Categories: Recipes

Recipe: Baked Quinoa Turkey Meatballs

Quinoa turkey meatballs recipe – change up your dinner time!

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So this is the exciting, riveting, final instalment on cooking with quinoa. Did you read the previous two posts on using quinoa at breakfast and lunch? If not, you should, it will really make your day much better.

Cooked quinoa makes a great gluten free alternative to breadcrumbs. You can sprinkle it on top of stuffed peppers or cauliflower cheese or use it to bulk out homemade burgers and meatballs.

My quinoa turkey meatballs are gluten-free and full of protein. They are really filling are very versatile. They go great with a tomato based sauce and fresh spaghetti or make a great meatball sub served with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Oh, and they freeze really well.

So, here’s my gluten free, quick and easy…

Quinoa Turkey Meatballs Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 36 meatballs

Ingredients

50 grams of uncooked quinoa (use up leftover quinoa with my recipes for quinoa porridge and warm quinoa salad)

1 teaspoon of oil (for frying)

1/2 a red onion (chopped)

350 millilitres of stock

500 grams of turkey mince

3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

4 tablespoons of fresh parsley (chopped)

1/2 teaspoon of dried basil

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

Salt and pepper (to taste)

1 egg (beaten)

Instructions

Place the quinoa in a sieve and rinse well under cold running water.

Heat the frying oil in a saucepan and gently sauté the onion for five minutes.

Add the rinsed quinoa to the onion and continue to fry for a further five minutes.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil before reducing the heat and allowing to simmer for 20 minutes or until the quinoa absorbs all the liquid and is light and fluffy.

Take off the heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the turkey mince, garlic, parsley, pepper, basil, oregano, and salt.

When the quinoa has cooled, add this to meat mixture and mix well.

Pour the beaten egg over the mince and mix again.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C for fan assisted ovens / 400°F / gas mark 4.

Whilst the oven is preheating, take small handfuls of the mixture and shape into balls and place on a baking tray.

Place in the oven near the top and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

These meatballs are nice and juicy and are delicious when hot and fresh out of the oven or, as they do keep well, you can eat them cold in a salad or on a roll the next day or freeze them until you need them.

So, what do you think of my quinoa turkey meatballs recipe? Did you try it out? Did you like it? What improvements would you make? Share a photo of your own attempt at this recipe or leave any feedback and comments below, I’d love to hear from you.