Make this turkey meatballs meal in the oven or a slower cooker — either way, you're going to end up with lean meatballs in a delicious pineapple red pepper sauce.
These sweet and spicy meatballs are gluten free, paleo, and Whole30 friendly, with no added sugar! All the sweetness comes from the pineapple juice.
Ingredient notes for this recipe
Canned pineapple — read the labels if you want to keep this recipe Whole30 and no sugar added. Canned fruits are notorious for having added sugars/corn syrup. I picked up Native Forest brand because it's packed in just pineapple juice. However, note that the can is only 14 ounces, so you'll have to use about 1 ½ cans for the recipe. (And just snack on the remaining ½ can while it all cooks, like a pro.)
Ground turkey — if you can find it, get lean ground turkey without any seasonings added. But work with what you can! And if ground turkey is hard to find, ground chicken works wonderfully and a substitute.
Coconut aminos — you can substitute soy sauce or tamari, but omit any other salt from the sauce if you do!
Red bell pepper — orange or yellow bell peppers would work just fine.
Arrowroot flour — used to help thicken the sauce. If you'd rather omit, you can; just know the sauce won't be as sticky. If you are making this in a slow cooker, be sure to read the notes below!
The rest of the ingredients, I hope, are fairly straightforward! Leave a comment if you have any other questions.
How to make baked turkey meatballs
Turkey meatballs have a couple added challenges that you won't encounter with beef meatballs. Ground turkey and chicken tend to be a little stickier than ground beef, so making the meatballs themselves is trickier.
They're also a little more tender than beef meatballs. But the upside is that makes them perfect for baking!
To make the meatballs, combine the ground turkey, onion, garlic, ginger, salt, egg, and almond flour in a bowl. Use your hands to mix this together.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to form golf ball-sized balls and line them on the baking sheet, keeping an inch or two between each meatball.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.
That's it!
Alternatively, you can brown the meatballs on all sides in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Then transfer the skillet to the oven for another 10 minutes to finish cooking.
How to make sure turkey meatballs aren't tough or rubbery
Easy answer: don't overwork them!
When you mix the ingredients together and form the meatballs, take care not to mix and knead and work the meat mixture too much.
Working the meat too much will lead to tough or rubbery meatballs.
You definitely still want to make sure the ingredients are incorporated, but don't continue to mix it together once the almond flour, egg, and onion are distributed.
That's part of why you should use your hands to do the mixing — it'll take longer (and more elbow grease) to mix with a spatula or spoon.
Alter this recipe to make in a slow cooker
Before you make this in a slow cooker, I'm just going to warn you that I think this recipe is BETTER made with baked meatballs and the sauce on the stovetop. That's just me, though — I understand that convenience often wins out!
If using a slow cooker, you'll need to make these changes:
Whether you're roasting the red peppers or not (recommended to roast them), slice up the peppers and place them on the bottom of a slow cooker.
Mix the meatball ingredients together. Then, heat a little olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs for about 1 minute on each side, working in batches as necessary, before transferring to the slow cooker.
You've got to brown the meatballs to make this in a slow cooker — otherwise the meatballs will just fall apart!
Finally, mix the sauce ingredients together (omitting the arrowroot starch) and pour over the meatballs and bell pepper in the slow cooker.
Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours. Serve with cauliflower rice or white rice. Enjoy!
If you'd like the sauce to be thicker, make a slurry with arrowroot starch and add it before serving. The sauce will not thicken if you add the arrowroot starch earlier.
Put about 1 tablespoon of arrowroot starch in a small bowl and gradually add a little cold water until you've got a paste. Add the paste to the crockpot and stir. The sauce should thicken a bit!
More paleo dinner recipes to try!
- One Skillet Roasted Chicken with Potatoes & Onions
- Easy Pulled Pork with Cumin & Coriander
- Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs w/ Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries
- Quick Thai Red Curry Beef Tenderloin Skillet
- Pepperoncini Shredded Beef Roast
Did you try this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or tag me on Instagram.
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Turkey Meatballs with Pineapple Red Pepper Sauce
Description
Make this turkey meatballs meal in the oven or a slower cooker — either way, you're going to end up with lean meatballs in a delicious pineapple red pepper sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon coconut aminos
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 20-oz can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
Instructions
Oven/Stovetop Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the red bell pepper in half and remove the seeds and core. Place skin side up on the aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. Transfer the bell peppers to a heat-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap — this traps the steam from the hot bell peppers to help make the skin easier to remove. Set aside while you prepare the meatballs.
- To make the meatballs, add the ground turkey, chopped onion, minced garlic, ginger, egg, almond meal, and salt to a large bowl. Using your hands, combine the ingredients just until mixed — work the mixture too much, and the meatballs are likely to be tough.
- Line the baking sheet you used for the bell peppers with parchment paper. Using your hands, form meatballs about the size of a golf ball and place on the baking sheet. Ground turkey tends to be stickier than ground beef, so do the best you can to form the balls. They don’t have to be perfect! You’ll end up with 12-15 meatballs, depending on how large you make them. Bake for 20 minutes.
- While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Remove the skin from the red bell peppers. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the red bell peppers and arrowroot powder, stirring constantly to coat the bell peppers. While continuing to stir, add the rice vinegar, coconut aminos, crushed red pepper, and pineapple (juice and all) to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once the meatballs are done, remove the sauce from heat.
- Once the meatballs have cooled slightly, add them to the pan with the sauce and stir gently to coat. Serve over cauliflower rice or white rice. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Slice the red bell pepper into thin strips and add to the bottom of a slow cooker.
- To make the meatballs, add the ground turkey, chopped onion, minced garlic, ginger, egg, almond meal, and salt to a large bowl. Using your hands, combine the ingredients just until mixed — work the mixture too much, and the meatballs are likely to be tough.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Using your hands, form meatballs about the size of a golf ball and place on the baking sheet. Ground turkey tends to be stickier than ground beef, so do the best you can to form the balls. They don’t have to be perfect! You’ll end up with 12-15 meatballs, depending on how large you make them. Add the meatballs to the skillet, browning for 1 minute on each side. Work in batches if necessary. Move the browned meatballs directly to the crock of a slow cooker.
- Combine the arrowroot powder, rice vinegar, coconut aminos, crushed red pepper, and can of pineapple (juice and all) to a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Pour over the meatballs and red bell pepper. Cook for 5-6 hours on LOW heat. Gently stir once or twice while cooking. Serve over cauliflower rice or white rice. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
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