchini shown on the plate in these photos was just quickly sautéed in the skillet after cooking the meatballs, so it picked up some of the brown bits from the meatballs.
Spinach and Feta Turkey Meatballs
Servings 4 5-6 meatballs eachIngredients
- 4 oz. fresh spinach ($1.67)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided ($0.32)
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey (93% lean) ($4.49)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs ($0.24)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 large egg ($0.22)
- 2 oz. feta, crumbled ($0.83)
Instructions
- Roughly Chop the spinach. Heat a large skillet over medium, then add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add the chopped spinach and a pinch of salt. Sauté the spinach until it has fully wilted, then remove it from the heat.
- While the spinach is sautéing, stir together the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, freshly cracked pepper (5 or 6 cranks of a pepper mill), and salt in a large bowl. Lightly whisk the egg, then add the egg, ground turkey, sautéed spinach, and crumbled feta to the bowl with the breadcrumbs. Use your hands to combine these ingredients until evenly mixed.
- Shape the meat mixture into balls, about one heaping tablespoon each. You should get approximately 24 meatballs.
- Wipe out the skillet used for the spinach, add another tablespoon of oil, and heat the skillet once again over medium. Once hot, swirl the oil in the skillet to make sure the surface is coated, then add half of the meatballs. Cook the meatballs for about a minute to a minute and a half on each side, or until the meatballs are well browned and cooked through (about 6-8 minutes total). Remove the cooked meatballs to a clean bowl and repeat with the second batch.
- Serve your cooked meatballs with your favorite sauce, over pasta, rice, or roasted vegetables.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
How to Make Turkey Meatballs – Step by Step Photos
Chop about 4 oz. (1/4 lb.) fresh spinach into smaller pieces. Small pieces will help it incorporate into the ground meat easier. If you want to use frozen spinach, make sure you get chopped frozen spinach, thaw it completely, then squeeze out as much moisture as possible before adding it to the meat mixture.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped spinach and a pinch of salt. Sauté the spinach until it has fully wilted (3-5 minutes). Remove the spinach from the heat.
While the spinach is sautéing, combine 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a large bowl. Mixing these together first helps them incorporate a little more evenly into the meat.
Briefly whisk an egg, then add it to the bowl with the breadcrumbs, along with 1 lb. lean ground turkey, the sautéed spinach, and 2 oz. crumbled feta. Mix these ingredients together with your hands until they are evenly incorporated.
Shape the meat mixture into meatballs, about one heaping tablespoon each. You should get somewhere in the neighborhood of 24 meatballs.
Give the skillet a quick wipe, then add another tablespoon of olive oil, and heat it once again over medium. Make sure to wait for the skillet to get hot, then add half the meatballs (this is to avoid over crowding, which can prevent browning). Cook the meatballs on each side until they are well browned and cooked through, about 1-1.5 minutes on each side, or about 6-8 minutes total.
Remove the cooked meatballs to a clean plate or bowl, and repeat with the second half of the meatballs. Now they’re ready to eat!
And like I mentioned before, these meatballs are perfect for meal prep! I basically packed this exact plate into my meal prep boxes and have been eating them for lunch all week. :)
Delicious! I didn’t have breadcrumbs, so I used almond meal that I ground from blanched almonds and they came out great. They were definitely a bit more “wet” than if using breadcrumbs, but with some TLC the end result was nice. :) These are going on the rotation!
These meatballs have become an absolute STAPLE for me since I first made them. I’ve made them at least 8 times already. I usually make them on a Sunday night for dinner, and then pack up the leftovers into containers along with some brown rice, marinara and sauteed veggies. That gives me 4 days of healthy lunches for the work week which is perfect. Thanks for the awesome recipe. Also, pro tip, try these with the Mediterranean seasoned feta from Trader Joes. So good.
After cooking, how long will they last in the freezer do you think?
I try to use up my cooked food within 3 months. They just decline in quality slowly over time, and it can vary a lot depending on the individual conditions in your freezer. For food safety, the USDA recommends 2-6 months for leftovers.
Made this for dinner tonight, only used ground chicken instead of turkey. 20-ish minutes in the oven at 400, followed by a few minutes under the broiler to crisp the outside. Delicious. Looking forward to leftovers wrapped in a pita with some tzatziki sauce.
I’m planning on combining some of the elements of this recipe with an eggplant meatball recipe I love. Obviously it will take some tweaking, but the flavor combination sounds great!
Made these with chicken tonight. Estimated the conversions to metric for the weight of the spinach. Had to add more bread crumbs because of the moisture in the chicken and egg. Cooked them in the frying pan then about 5 minutes in the oven to keep warm and finish cooking through. Ate mine on toast with artichoke hearts under the meatballs and broiled it in the oven to finish.
Wish measurements were is oz and grams/ml would make it easier for those of us outside of the US to use.
These are really yummy! I actually baked them like someone else tried at 400 for about 18 minutes. My picky boyfriend even really liked them. Healthy food for the win!
These were a HUGE hit at dinner last night! I baked mine at 375 instead of pan frying. Served them over rice with tzatziki sauce. DELISH!!!
This was soooo easy and both my kiddos loved it and my 8 year old son even complimented how good the meatballs were…SCORE!
Made these tonight and they were a hit. Happy to find a fun and different way to incorporate greens.
Made this with great success! I also put a little bit of fennel seeds to half a batch and it really elevated the flavor – would recommend if you have them at hand. Also my first couple batches tasted bitter so I switched out frying in olive oil with a more neutral oil and it was the best batch!
these are sooo good! i meal prepped them and ate them throughout the week. they last really well in the fridge and most of the time i get tired of whatever i make by the end of the week, but not these! i will definitely be making more.
These were delicious and I can see myself making them often. I used baby spinach, and baked for 20 minutes at 400. So flavorful! I entered the ingredients into the MyFitnessPal recipe builder, and 4 servings (6 meatballs per serving) came out to 245 calories, 26g/16g/3g protein/fat/carbs) Note: this is calculated using only 1T of olive oil instead of 2 since I baked them).
I’ve already made these 2 times in a week, they’re that good! Toddler and husband approved. I did slightly vary them. I thawed frozen spinach in the microwave instead of using fresh. I also didn’t have an egg, so I skipped that. Like another person did, I cooked them in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes since I made mine slightly bigger (about 12 meatballs total). Served with spaghetti and marinara sauce. Thanks for a great recipe!
how long do you think these will keep in the fridge uncooked?
I believe the maximum suggested refrigeration time for raw ground meat is 1-2 days. But the less time the better.