Raise your hand if you have multiple Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving gatherings to attend this year. 👋 Well you can’t make a turkey for all of them, so how about bringing these fun Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs instead? They make a really fun appetizer, addition to a Friendsgiving potluck spread, or if you’re a million miles away from home and still need those Thanksgiving vibes, these Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs got your back. They’re super easy, have all that Thanksgiving flavor, and make great leftovers (I speak from experience).
What Kind of Stuffing Should I Use?
There are many kinds of stuffing mixes on the market, but the most common variety comes in a 6oz. box and basically just contains dried bread, dehydrated vegetables, and bouillon powder. The bread absorbs some of the moisture from the turkey and egg, and helps keep the meatballs moist, while the dehydrated vegetables and bouillon powder flavor the meatballs, and provide all the salt and seasoning necessary.
You can use any flavor, whether it be herb, turkey, pork, or any other variety. I have not tested this recipe with cornbread style stuffings, but I expect it would work just the same.
NOTE: If the directions on your stuffing mix say to add chicken broth instead of water, it is likely that bouillon powder is not included in the mix and you should use chicken broth in place of the water when making the meatballs.
What to Serve with Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs
These tasty little meatballs make a great appetizer served with mushroom herb gravy and cranberry sauce for dipping, but you can also make it a meal! Serve the meatballs on a bed of mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes, steamed green beans on the side, and either gravy or cranberry sauce on top.
Can’t Find 19oz. Ground Turkey? No Problem.
I don’t know why, but some brands sell ground turkey in 19oz. packages, while others sell it in one pound (16oz.) packages. I’ve made this recipe using both amounts of ground turkey, with no additional adjustments, and it works great either way!
Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs
Servings 20 meatballsIngredients
- 1 6oz. box stuffing mix ($0.69)
- 1 cup hot water* ($0.00)
- 19 oz. ground turkey (93% lean) ($3.49)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten ($0.26)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the dry stuffing mix in a large bowl, add the hot water, and stir until no more water pools on the bottom of the bowl. Let the stuffing sit for another 5 minutes to further soften. (Less water is added to the stuffing mix than is listed on the box in order to leave room for the absorption of moisture from the turkey and egg.)
- Add the ground turkey and beaten egg to the bowl with the partially hydrated stuffing mix. Combine these ingredients by hand until they are evenly mixed. Form the mixture into 20 meatballs, slightly larger than ping pong balls, or about 3 Tbsp each.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the meatballs on the parchment. Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the baked meatballs and allow them to cook in the butter until browned on most sides (about 5 minutes). Transfer the browned meatballs to a serving dish, add a second tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and repeat with the second batch of meatballs.
- Serve warm over a bed of mashed potatoes or with gravy or cranberry sauce for dipping.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Place the contents of one 6oz. box of stuffing mix in a large bowl, add 1 cup hot water, and stir until no more water pools on the bottom of the bowl. Let the stuffing sit for five minutes more to continue to soften. You’ll be using less water than the instructions on the box list because you want to leave room for the stuffing to absorb moisture from the turkey and egg.
Add 19oz. ground turkey (93% lean) and one lightly beaten large egg. Mix these ingredients together with your hands until they are evenly combined.
Shape the mixture into 20 meatballs, each slightly larger than a ping pong ball in size (about 3 Tbsp each). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the meatballs on the parchment.
Bake the meatballs in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Next, melt 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the baked meatballs and sauté in the butter until they’re browned on most sides (about 5 minutes). Transfer the browned meatballs to a serving dish, add a second tablespoon butter to the skillet, and repeat with the second batch of meatballs.
You can serve these Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs as a mini-Thanksgiving style dinner, or as a party or Friendsgiving appetizer.
They’re awesome for dipping into cranberry sauce or gravy, and make great leftovers!
If I were going to freeze them, do you think it would be better to freeze after shaping, then bake and brown when ready to eat, or freeze after baking, and then thaw and brown when ready to eat?
I think either way would work, but I’d probably go with the shaping/freezing/baking/browning to maintain as much moisture as possible.
Made these as Friday night dinner for 2 adults, 2 college kids and a toddler. Had cranberry sauce, gravy, canned corn, and mashed potatoes on the side. Made the turkey meatballs and boiled potatoes Thursday night and pulled everything else together in 10 minutes on Friday. It was awesome. Will make it a few more times before spring, I’m sure. Wish I could get away with it on Thanksgiving itself… might try! Thank you!
