Eggplant Turkey Meatballs
Simple eggplant meatballs with turkey mixed in for those who prefer added protein in their dinner. A great way to use eggplant from the garden for a delicious summer meal!
Equipment
- Large Skillet
- Baking Sheet
- Food Processor
- Vegetable Peeler
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound eggplant, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp parsley flakes, dried
- 1 cup bread crumbs, unseasoned * We use a mix of regular unseasoned bread crumbs and Panko bread crumbs, you can use whatever you prefer.
- 1/8 cup Asiago cheese, grated * or Parmesan or other aged cheese of your choice
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp olive oil, for brushing on a baking sheet * or cooking spray if you prefer
Spaghetti Sauce and Pasta
- 1 pound pasta of your choice * I used mushroom tagliatelle
- 32 ounces pasta sauce of your choice * I used homemade canned sauce
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
- ricotta cheese and shredded Asiago cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Wash and peel your eggplant. You can leave the peelings on if you would like, but I prefer to peel them because they can give your meal kind of a bitter taste. Once peeled, dice into cubes and saute in olive oil on the stovetop on medium heat.
- Dice the onion as well, and add it to the skillet. Once it sautees for about 5 minutes, add the 1/4 cup water and saute for a few more minutes. By this point, it should be getting tender and you can remove from heat.
- In two batches if needed, put the eggplant/onion/garlic mixture into your food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- In a bowl, gently mix the chopped eggplant mixture with ground turkey, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, bread crumbs, and egg until thoroughly combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and brush olive oil on a baking sheet. Form the meat and eggplant mixture into evenly sized meatballs - I like to use a medium-sized cookie scoop. Place the balls on the cookie sheet, and place into the preheated oven.
- Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes until the thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- When they are nearing the end of baking time, I boil my noodles and heat my spaghetti sauce. We like to drop the meatballs gently into the warmed sauce just before serving. Be careful with this part, because the meatballs are delicate and you do not want to stir/handle them too much.
- Enjoy!