With a hint of mint, sage, and essential oils.
My husband will attest to the fact that any time we go out to eat and there is a meal containing both cranberries and turkey on the menu, I will order it. Growing up in Malaysia, turkey was extremely expensive and therefore became a huge luxury, and I absolutely adore how it pairs with sweet, tart cranberries. Add shredded onion and green apple to the mix and you get a boost of both flavor and nutrition, plus the basil essential oil can support the digestive and respiratory systems.
These meatballs literally, thanks to the cranberries, burst with flavor. Who doesn’t want to bite into a tender, juicy meatball and taste a pop of bright, tart flavor?
These bad boys are the definition of delicious and nutritious. I love sweet and savory together–or sweet and spicy–and really, anything sweet in general. I certainly have a sweet tooth. However, when I can get my sweet fix at dinner with only naturally occurring sugar found in the apples and that sweetness is perfectly balanced with earthy essential oils and herbs and the tartness of cranberries, my taste buds are absolutely winning.
Prepping the meatballs is easy. Chop the garlic, mince the mint, shred the apple and onion, and toss all the ingredients in a bowl. Stir, stir, stir, especially if you are adding basil essential oil–one bite of unmixed essential oil will completely overpower your poor tastebuds. If you don’t have essential oil, regular basil works as well, but I personally love the hearty, earthy flavor and health benefits of the oil.
Usually when I make these meatballs, I add two eggs. They keep the meatballs slightly more firm and my husband prefers the texture that way, but today I was so focused on staging my pictures I forgot the eggs. If you’re vegan, you won’t be eating my turkey meatballs anyway, but if cholesterol is a concern for you, rest assured you can omit the eggs and the meatballs will taste just as great. The texture was still wonderful, it just simply slightly softer.
The mixture will be wet because of the juice from the apple and the onion, but this keeps the meatballs tender and the excess liquids will burn off as they cook. Don’t worry about this.
Once everything is mixed together, roll the mixture into golf ball sized balls. You can make them larger or smaller if you’d like–this will affect cooking time but it’s all personal preference. Try to keep them as round as possible, but let’s be honest–pancake meatballs will taste just as good as spherical ones.
Place the meatballs about one inch apart in a greased pan (non-stick is definitely easier to clean) and let them sear on high until the bottom caramelizes into that golden-brown perfection. This usually takes mine about 8 minutes on high heat, but depending on how hot your pan is and what type of pan you have, cooking time will vary. Leave the pan uncovered during this time as that will allow much of the liquid from the mixture steam off.
I had to make my meatballs in two batches because my pan wasn’t big enough, but if you have a very large pan you could do it in one.
Once the meatballs have reached optimal caramelization, flip them gently with a fork or spatula. At this point, there should still be a small amount of liquid in the bottom of the pan. This is good because once the pan is covered, the steam from this liquid will help the meatballs cook all the way through. After the meatballs have been flipped, lower the heat to medium and let them simmer for another 10 minutes or until they are completely cooked through and the bottoms are browned.
A good way to confirm the meatballs are cooked through is to check the cranberries. If the meatballs are hot enough that the cranberries are soft and juicy, they should be cooked through thoroughly.
While the meatballs are cooking, I use the time to cook my spaghetti and sauce.
If you like making tomato sauce from scratch, go for it, but from the sake of simplicity I like to find jarred tomato sauce at the grocery store and spruce it up with my own spices and oils. If you can find a natural sauce with no added sugar and oil, those are the best, but I don’t like dropping $5 on a jar of spaghetti sauce either. For my sauce this time I added oregano essential oil, salt, pepper, dried chilis, and Italian spice. I also use whole wheat spaghetti for added fiber.
Even though the meatballs contain fruits and vegetables, I always add a salad on the side to mix up the color and texture, and because salads are good for you as long as you eat salad with dressing and not dressing with salad. Isn’t making healthy choices fun?
Top your spaghetti with sauce and meatballs, add shredded cheese if that’s your thing, and garnish with mint. Voila–the most delicious meatballs you will ever taste!
These meatballs are just as tasty the next day. I feed my 9 month old son these bad boys and he loves them, and if dogs are your thing, I’m sure Fido would also be quite pleased if one of these showed up on the floor. They’re kid friendly and my meat loving husband could eat them all day, but they’re still easy and nutritious enough that mama is happy too, and you know what they say–happy wife, happy life. Happy mama, happy everything. Overworked and bloated-from-eating-crap mama, unhappy entire existence.
And there you have it: Thanksgiving-y turkey meatballs, perfect for any time of year, spring included.
Do something spontaneous and make them for dinner tonight.
I dare you.
(And if you’re like me, you can never say no to a dare.)
Braised Apple and Cranberry Turkey Meatballs
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Makes 20 meatballs
Ingredients:
- 20oz ground turkey
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 small onion
- 1 medium green apple
- 2 eggs
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 fresh mint leaves
- 2 drops Young Living Basil essential oil
- 1 tsp dried Sage
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions:
- Grate onion and green apple and put in large mixing bowl
- Add ground turkey, fresh cranberries, and eggs to bowl
- Mince garlic and mint leaves and add to mixing bowl
- Add Basil essential oil, sage, salt, and pepper and stir all ingredients together
- Form meatball mixture into golf ball sized balls and place 1 inch apart in non-stick pan
- Cook on high heat uncovered until bottoms are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Excess liquid from the onion and apple will seep out–let it steam off
- Flip all meatballs and cover pan with lid. Let steam in any liquid that is left in the pan and cook until cranberries are soft and the other side of the meatballs are golden brown as well
- Layer spaghetti and sauce on plate, and top with meatballs, shredded cheese, and fresh mint
Leftover meatballs keep in fridge for up to a week (but in my experience they have never lasted that long…)
Enjoy!
Let me know in the comments what you think when you try them! Happy meatball making, friends!
