Turkey meatballs in tomato sauce: recipe with 36 g protein

Turkey mince costs less than chicken breast and stays far juicier than most people expect once it finishes cooking in sauce. This version makes four servings at roughly 36 g of protein and under 400 calories, with no breading and no half-litre of oil. The sauce goes into the same pan the meatballs were browned in, so there is one less thing to wash.

Preparation time and servings

Prep 20 min, cooking 30 min, about 50 minutes in total. The recipe makes 4 servings, which works out at roughly 4 meatballs each if you shape them at 40 g apiece.

Ingredients

• 600 g turkey mince (mixed thigh and breast, around 5–7% fat)
• 1 egg (about 55 g)
• 40 g dried breadcrumbs
• 60 g onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves (about 6 g)
• 700 g tinned plum tomatoes or passata
• 15 g tomato purée
• 20 ml olive oil
• 100 ml water
• 1 tsp dried oregano (about 1 g)
• 10 g fresh parsley
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1. Chop the onion and set half aside for the sauce. In a bowl, combine the turkey mince, egg, breadcrumbs, half the onion, one crushed garlic clove, salt and pepper.
2. Mix for 30 to 60 seconds and no longer. Overworking the mince gives you rubbery meatballs. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes so the breadcrumbs draw in moisture.
3. Roll into 40 g balls, which gives 16 or 17 of them. Wet your hands so the mixture does not stick.
4. Heat 10 ml of the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat and brown the meatballs for 4–5 minutes, turning them. They only need colour at this stage, not to be cooked through. Lift them out onto a plate.
5. Add the remaining 10 ml oil to the same pan along with the rest of the onion and the second garlic clove, and soften for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and cook it for another 30 seconds to take the raw edge off.
6. Pour in the tomatoes, water and oregano, season with salt and simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens. Break up whole plum tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
7. Return the meatballs to the pan, cover and simmer for a further 12–15 minutes, turning them occasionally. The centre needs to reach 74 °C: cut one open and it should show no pink, with clear juices.
8. Take the pan off the heat, scatter over the parsley and rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition per serving

• Calories: about 370 kcal
• Protein: 36 g
• Carbohydrates: 17 g
• Fat: 15 g

Estimate per serving, worked out from the quantities listed above and divided by four. The real figures shift with the fat content of your mince and how far you reduce the sauce, so allow for around ten percent either way.

Variations and swaps

For a leaner version, use turkey breast mince instead of the mixed cut. That brings a serving down to roughly 320 kcal and 10 g of fat, but the mixture dries out, so work two tablespoons of the sauce into the meat before shaping. The same rule applies to a home-made beef burger with less fat: the leaner the meat, the more moisture it needs from somewhere else.

Gluten-free: swap the breadcrumbs for 40 g of oats blitzed in a blender. The macros barely move.

As a side, 60 g of dried wholemeal pasta per person adds about 210 kcal, 44 g of carbohydrate and 8 g of protein. If you are chasing a higher intake, look at pasta with chicken and 60 g of protein per serving. Leftovers wrap well the next day, along the same lines as this chicken tortilla with yoghurt sauce.

For a mild kick, add half a teaspoon of chilli flakes to the sauce. For more depth, drop a parmesan rind into the sauce while it simmers and fish it out before serving.

When to see a doctor

Minced poultry spoils faster than whole cuts because there is far more surface area for bacteria to sit on. Cook the meatballs right through and do not leave them at room temperature for more than two hours.

If a meal is followed by a high fever, blood in the stool, vomiting that carries on past 48 hours, or signs of dehydration, see a doctor. Pregnant women, young children and older adults should avoid undercooked poultry altogether.

In short

600 g of turkey mince, a plain tomato sauce and 50 minutes give you four servings at around 36 g of protein and 370 kcal. Do not overwork the mixture, brown the meatballs before they go into the sauce, and check the centre is done. The dish keeps for two days in the fridge and tastes better on day two.