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These Turkey Apple Meatballs are the perfect fall dinner. They’re warm and comforting with just enough hint of spice to make you remember the season has changed!

Even better is that you can have them on your table in under 30 minutes after coming home from fantastic fall activities! Oh, and they’re paleo, gluten-free and absolutely kid-friendly!

turkey apple meatballs paleo


Turkey Apple Meatballs with Sage

Whether you love it or hate it, fall is just around the corner! And this is our quintessential welcome Fall easy 30 minute dinner!

For so many of you the welcoming of this season means back from vacations and back to school! This time can be an adjustment, and the last thing you need is to be running around the kitchen making a complicated meal. So we’ve got your covered with these super easy and delicious Turkey Apple Meatballs with sage.

These meatballs are super easy to prepare and SUPER YUMMY. They’re barely sweet from the apples with a hint of warmth from the allspice. I had to include the sage that’s growing so well from my garden and it was the perfect addition.

We like to serve them with butternut squash noodles (or sweet potato noodles) that we quickly sauté up with some garlic and oil. For a more kid-friendly option feel free to serve with some cauliflower rice, or pasta with garlic and olive oil. Either way, they’re just what you’ll want on your table for dinner!

turkey apple meatballs baby

Gluten Free Turkey Apple Meatball Ingredients

  • Ground Turkey (light or dark meat both work here)
  • Apple
  • Egg
  • Fresh Sage
  • Garlic
  • Almond Flour
  • Onion Powder
  • Salt and White Pepper
  • Allspice
  • Oil

How to Make Gluten Free Sage Turkey Meatballs

We opted to pan-sear these first to give a nice caramelized flavor before finishing cooking them in the oven, but feel free to bake them from the start all the way through if you don’t want the extra step.

To Make Them:

First, Pre-heat oven to 375º and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Then mix together the meatball ingredients and form into 12 meatballs.

Then pan sear them, taking care to leave enough space in between each and brown meatballs on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. You may need to do this step in batches depending on how large your skillet is.

Finally, transfer the browned meatballs to the prepared baking sheet and bake in the oven until fully cooked through and reached an internal temperature of 165º.

Serve them hot with butternut squash noodles or pasta, or your preferred side dish.

Sage turkey meatballs

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Apple Sage Turkey Meatballs

5 from 5 votes
These Turkey Apple Meatballs are the perfect fall dinner. They’re warm and comforting with just enough hint of spice to make you remember the season has changed. But even better is that you can have them on your table in under 30 minutes after coming home from fantastic fall activities! Oh, and they’re paleo, gluten-free and absolutely kid-friendly!
Servings 12
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb. ground turkey light or dark meat
  • 1 medium apple peeled and grated
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 tablespoons almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon about 5 leaves fresh sage
  • 1 teaspoon white ground pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • pinch allspice
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 375º and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl add all of the ingredients and mix until fully combined. Form into 12 meatballs.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add oil. Add meatballs, taking care to leave enough space in between each and brown meatballs on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. You may need to do this step in batches depending on how large your skillet is. (See note)
  • Transfer browned meatballs to the prepared baking sheet and bake in the oven until fully cooked through and reached an internal temperature of 165º,  about 10-15 minutes.
  • Serve meatballs hot with butternut squash noodles or pasta.

Notes

Although we love the caramelized apple due to the extra step of browning these meatballs, you can skip this step and just bake in the oven. Bake at 400º for 10-15 minutes until the meatballs have fully cooked through and reached an internal temperature of 165º.

Nutrition

Serving: 12gCalories: 103kcalCarbohydrates: 3.6gProtein: 11.3gFat: 5.5gSaturated Fat: 0.9gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 125mgFiber: 0.8gSugar: 2g
Author: Lexi


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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made these as the comments were all so positive! My husband and I both love, love, love them! I made a double batch.

  2. 5 stars
    Made these for our families Whole 30, including the butternut squash-which I had never had before. Delicious, was the favorite meal that week! Thank you.

  3. 5 stars
    These meatballs were AMAAZING in and of themselves, but I decided to go a little nutty with it and put them over the spiralized carrot pad thai you can find in the refrigerated section at Raley’s (brand is Green Giant Fresh, only use half to 2/3 of the sauce) and topped them with little pieces of sliced smoked gouda. It was to DIE for! Thank you for a truly delicious recipe.

  4. Cannot have almond flour, can I use coconut flour and if so how much?. These sound delicious and would like to try them now that the cooler weather is moving in!!!

  5. This is a perfect app for hosting! Especially with the holidays quickly approaching, I’m keeping this recipe in my back pocket. Thank you!