This delectable Turkey Meatball Recipe in Easy Cream Sauce combines perfectly seasoned meatballs with an easy chicken based cream sauce made right in your skillet. This fabulous recipe comes together in a little over thirty minutes.
Weekends are the absolute best!! They allow me the time to create new recipes!! I can kick back and experiment and make something luxuriously good for my family. Anything creamy with gravy is right up my alley.
Now put it over noodles or mashed potatoes and now we are talking the ultimate in comfort food. These delicious Turkey Meatballs in Easy Cream Sauce turned out fantastic. I think hubby would have had three plates if I had not given him the stink eye!! If you like this recipe try porcupine meatballs, baked meatballs, and Swedish meatballs.
How to Make Turkey Meatballs in Easy Cream Sauce
Start by mixing ground turkey, bread crumbs, dried oregano, garlic powder, minced onion, egg and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Using your hands roll the mixture and shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add the meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. Do not crowd the skillet. If necessary work in batches and remove the meatballs to a plate.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes while you whisk constantly. Whisk in the chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, cream and oregano. Simmer for about fifteen minutes. Add the meatballs to the skillet and spoon sauce over meatballs. Salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve the meatballs and sauce over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, spaghetti, zucchini noodles, or rice. Or serve them as an appetizer with fancy toothpicks.
Four ways to keep your meatballs round!
- Refrigerate – after rolling the meatballs store covered in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to 24 hours.
- Freeze – Place the meatballs on a cookie covered with parchment paper. They can be close together but not touching. Place them in the freezer until frozen. You can cook from frozen or transfer to freezer bags. They are good for up to three months.
- Bake – Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cooked through. This method works fairly well because the meatballs are not turned like on the stove top.
- Simmer in liquid – drop into simmering broth until they are partially cooked. When they float remove them to paper towels and then brown in a skillet or in the oven.
Several of these methods can be combined to ensure nice round meatballs.
Recipe notes and helpful tips
- Use ground turkey that includes both white and dark meat. Ground turkey breast is very lean and does not make the best meatballs.
- Turkey meatballs are done when they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. An instant read meat thermometer is a great investment.
- You can also make this recipe with ground beef but substitute beef broth in place of the chicken broth.
- Follow one or more of my helpful hints for ensuring round meatballs.
- Don’t clean the pan from the meatballs to the sauce. If there is excess grease than remove it but keep the brown bits from the meatballs. They add lots of flavor to the sauce.
- Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. We enjoy lots of fresh ground pepper with ours. Or try fresh basil, thyme, or rosemary.
- Do you like a lot of flavor and kick? Add a couple of pinches of cayenne or red pepper flakes.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at a reduced power or on the stovetop on low.
- Freeze in a sturdy airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
This delicious dinner idea is easy, quick and oh so tasty. I sure hope you all like this dish as much as we do!!
Sides to go with Turkey Meatballs
Turkey Meatballs in Easy Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
- 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In large bowl mix ground turkey, breadcrumbs, dried oregano, garlic powder, minced onion, egg and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. Do not crowd the skillet. If necessary work in batches. Remove meatballs to oven proof plate or cookie sheet. Place in the oven while you make the sauce.
- Melt butter in same skillet over medium low heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes; whisking constantly. Whisk in chicken broth, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, cream and oregano in large skillet. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add meatballs to skillet and spoon sauce over meatballs. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles or rice.
Notes
- Use ground turkey that includes both white and dark meat. Ground turkey breast is very lean and does not make the best meatballs.
- Follow one or more of my helpful hints for ensuring round meatballs.
- Don't clean the pan from the meatballs to the sauce. If there is excess grease than remove it but keep the brown bits from the meatballs. They add lots of flavor to the sauce.
- Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. We enjoy lots of fresh ground pepper with ours.
- Do you like a lot of flavor and kick? Add a couple of pinches of cayenne or crushed red pepper.
Nutrition
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This post was originally published October 24, 2016 and was republished March 9, 2019 with new content.
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
These delectable Turkey Meatballs sound delicious! Dangerously good…
Michelle
These meatballs are so delicious.They are in my rotation
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Michelle! So glad that you like them!
Kimberly
That sauce looks and sounds absolutely to die for – on the meal plan for this week and I’m going to double that luscious sauce!