I made this with 85% 17% turkey it what Aldi had. I also bought the big pack and broke it down. I added an extra egg and kept the water the same. I did notice after making it Aldi’s stuffing could have used some extra seasoning. I know for the next time. I did not brown them in butter because they were browned perfectly. I will make them smaller and use as appetizers with some type of holiday sauce. Great recipe and a big Thank You for inexpensive holiday meals.
We’re a family of four and one of us is an eternally picky eater. I once cooked a whole turkey when we had a larger family gathering (came out beautifully too!), but I’ve never roasted a whole bird for the four of us. There is simply no point as it would all go straight to the freezer and I don’t want to spend my Thanksgiving evening deboning and freezing a bird. I greatly appreciate this recipe, and the timing of it, because I was beginning to wonder if I could somehow incorporate traditional flavors into a Thanksgiving meal without tremendous time or money commitment. Even better… I can make these ahead of time! I might just serve my husband and I a Thanksgiving bowl meal.. mashed potato base, couple of meatballs, green beans, drizzled with gravy and warmed cranberry sauce. Maybe add a little crushed hazelnut or fried onion for savory/salty crunch. The picky eater can have his usual Thursday quesadilla and mango smoothie.
Surprisingly, I had a box of Stove Top in my pantry and a 19 oz package of thawed turkey, and I followed your recipe exactly. It was so easy, and the meatballs kept their shape when I baked them in the oven. I used my instant pot to make mashed potatoes, and used a 37 cent package of gravy and it was an easy and fast meal! I will make this again!
Yum–I just happened to have ground turkey and boxed stuffing on hand. Mine was cornbread, the flavor you are most likely to find in a southern pantry, and it was delicious. I often doctor the packaged stuffing mix with water chestnuts, chopped pecans, or extra veggies, but held back and followed the recipe. DH wanted something saucy–did you know that jellied cranberry sauce melts into a lovely sauce when heated? We enjoyed them with rice and green beans and have enough left for a second meal.
Hello, thanks for the great recipe!! Do you think these would freeze well? I have a Friendsgiving and work even separated by about 1.5 weeks. Thanks!
Yes, they should freeze well! :)
Beth, I’m a long time reader and fan, and there is something I’ve always wondered about your blog.
1.) Do you actually eat all the meals you make? Like when you post a new recipe or meal prep, did you eat it the day you made it or that week? Or do you give it to someone else in your life and eat something else you are really craving.
2.) Do you ever post recipes with ingredients that you don’t like? Like suppose, you don’t like lima beans or something, and since you may eat all the meals you make (see (1) :o) ), you don’t usually post any recipes with them.
Just curious!!
Yep, I eat everything! Haha! And no, I never make recipes with ingredients I don’t like because I don’t want it to go to waste. :)
I’ve got all the ingredients and can’t wait to try them with my coworkers!
Is 19oz of ground turkey the correct amount? Ground turkey isn’t typically packaged in that amount?
Yep, that’s the correct amount. For some reason a lot of brands package ground turkey in 19oz. packages, instead of 16oz. But this recipe is pretty flexible. I’m sure you could go with a little more or a little less turkey and they’d still turn out fine. Just keep in mind that it will change your yield.
Around us, it either seems to come in 16oz or 20oz. Weird, right?
My supermarket brand has it packaged at 20.8 oz–go figure!
I came here to make this exact comment. Glad to see I’m not alone! My store also only had larger bags of stuffing, so I used 2 lbs of turkey and increased the stuffing and water proportionally (about 7.5-8 oz and 1.25 cups respectively) (and used 2 eggs). Turned out great!
How would you go about keeping these warm for potluck potential?
I’d put them in a slow cooker on the warm setting, or use a chafing dish.
OMG, I need these right now. They look delicious. Beth, you truly are a genius!
Oh this is perfect! My husband is having surgery 9 days before Thanksgiving, and his diet will be limited. We weren’t doing a big meal so these will be great!
I don’t think I’ve ever told you this before but you’re a meal saver! Every time I get stumped as to what to make you always come through. This recipe looks great. Thank you.
These recipes just keep getting better and better! I cannot wait to make these and then dine on them at my lunch break at work. It is early morning and just imagining this recipe makes my tummy growl. It will also make a great after Thanksgiving treat! Thank you for this amazing recipe!