If you are a fan of the richness of Mediterranean flavors you will love these Moroccan Turkey Meatballs in Zesty Tomato Sauce. They are bursting with bold sweet and spicy flavors, and if you don’t eat spicy foods you can omit the chile powder and crushed red pepper. In that case you will end up with a pretty sweet dish sans the bit of spiciness to round out the flavor.
I have a few go-to meatballs from the staple Italian style beef meatball to a few Asian style turkey meatballs, but anyone who makes them knows that what separates a delicious meatball from a mediocre one is whether or not it’s moist. No one likes a dry meatball and no amount of sauce is enough to smother those babies moist. I know turkey is dry by nature but I promise you these are not.
Searing the meatballs before they go into the crock pot locks in all the juices making the outcome super moist bursting with flavor meatballs. Ahhh, crock pot…I am a set it and forget it kind of girl so crock pot meals are some of my best friends. Okay, time for this yummy recipe!
Moroccan Turkey Meatballs in Zesty Tomato Sauce
INGREDIENTS
MEATBALLS
- 20 ounce package ground turkey
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup finely diced onion
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground chili powder (depending on heat level)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg white
SAUCE
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 tsp grated orange rind
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Place all meatball ingredients in bowl and use hands to combine well
- Shape meat mixture into 20-30 meatballs depending on what size you like
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat
- Working in batches, brown meatballs in pan for approximately 3 minutes (turn to brown all sides)
- After a batch is browned add them to a crock pot and continue with remaining meatballs
- Place all sauce ingredients in a bowl (breaking up the tomatoes with your hands) and mix well
- Pour sauce over meatballs in crock pot gently stirring to coat
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours
Serve over quinoa or couscous, garnish with fresh parsley if desired and enjoy!