Paula
Wonderful flavor….will use this recipe again! By necessity we must prepare Gluten Free and had to adapt for that. With your recipe it was a breeze! Used Trader Joe’s Rice Crumbs, same measurement, as the substitute for bread in the turkey meatballs. For the sauce we followed directions without adding flour and instead used a mixture of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water which we whisked into the sauce once it had come to a simmer.
I have a base sauce that is similar…never would have added Worcestershire sauce – brings it to a new dimension.
Thank you for sharing your talent….Such an enjoyable meal
Beth Pierce
Thanks Paula! I am so glad that you liked it. The pleasure in all mine. Those are awesome tips for readers that are on a GLUTEN FREE diet. Thanks so much for taking the time to post those ideas.
Elsa
This was amazingly tasty, delicious and easy. Thank you
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Elsa! So glad that you liked it!
Gina
I made this recipe late at night after work… I’m a head chef so I’m always looking for tastey new things to try. I didn’t have any milk or cream, so I used refrigerated non dairy coffee creamer, and added an extra tablespoon of butter at the end!! Props to you, from one chef to another your meatballs were delicious and the sauce creamy and smooth. Served over rice.Five stars!!
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Gina! I am so glad that you liked them! I just love a good meatball in cream sauce. Great comfort food!
Sue
Gina I’ve been reading through these reviews in hopes someone would have used non-dairy creamer! Voila! Making them tonight over rice as well…thanks!
Jennifer
I made just the sauce (had 1 lb of turkey meatballs in the freezer already). This was a “use what you have” night, so I used whole milk instead of cream. I’m sure cream would have been amazing, but the milk turned out perfectly! I made just a little extra rue to compensate for it not being as thick. I’ll try the meatball recipe another day – love the tips for keeping them round. That’s always my biggest challenge.
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Jennifer! So glad that you enjoyed them and were able to make it work with what you had on hand!
Kathy
I don’t have heavy cream can I use cream cheese or sour cream? Which would be the better sub?
Beth Pierce
Sorry I missed this one today. I think I would go with the sour cream. I hope it turned out okay for you.
Annika
My husband has about a million allergies so I substituted my way around my recipe and he loves it! I make it at least once a week. It’s definitely become a staple in our home. Thanks Beth for sharing!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Annika! The pleasure is all mine! So glad that you were able to modify it for your husband!
Lesli Houseman
I made this for dinner tonight. All of us enjoyed it, and it was very quick to make. I had an open beef broth so I used that in place of chicken. It was delicious, served over rice! Thanks for sharing
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much! So glad that you liked it. The pleasure is all mine!
Sue
This may sound odd, but I had no heavy cream and was too lazy to go out just to get some. I substituted sour cream, and it was amazing! Almost like a turkey meatball stroganoff. So yummy, thank you.
Beth Pierce
I love a cook that can improvise! That does sound delicious!
Sherri
Always looking for something new to cook for dinner! Had ground turkey and didn’t feel like tacos. I googled ground turkey recipes and found this! I think it is wonderful and will definitely be making it again. The meatballs were tender and flavorful but I have to say my favorite was the sauce. The only thing I didn’t like was the pasta I made with it. I would definitely try it over Dutch egg noodles next time like people recommended. I might double the sauce like they mentioned too! Sooo good! After 39 years of making dinner every night it’s nice to have something new!
Beth Pierce
That is so sweet Sherri! You made my day! I had a rough night last night and I needed a little pick me up!
Rachel
Would the recipe be the same if we made it with ground beef? I know it’s not as healthy but that is what we have right now!
Beth Pierce
That should be delicious as well. I love a cook that can improvise!
Lily D
Can I substitute the cream with whole milk? Looking forward to making this tomorrow!
Beth Pierce
If you do you must use something to thicken it like a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a little milk. Milk will not reduce and thicken like cream does.
Jess
My family love these meatballs! Absolutely delicious! I’ve served them with spaghetti (so good!) and a low carb version with sweet potato mash and veg. A new regular dish for us! Thank you!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Jess! So glad that you like them. We love them too!
Jacqueline
These are delicious and my two year old loves them! We change it up occasionally by subbing milk for the worechestershire sauce and using turkey gravy instead. The meatballs freeze well too.
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Jacqueline! So glad that you and yours love them!
Jessica
I have a question…. could buttermilk be used instead of the cream? Thanks for your thought… looking forward to making the dish over the weekend.
Beth Pierce
I am sorry Jessica but that is not going to work. You need cream for this recipe as it reduces and thickens while buttermilk will curdle over those temperature.