Delicious gluten-free, high-protein turkey quinoa meatballs served up with a sweet onion gravy – a delicious addition to any meal!
We can’t go a week in this house without some form of meatballs; Thai meatballs, Mexican meatballs, porcupine meatballs, plain turkey meatballs, or even meatball soup!
This week, I’m really in the mood for simple, hearty, comforting food and I have a ton of turkey to use up, so I’m making ground turkey meatloaf, turkey and broccoli pasta, and these turkey quinoa meatballs … It’s a good thing my family loves turkey! I might even make some turkey tacos… we’ll see!
We just returned from Whistler on Sunday. And straight to hockey tryouts so my head is spinning again. The trip was good but I took 0 pictures. Maybe 2 with my phone. Btw, you can see our last year’s trip which was exactly the same this year. We did a lot of pool time, hiking on the most gorgeous mountains and even water rafting. It was all great but I was exhausted.
I think I am ready for school. I am tired from kids. And at this point in life the only vacation that I consider a vacation is an all inclusive resort. Which I am going to visit very soon and until my kids start driving.
On Monday I woke up less than thrilled about Monday. House was a mess, piles of laundry, crazy kids and a ton of work deadlines.
A few years ago I learnt that a night of good sleep takes care of half of the problems. Another day of facing the reality and getting things done seals the deal. So, I just had to survive until Monday night. I also learnt that if I sit on a couch and come up with a plan of attack while sipping tea and eating a healthy banana muffin, I feel better almost instantly.
So, my mom always made these long shape meatballs with lots of onions. First of all, I like that these quinoa turkey meatballs are not with tomato sauce. Just for a change. Secondly, they are super easy. The flavour comes from a lot of browned onions and in my case enhanced by onion powder.
I used regular yellow onions but I assume sweet onions would be even better. What I really like about this recipe is the fact who doesn’t have onions on hand?! I also am sure my mom used breadcrumbs to help hold meatballs together. I used dry uncooked quinoa. Served the same purpose and produced healthy gluten free turkey meatballs. Not that I consider gluten free means healthy. There is “and” between those 2 words.
Plus, it’s another great way to use quinoa (which I love). Next week I havegarlic butter shrimp and quinoa with asparagus on the list and I really want to make a one-pot chicken quinoa dish soon, with some chicken I need to defrost and use.. so much to do!
I served meatballs with hulled barley. One of my readers suggested I try it. I finally found it. It is barley that still has its husk on thus retains protein and fiber. It cooks like for an hour but is way more nutritious than pearled barley. We all loved it. I still think this was not the barley I grew up on. I think it was pearled barley.
Thanks to summer light nights I was able to snap a photo of our dinner table. I immediately thought of fall and winter darkness just around the corner. Why does summer fly by so fast?! Good thing is I checked off buying new dinnerware off my bucket list. Now it is not embarrassing to photograph it haha.
More Healthy Turkey Recipes
- Ground turkey and potatoes
- Turkey stew
- Turkey stuffed acorn squash
- Turkey tetrazzini
- Lazy turkey cabbage rolls
- Instant Pot turkey chili
Turkey Quinoa Meatballs with Sweet Onion
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet or yellow onions sliced
- 2 tbsp avocado oil divided
- 2 lbs ground turkey extra lean
- 2 eggs large
- 1/4 cup quinoa uncooked
- 2 tbsp onion powder divided
- 1 tsp himalayan pink salt divided
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 4 cups water boiling
- 2 tbsp soy sauce I used Bragg’s
Instructions
- Preheat dutch oven or deep skillet on medium heat and swirl 1 tbsp of oil to coat. Add onions, stir and cover. Cook for 8 minutes stirring every few minutes. Transfer into a bowl.
- While onions are cooking, prepare meatball mixture by combining in a large bowl turkey, eggs, quinoa, 1 tbsp onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and form large meatballs, round or kebab shape. Swirl remaining 1 tbsp of oil and brown meatballs on different sides in batches. Transfer to a plate.
- Add hot water, soy sauce and remaining 1 tbsp onion powder to the dutch oven and whisk. Bring to a boil and submerge meatballs into the sauce. Spread cooked onions on top. Cover and cook on low for 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with cooked quinoa, brown rice, hulled barley (I did) and/or salad.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely, and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in a refrigerator overnight. Reheat in a microwave or in the oven at 375 F for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
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Hello and welcome to iFOODreal.
My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys, a wife to Alex and we reside on magical Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is our healthy family recipes blog. Originally from Ukraine, I grew up on real food. As an adult, I struggled with diets for years because none worked long-term. Now for over 10 years, I cook easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.