These easy air fryer turkey meatballs are so good that you’ll be snacking on them right out of the air fryer! They’re simple, done in less than 15 minutes and so flavorful. Your whole family will love these for a quick weeknight dinner.
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Why you’ll love these
These easy turkey meatballs made in the air fryer are so quick and so good that you’ll be eating them like chicken nuggets.
Every single time I make this recipe I find myself and my entire family grabbing meatballs right off the pan.
They’re made with simple ingredients like lean ground turkey, garlic, parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumbs. Four meatballs packs 25 grams of protein and they’re a leaner option than traditional meatballs.
Pair these air fryer ground turkey meatballs with pasta, your favorite sauce and Air Fryer Broccoli and Feta for a quick and easy balanced meal. Or, use them to make my Alfredo meatballs! They’re great for meal prep too.
This is my go-to healthy homemade meatballs recipe- you just can’t beat the simple ingredients and flavor!
Ingredients
- Ground turkey: I typically use 93% lean ground turkey, but you can use whatever you like. You can also use any ground meat; you can easily make beef meatballs with ground beef or use ground chicken. You can also do a mix with ground pork.
- Egg: An egg works as a binder here to hold all of the ingredients together.
- Olive oil: A little bit of olive oil adds some moisture to these meatballs.
- Panko bread crumbs: You can use any breadcrumbs, but I love to use panko here. Just make sure they’re unsalted or you’ll need to reduce or omit the salt.
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese adds the perfect amount of subtle salty cheesy flavor to these meatballs.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is always a must! I like to use a garlic microplane to make prep super easy.
- Spices: You’ll need garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper to season these air fryer meatballs.
How to make air fryer turkey meatballs
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, start by cracking the egg and lightly whisking it or beat lightly with a fork. Add remaining meatball ingredients: ground turkey, olive oil, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, and spices.
- Form the ground turkey mixture into rounded tablespoon sized balls (I think the easiest method is to use a 1-1.5 tbsp cookie scoop). It will make 20-25 small meatballs.
- Transfer meatballs to the air fryer in a single layer, ensure that they aren’t touching. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of air fryer basket. Air fry for 10-12 minutes, turning them about halfway through to ensure even cooking. Note: Cooking time may vary slightly depending on your air fryer and size of the meatballs, so make sure to check on them. Meatballs should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees (get yourself a meat thermometer!).
Oven instructions
If you prefer to use your oven, here’s how to do it:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Follow steps 2-3 as written.
- Add meatballs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
How to store
Store leftover turkey meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also store cooked meatballs in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Simply reheat frozen meatballs in the air fryer, oven or microwave for a quick dinner!
Serving suggestions
You can serve these flavorful meatballs so many different ways for an easy meal, but here are a few of my favorite suggestions!
- Serve with your tomato sauce or your favorite marinara sauce and your favorite noodles. You could even serve them with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
- Serve with my Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce!
- Enjoy them with your favorite dipping sauce, some fries and a side salad.
- Make meatball subs in a roll with turkey meatballs, sauce and melted mozzarella cheese! Serve with a side salad. You could do meatballs sliders, too!
- Serve with rice, broccoli, and sweet chili sauce for a sweet chili meatball bowl!
- Serve with rice, broccoli and bbq sauce for a barbecue bowl.
- Slice up leftovers and use as the protein for High Protein Pizza!
More easy recipes
- Air Fryer Shredded Chicken
- Creamy Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce
- Ground Turkey Alfredo Pasta
- Air Fryer Stir Fry
- Alfredo Meatballs
- High Protein Mac and Cheese
- Big Mac Ground Turkey Sliders
- Ground Turkey Nachos
Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs unsalted
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced or microplaned
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Air Fryer Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, start by cracking the egg and lightly whisking it or beat lightly with a fork. Add remaining meatball ingredients: ground turkey, olive oil, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, and spices.
- Form the ground turkey mixture into rounded tablespoon sized balls (you can use a 1-1.5 tbsp cookie scoop). It will make 20-25 small meatballs.
- Transfer meatballs to the air fryer, ensure that they aren’t touching. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer. Air fry for 10-12 minutes, turning them about halfway through to ensure even cooking. Note: Air fry time may vary slightly depending on your air fryer, so make sure to check on them. Meatballs should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Oven instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Follow steps 2-3 as written.
- Add meatballs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
4 Responses
Super easy and tasted great. Made some to use throughout the week because they’ll make a great base for whatever I want to add. I know I at least have a protein ready to go. Thank you!
Thank you so much for leaving a review! 🙂 Yay for a protein prepped for the week!
Made these for the first time and they were so easy and delicious! Fingers crossed the kids will eat them too 🤞🏻🤞🏻
So glad you enjoyed them!! 🙂