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!
I had a box of stuffing left over from last Thanksgiving so I’m glad I came across this recipe. It’s quick and delicious. I served it with a pumpkin pasta I whipped up using other leftover pumpkin purée.
I have made these turkey and stuffing meatballs several times. The first time I made it for my family while we were taking care of my mom with cancer. You should have seen the look on her face when she tasted these along with gravy and mashed potatoes. She said, ” You can make this again!” But it was so serious. I think she liked it not only because it tasted good but because the meatballs are soft and its hard for cancer patients to eat things that aren’t soft sometimes. And I recently made these and coated them with Catalina salad dressing which makes them taste like a sweet and sour meatball, and I’ve made a meatloaf out of it and spread BBQ sauce on top. These are just so versatile and inexpensive. Thanks for the recipe!
Is it possible to make/form them and put in fridge until I’m ready to bake them?
Yes, that would probably work fine. :)
These were so good! We weren’t able to have a traditional Thanksgiving this year – because, 2020 – but we did have all the flavor. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Made these over the weekend for my family because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I wanted to start early lol. These meatballs are excellent!! You get everything you need from this meal to feel like you made an entire Thanksgiving dinner without all the hard work. I think next time I would brown the meatballs in the pan before I bake them? Just because they came out of oven and the side that was on parchment was a little soft. Very good though! Next time I will make a double batch and freeze half =) Thank you!!
Can we replace the stuffing mix with breadcrumbs or panko? How much of it should we use? Thanks!
I don’t think that would be a suitable swap for this recipe, since the stuffing mix also contains a lot of flavoring and dehydrated vegetables. So if you use breadcrumbs or panko, you’ll just have a plain meatball with no flavoring.
These meatballs are amazing.
I didn’t have any eggs on hand so, I used a flax egg instead and it worked just fine.
All three of kids loved them. We will definitely be making them again.
Flax egg: 1 Tbsp ground flax seed + 2 1/2 Tbsp water.
Mix and let rest for 5 minutes to thicken.
What is the yellow dipping sauce you have in the picture? A dijon mustard maybe?
Hi Mariah! While a honey mustard sauce could be delicious, in this photo it’s actually gravy :)
CAN THE EGG BE OMITTED AND CAN YOU USE WHOLE TURKEY ALSO.
Yes you can omit the egg, but they may not stick together as well. No we don’t recommend using whole turkey unless you grind it up so it will get smaller for the meatballs.
I’m allergic to eggs so when making meatballs or meatloaf I use unflavored gelatin in a small amount of milk.
Made these tonight with an onion gravy. My stove was occupied, so instead of the final saute, I flipped them over and brushed with a little olive oil and browned them under the broiler. My ten year old picky eater gave them a double thumbs up. I froze half of them. Thinking about turning them into sweet and sour meatballs using cranberry and chile sauce. Yum.
Oh that’s perfect Barb, and a win!
Just wondering if you think these would work for meal prep, maybe with gravy as a dipping sauce.
Yes, I love meatballs for meal prep. :)
This is basically how I make meatloaf
These are on our regular rotation now. I made them for the second time tonight, but set aside and froze half the (uncooked) meatballs to cook another time. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made the batch from the freezer tonight and they were just as good. Next time I make them, it will be multiple batches to freeze and have on hand.
These were so easy and yummy! My preschooler loved them, and he can be fairly picky. Definitely a keeper! Thanks!
Oh my gosh these are so good. Made them for Christmas Eve and I am eating them for a mid morning snack. How come he Food Network hasn’t given you a show yet?