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EASY Baked Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs

These baked sweet potato turkey meatballs are a hit every time I make them. In fact, my sweet potato refusing child won’t admit they have sweet potato in them because she loves them so much.

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Plate of sweet potato meatballs with sweet potato fries.

While I make traditional Italian meatballs regularly, sometimes I want to lighten things up a bit. When I made my Asian inspired turkey burgers recently, I realized I hadn’t made these baked sweet potato turkey meatballs in far too long.

I made 20 meatballs and served them with baked sweet potato fries – since I had some extra sweet potatoes. I ate three, and the rest of my family devoured the other 17.

Double this for a party, and serve them with fancy toothpicks. It’s a perfect naturally gluten free appetizer in addition to a delicious dinner.

Additionally, you could form these into patties to make sweet potato turkey burgers and bake them, grill them, or lightly fry them in oil. Top them with tomatoes and some lettuce, and enjoy!

What’s the best way to bake sweet potatoes?

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and pierce your sweet potato a few times with a fork. Bake it at 400 for 45 minutes, then let cool.

Alternatively, you can make these in an Instant Pot, which is what I typically do.

Cut your sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, then add a cup of water to your Instant Pot (1 1/2 cups if you have an 8 quart). Set it to pressure cook on high for 12 minutes.

Once it finishes cooking, carefully release the pressure.

However you choose to cook them, let the potatoes cool until you can safely handle them. Slice them in half if you haven’t already, then scoop out the insides.

Can I make my meatballs ahead of time?

You can absolutely bake your sweet potatoes in advance. You can make them up to two days in ahead of time, just make sure to put them in an airtight container once they full cool, and store them in your fridge.

You can also mix up the meatball mixture earlier in the day and store it in a tightly sealed container in your fridge. You can form the actual meatballs a couple hours in advance and store them in your fridge, covered by plastic wrap.

If you have cold meat going into the oven, note that you may need to cook them for an additional minute or two for them to fully cook through.

I don’t suggest cooking and then cooling to reheat your baked sweet potato turkey meatballs, however. They taste best that first day, though you can reheat leftovers if you have any.

Why should I toast cumin seeds?

Toasting the cumin seeds gives you a stronger flavor than simply grinding them fresh, but it still retains the subtlety of cumin.

Toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 2-3 minutes. The seeds will start to pop and turn fragrant.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Use a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle to grind them to a powder.

In a pinch, you can use ground cumin, but the toasted cumin definitely tastes better in your sweet potato meatballs.

What’s the best way to form meatballs?

The meatball mixture tends to stick to your hands, but there are a couple great tricks to avoid this.

First, if you use wet hands, the meat doesn’t stick as much. I keep a bowl of water I can dip my hands into as I form meatballs, and no, it doesn’t make my meatballs too wet.

Alternatively, if you have a muffin size cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop, use this to form your meatballs. You need to just gently fix the edges and bottoms to get them round, and as a bonus, they end up all the same size.

Why brush turkey meatballs with olive oil?

Turkey is an incredibly lean ground meat, and the thin layer of olive oil helps keep the meatballs moist and delicious. It’s really as simple as that.

Can I pan fry turkey meatballs?

Yes, you absolutely can. If you prefer to cook them in a pan instead of baking them, this works well.

Instead of brushing your sweet potato turkey meatballs with olive oil, add a bit of oil to the bottom of a pan. Turn the heat to medium, then add the meatballs once hot.

Be sure to give them space so that they cook and don’t just steam. You likely will need to do several batches, and be sure to add additional oil to your pan as needed.

Once you brown the turkey meatballs on one side, flip them and cook all the way through. They may not be perfectly round, but they still taste delicious!

How to Make Baked Sweet Potato Meatballs

Bake your sweet potatoes as directed above. You want them cooked through and soft, but be sure they’re cool enough to handle before you work with them.

You need one large sweet potato or one and a half standard sweet potatoes to get the one pound you need. Or be like me and use your kitchen scale to figure out how much you need.

While your sweet potato bakes, toast your cumin seeds in a small pan over medium heat, shaking the pan every few minutes. You do this in a dry pan, so don’t grease it at all.

Toasting cumin seeds in a dry pan.

Once they’ve toasted, use a spice grinder or mortal and pestle to grind them into cumin powder.

