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.
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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.
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Notes
Nutrition
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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. :)
I used a 10 oz bag of frozen spinach, once you squeeze out all the water it’s not that much. I tried frying these in a cast iron but they were taking FOREVER (I was checking with a meat thermometer). For the second batch I just baked them for 20 min at 400 like other commenters suggested, then crisped them up after in the cast iron. You could also fry a bit before and then bake.
These were delicious! I am on keto so I subbed the bread crumbs for crushed up pork rinds and they came out phenomenal! Will definitely be making again. My only question is whether the uncooked meat balls can be frozen to use later? I’d like to make a big batch and freeze them to use for small meals later.
Yep, you can definitely freeze the cooked or uncooked meatballs for later. :)
Loved making this recipe as I was able to easily substitute some ingredients with what I had. I left out the garlic powder and breadcrumbs as I paired the meatballs with a spinach, pistachio pesto that was zesty and garlicky.
Yum! I served these with sauteed zucchini over Bon Apetit’s pasta al limone (minus the parmesan cheese since the feta brings plenty of flavor).
I baked these in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and swapped the breadcrumbs for parmesan cheese to make this recipe even better. Such delicious cheesy goodness in every bite!
Has anyone made these in an air-fryer yet? I plan on making these for dinner later on, and was just wondering whether to use the air-fryer instead perhaps, just because I don’t like cleaning the fine grease film that sits all over the kitchen after frying foods. (Don’t have an exhaust hood unfortunately)
just made these using Mediterranean crumbled feta from Trader Joe’s along with frozen spinach from TJs (didn’t cook it beforehand). Added extra oregano and got 23 meatballs that I’m cooking in a mini-muffin tin at 375F for 20 minutes.
These were super delicious! I’d like to make them again, but I wanted to ask if there is a different, less expensive type of cheese I could use? Feta is really expensive here (I’m in Canada).
These are the best! I replace the feta with a plain creamy goat cheese and make mini patties to make the cooking time faster and they are fantastic!
This is about the 4th time I’ve made this and it comes out great every time. I am glad I read some of the reviews though, because it helped a lot! Like making sure your hands are wet to form the meatballs, baking them at 400 for about 20 minutes ( way easier), adding a little cumin and coriander to the spices, I even crushed up some garlic flavored Triscuits this last time. Turned out great along with roasted carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli. Definitely a keeper recipe! Thank you
One of my favorite recipes! L O V E D IT!!
I love it.
I tried these and they were amazing! Super juicy and tasty. For a bit more flavour, I added half of a minced onion and sautéed it with the spinach in the beginning. I’m thinking of adding cumin this time around!
Yes that’s a great addition! I’ve added mediterranean oregano to the meatball mixture a few times and it’s great.
These were good. I made a garlic aioli to dip them in and will pair the leftovers with garlic couscous.
YUMMY!! Thanks Chantal!
I made these meatballs once again an they are just great. Instead of tomato sauce I combined equal parts bbq sauce with cranberry sauce to put on top of the meatballs it really was a nice touch. If cranberry sauce is not available I use seedless raspberry jam.
Oh that sounds delicious Julie!
I love Budget Bytes but I think Julie’s post may have been trolling you guys. BBQ sauce and cranberry sauce/sub raspberry jam???
Thanks for looking out for us. I think she was just using what she had on hand and in a pinch, BBQ sauce and cranberry could add a tangy sweetness. :)
Thanks for a great recipe – really delicious! I found it less messy to bake them at 375 for about 20 minutes. You can make rolling them easier by dipping your hands in water.
Thanks for the tip Lisa!