Make these air fryer turkey meatballs when you need a quick, healthy dinner or high protein snack!
It takes only 6 ingredients and 10 minutes in the air fryer to make tender, juicy meatballs with tons of flavor.
Serve them with your favorite sauce and dinner is done!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make these air fryer meatballs:
- Ground turkey. Choose from 93% lean or 85% lean. If you want super low fat meatballs, see if your grocery store carries the 99% lean option.
- Italian breadcrumbs
- Parmesan cheese
- Egg
- Milk
- Garlic powder
How to Make Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
Make the Meat Mixture
Start by combining everything but the ground turkey in a mixing bowl. The mixture should have the consistency of oatmeal.
Then, mix in the ground turkey last.
Form the Meatballs
Coat your hands in olive oil. This is an important step because it will make it easier to form the meatballs and will also add a little fat to help them keep their shape.
Then, form the meat mixture into 12 meatballs. To get uniformly sized meatballs, try using a large cookie scoop.
Air Fry the Meatballs
Preheat your air fryer to 400F degrees and pop the meatballs in!
You can arrange them pretty close together as long as they’re in a single layer and not actually touching each other.
I am able to get 12 meatballs into my air fryer basket without having to cook them in batches.
Watch how to make air fryer turkey meatballs!
Serving Suggestions
These easy air fryer turkey meatballs are like a blank canvas that you can do so much with! Here are some different ways to enjoy them:
1. With Pasta: Add your cooked meatballs to your favorite marinara sauce, alfredo sauce or pesto sauce and pasta for a classic Italian meal.
2. Over Rice: Make an easy meal of air fried meatballs over fluffy rice with teriyaki sauce, plum sauce or even a Swedish meatball sauce.
3. As an Appetizer: Make slightly smaller meatballs and serve them as cocktail meatballs, along with a sweet and sour or spicy mustard dipping sauce.
4. Make a Sandwich: Make delicious meatball subs with tomato sauce, hot peppers and provolone cheese.
Variations
1. The Meat: Make beef meatballs by swapping ground beef in for the ground turkey.
2. The Breadcrumbs: Make gluten free meatballs by substituting gluten free breadcrumbs for regular breadcrumbs.
3. The Seasonings: The Italian breadcrumbs add great flavor to these meatballs, but if you want to use regular or panko bread crumbs, try adding seasonings like salt, paprika, oregano and onion powder.
Storage Instructions
The best way to store turkey meatballs is in an airtight container or freezer bag. They will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
For longer storage, keep them in the freezer. Reheat frozen meatballs in the microwave or back in the air fryer.
FAQs
Most grocery stores carry ground turkey in 85% lean, 93% lean and 99% lean options. The higher the fat content, the more flavorful meatballs you’ll end up with.
It comes down to personal preference. I normally cook with 93% lean ground turkey.
I recommend coating the air fryer with a thin layer of nonstick cooking spray to prevent the meatballs from sticking.
Meatballs may fall apart when there is not a sufficient amount of binder in them, like egg or breadcrumbs.
If you use the measurements in the recipe card below, you won’t have to worry about your meatballs falling apart!
Cooking time might vary slightly from air fryer to air fryer, but not by much. If you follow the cooking time instructions in the recipe card below, your meatballs will be perfectly cooked.
As an alternative, you could check their internal temperature using a meat thermometer. When they reach 165 degrees F, you’ll know they are done.
When you make this air fryer turkey meatball recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy!
For more air fryer recipes, try these:
Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp. milk
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Combine the egg, Parmesan cheese, milk, breadcrumbs and garlic powder in a large bowl. The meatball mixture should have a thick consistency.
- Stir in the ground turkey and mix well to combine.
- Coat your hands in a little olive oil. Form 12 meatballs using your hands. (For uniformly sized meatballs, try using a large cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop). Place the meatballs on a nonstick baking sheet or sheet of parchment paper.
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Coat the air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray. Place the meatballs into the basket in a single layer.
- Air fry for 4-5 minutes. Flip. Air fry for an additional 4-5 minutes, until meatballs are golden brown.
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