These Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs are simple and quick to make in under 30 minutes. They’re oil free, yet moist and juicy, and are a great option for meal prepping lunches and dinners, and are much tastier than using store bought frozen meatballs .
Using onion, salt and pepper as the flavour base, you can use whatever dried or fresh herbs and spices you have on hand to create many different variations of low carb meatballs.
Save This Recipe!
Enter your email below and I'll send this recipe link straight to your inbox so you'll always have it handy!
Recipe Highlights
- You can make these in around 10 minutes and then they cook themselves in the air fryer
- There are no breadcrumbs, cheese or eggs needed. The moisture of the meat holds the meatballs together
- As they’re cooked in the air fryer, they are completely oil free, yet moist and juicy.
- They’re perfectly golden on the outside, with lots of flavour on the inside thanks to the herbs
- Great for meal prepping lunches and dinners and can be used is many different ways (Suggestions below!)
- These meatballs stay round when cooking because you’re not needing to constantly turn them
I’m a big fan of meatballs, but sometimes it can be a pain to have to stand at the stove and cook them, turning them and making sure they don’t burn. These turkey meatballs cooked in the air fryer could not be more simple, and after the initial prep, they go into the air fryer and you’ll only need to check on them once to give them a little shake and that’s it.
If you enjoy meatballs, you may like to check out my Chicken Meatballs in Peanut Sauce, Healthy Porcupine Meatballs, and one of my favourites, Butter Chicken Meatballs.
Ingredients
Hot Tip Alternative! Check out my perfectly marinated chicken breast, air-fried to perfection and perfect for meal prep!
Ingredient Notes
- Meat: using ground or minced turkey makes these meatballs lower in fat than chicken or beef. Even though turkey is a lean meat, these meatballs are tender and juicy thanks to the unique way the air fryer cooks them so they stay moist on the inside and develop a golden brown outside with a slight crispiness.
- Onion: this provides flavour and texture and its best to dice the onion as finely as you can so it blends into the meatballs.
- Seasonings: you can make the seasonings as complex or as simple as you like. Salt, pepper and garlic provide the savoury base of the flavourings, oregano provides a hit of freshness, and the two different paprikas provide a sweet and smokey note
How To Make This Recipe
- Add all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use hands or a spoon to thoroughly mix everything together
- Roll mixture into 16 evenly sized meatballs (about one to one and a half inches in diameter)
- Preheat Air fryer to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F for 3 minutes
- Add meatballs to the basket, ensuring not to overcrowd. (If your air fryer is not big enough to take all the meatballs without overcrowding, its best to cook them in two batches)
- Cook at 180 degrees C/350 degrees for 10 minutes, then open air fryer and shake basket a little to move the meatballs around. Replace basket and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Seasoning Combinations
- Spicy: half a teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder, 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- Smokey: half a teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and mustard powder.
- Fresh: half a teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, 1 teaspoon celery salt (or regular), 1 tablespoon diced mint leaves and 1 tablespoon diced coriander/cilantro leaves
Additional flavourings
For an extra flavour boost, stir one or more of these additional boosters into the meat mixture before rolling into balls.
- A boost of Tang: 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, freshly grated ginger, or ginger paste from a jar
- A boost of Heat: 1 teaspoon of chilli paste, or sambel olek
- Extra Salty: 1 tablespoon of finely grated pasmesan, or crumbled feta
Ideas For Serving
- In a Wrap or Roll: add meatballs with your favourite healthy sauce or topping to a fresh wrap or bread roll
- In a Bowl: make your own meatball bowl with rice (or cauliflower rice for low carb), and your favourite veges
- With pasta sauce and spaghetti, or zucchini noodles
- With air fried garlic bread or potato wedges
- With this homemade sugar free teriyaki sauce, or sugar free sweet and sour sauce and rice
Expert Tips
- Turkey: The colder the meat is the easier it is to make it into meatballs and the more they will hold their shape.
- Make Ahead: You can make these meatballs ahead of time, store them flat on parchment paper on a tray (so they aren’t touch each other and cover gently with plastic wrap. You can do this a day in advance and when you’re ready to cook them, preheat the air fryer for a few minutes and then cook for 20 minutes.
- Cooking the Meatballs: if you can add all your meatballs to the air fryer without them touching each other, cook them in one batch, otherwise split it out. The meatballs cook better and brown more evenly when they are not touching.
- Storing Cooked Meatballs: once meatballs are cooked, let them cool a little before putting into meal prep containers or other air tight container. They’ll keep in the fridge for 2 days.
Common Questions
If the meatballs are not frozen, preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes at 180 degrees C/350 degrees, and then cook for 2 minutes. If frozen, cook for 6 to 8 minutes.
There are lots of healthy options including smokey BBQ Sauce, Ketchup, Sweet and Sour, Teriyaki Sauce and Sweet Chilli Sauce to name a few. These are all low sugar homemade sauces and are quick and easy to make. Alternatively a store bought marinara sauce is a convenient alternative.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground turkey/turkey mince
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 medium brown onion (finely diced)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
Instructions
- Add 500 grams ground turkey/turkey mince, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 medium brown onion (finely diced), 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon sweet paprika, into a large mixing bowl. Use hands or a spoon to thoroughly mix everything together
- Roll mixture into 16 evenly sixed meatballs
- Preheat Air fryer to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F for 3 minutes
- Add meatballs to the basket, ensuring not to overcrowd. (If your air fryer is not big enough to take all the meatballs without overcrowding, its best to cook them in two batches)
- Cook at 180 degrees C/350 degrees for 20 minutes
Notes
- Meat: using ground or minced turkey makes these meatballs lower in fat than chicken or beef. Even though turkey is a lean meat, these meatballs are tender and juicy thanks to the unique way the air fryer cooks them so they stay moist on the inside and develop a golden brown outside with a slight crispiness.
- Onion: this provides flavour and texture and its best to dice the onion as finely as you can so it blends into the meatballs.
- Seasonings: you can make the seasonings as complex or as simple as you like. Salt, pepper and garlic provide the savoury base of the flavourings, oregano provides a hit of freshness, and the two different paprikas provide a sweet and smokey note
- Spicy: half a teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder, 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- Smokey: half a teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and mustard powder.
- Fresh: half a teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, 1 teaspoon celery salt (or regular), 1 tablespoon diced mint leaves and 1 tablespoon diced coriander/cilantro leaves
- A boost of Tang: 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, freshly grated ginger, or ginger paste from a jar
- A boost of Heat: 1 teaspoon of chilli paste, or sambel olek
- Extra Salty: 1 tablespoon of finely grated pasmesan, or crumbled feta
- Nutritional information is based on making 16 meatballs, and serving 4 meatballs to 4 people. Sauce and sides additional.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
Sharon says
Absolutely delicious. Simple ingredients and prep. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Bernard Victor says
except for chopping the onions, nice and easy and delicous
Johann Tillmann says
Delicious easy and have all ingredients in my kitchen already.