Meatballs and red sauce is a favorite easy meal—particularly these meatballs. I love using ground organic turkey because it has such a mild flavor and is truly a blank canvas for any flavor you add. These meatballs—like all of the meatballs in this book—can be frozen raw on a large baking sheet and once firm, placed into freezer bags and stored until you’re ready to use them. Just add them to a slow cooker, still frozen, and add an hour or two of cooking time.
Prep time 25 minutes
Makes about 28 meatballs
2/3 cup (73.3 g) olive oil–packed sun-dried tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
2 pounds (905 g) ground turkey
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons (28 g) avocado or coconut oil
3 cups (750 ml) Basic Marinara
1 Combine the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until a smooth paste forms. (If you don’t have a food processor, chop them as fine as you can.)
2 Place the turkey in a large bowl. Add the sun-dried tomato paste, nutritional yeast, salt, basil, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Toss the mixture with your hands gently to combine everything thoroughly.
3 Form the turkey into tight 11/2-inch (3.5 cm) balls and place them on a large plate.
4 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the meatballs in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan) on two sides until a golden brown crust forms. Transfer the meatballs to a 4-quart (3.8 liter) slow cooker.
5 Pour the marinara over the meatballs. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, until the meatballs are cooked through.
6 Serve the meatballs with the sauce or with some Squash Noodles.