Use this time to dice the onion and mince the cloves of garlic so they’re ready, too. If you use fresh parsley, roll the leaves then cut along the roll to easily chiffonade them.

Minced onion and garlic on a wooden board.

Cut the sweet potato in half and scoop out the baked insides with a spoon. Mash them well in a large mixing bowl with a fork.

Mashing sweet potato in a bowl.

Once you have them mostly smooth, add the turkey, onion, salt, cumin, parsley, and garlic. Gently mix together the mixture with your clean hands until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Ingredients for sweet potato meatballs in a bowl.

Make sure to not mix this too much, as that creates tough meatballs. You just want the ingredients well distributed.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet lined with a wire rack or parchment paper. I love to bake things like meatballs or bacon roasted brussels sprouts and more on the wire rack because it keeps it from sitting in the grease and cooks on all sides more evenly.

Roll the meat mixture into golf ball size meatballs and place them on the baking sheet.

Sweet potato turkey meatballs on a rack ready to bake.

Brush them lightly with olive oil with a pastry brush, then bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until the tops are golden and the insides are fully cooked.

Brush sweet potato meatballs with olive oil using a pastry brush.

You can broil them at the end for two minutes to get a crispier outside, but my family is never patient enough to wait!

These are awesome just on their own, served with some greens or corn or whatever other summer accouterments you have on hand. Can I suggest sweet potato fries with extra sweet potato you pick up?

They would also be great in a pasta with marinara in place of a traditional meatball. While I typically serve them just on their own, you can make marinara sauce to dip them in or a spiced creamy dip you whip up for them if you serve them as an appetizer.

If you have any leftovers, let them cool fully, then place them in an airtight container in your fridge for up to three days. Gently reheat them to ensure they don’t get tough.

Bookmark this baked sweet potato turkey meatballs recipe to make again!

Just baked sweet potato meatballs on a baking tray.

Baked Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs

Yield: 20 meatballs
Sweet Potato Bake Time: 1 hour
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 38 minutes

These sweet potato turkey meatballs are a delicious alternative to a classic meatball. They work just as well as an appetizer as they do in pasta or served with a side an a salad as a main course.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound sweet potato, baked
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Prick clean sweet potatoes, then bake in 400 degree oven for 1 hour.
  2. While the sweet potato bakes, toast cumin seeds in a small pan over medium heat, shaking the pan every few minutes. Grind seeds into powder, and set aside.
  3. Dice the onion and mince garlic. If you use fresh parsley, chiffonade and chop the leaves.
  4. Cut sweet potato in half and scoop insides into a bowl, then mash with a fork.
  5. Add turkey, onion, salt, cumin, parsley, and garlic. Gently mix together until ingredients are fully incorporated.
  6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet lined with a wire rack or parchment paper.
  7. Roll meat mixture into golf ball size meatballs and place them on the baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil, then bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes until the tops are golden and the insides are fully cooked.

Notes

  • If you have fresh parsley, this works great in this recipe. Use 1/4 cup in place of the measurement for dried parsley.
  • For additional tips and hints, be sure to read the full article.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 2 meatballs
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 287mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 18g

This site uses an outside source to provide nutrition as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.

Did you make this recipe?

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Baked turkey meatballs on a pan with text how to make sweet potato turkey meatballs.

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  1. Michelle says:

    Sandra – It was so good. So incredibly good. And I love how healthy it was, too. Finally I got Little Miss to like sweet potatoes – she's the only one in the family who won't eat the fries or chips!

    Jen – I can see where it would be hard to cook it all the way through when it is as big as a meatloaf. Mini meatloaves might be fun though…. These definitely worked out at home, though I had to alter it just a little bit!

    Pat – They were really good and a nice twist on what I make regularly. Hope you've been enjoying SoCal!

  2. Pat says:

    This sounds delicious, Michelle. I'm gonna make it when we return home…we've been in SoCal for almost 2 weeks.

  3. I tried to make sweet potato meatloaf. Not quiet as successful… it was mushy. I think the small size of patties or meatballs is the way to go. I'm glad to see you made them at home and they turned out 🙂

  4. Sandra says:

    Mmmm. This sounds really good. I've flagged this in my head and will let you know when I make it! Thanks for sharing!

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