These easy to make, lean turkey meatballs are lighter than traditional Swedish Meatballs, but are still packed with flavor and served in a delicious creamy sauce.

Prep Time

    •    Prep time: 20 minutes
    •    Cook time: 25 minutes
    •    Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

    •    2 slices bread
    •    1/4 cup milk
    •    1 tbsp butter
    •    1/4 cup onion diced
    •    1 tsp salt
    •    1/2 tsp pepper
    •    1/4 tsp allspice
    •    1 egg
    •    1 pound ground turkey
    •    1 cup chicken stock
    •    1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (optional)

For the Sauce:

    •    4 tbsps butter
    •    1/4 cup flour
    •    2 cups chicken stock or turkey stock
    •    1 cup half and half or milk/cream
    •    2 sprigs fresh thyme
    •    1/2 tsp pepper
    •    1/2 tsp salt
    •    1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
    •    1/2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

Method

For the Meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Soak 2 slices of bread (whole wheat, white, or gluten-free) in 1/4 cup milk.
3. While bread is soaking, heat skillet over medium heat, and melt butter.
4. Saute onions and herbs until softened in melted butter. Remove from heat.
5. In large mixing bowl, mix together onions, bread, milk, seasonings and egg until well combined.
6. Add ground turkey to mixture and mix meatball mixture with your hands, as to not overwork your meatballs.
7. Scoop the meatball mixture with a medium cookie scoop unto rimmed sheet pan.
8. Pour 1 cup chicken or turkey stock around meatballs. This trick allows meatballs to stay moist and tender and lower in fat.
9. Bake meatballs for 25 minutes.

For the Sauce:

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
2. Whisk in flour, until a thick paste forms.
3. Cook off raw flour for 1-2 minutes.
4. Slowly add in chicken or turkey stock, whisking to incorporate
5. Season with salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme.
6. Bring gravy to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Add in half and half and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until sauce is thick, whisking often.
7. Remove thyme sprigs and add in Worcestershire Sauce.
8. Serve Sauce over Baked Meatballs.
   
   

NOTES:

    •    You can use pork or beef (or combination of the two) in place of the ground turkey for a more traditional Swedish Meatball.
    •    Be sure all your Swedish Meatballs are the same size before baking. This ensures even bake time.
    •    Feel free to omit fresh thyme, this is not traditional, I just find it adds tons of flavor.
    •    Freshly grated nutmeg is so much better than ground nutmeg.
    •    To keep this meatball recipe even lighter, use milk in place of half and half in Swedish Meatball Sauce.

This great family recipe is thanks to A-Mind-Full-Mom Recipes at https://amindfullmom.com/swedish-meatballs/