Holiday Pesto Meatballs
Whether these meatballs are made for a weeknight meal or a holiday cocktail party, their flavors will be a hit! Tender-textured chicken meatballs topped with pesto sauce and ricotta cheese are a winning combination that will be welcome around the holiday season!
Servings: 18 meatballs
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried breadcrumbs (about 1 slice of bread)
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
- 1 large egg beaten
- ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup pesto
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and milk. Stir together and work into a paste, and set aside.½ cup dried breadcrumbs (about 1 slice of bread), ¼ cup whole milk
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, breadcrumb panade, beaten egg, garlic granules, onion powder, black pepper, salt, grated Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Mixture together until all the ingredients are incorporated with no streaks or pockets of breadcrumbs.1 pound ground turkey or chicken, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon garlic granules, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop (2 tablespoons) to create small meatballs. Roll the meatballs between your hands until they are smooth, and set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once all the meatballs are prepared, drizzle with an additional 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and place them in the preheated oven. Bake until the meatballs begin to brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F, 25-30 minutes. Once baked, remove the meatballs from the oven.2 tablespoons olive oil
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta and pesto. Stir together until smooth. Remove any pooled drippings from the meatballs, which sometimes create a collar around the meatball, and place the meatballs in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Dollop the prepared ricotta pesto mixture over the meatballs and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the ricotta is warmed through, 12-15 minutes.1 cup ricotta cheese, 1 cup pesto, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Video
Notes
In these meatballs, it’s best to beat the egg before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. If the egg were left unbeaten, it would be rather hard to mix with everything else. So beating it outside of the mixture and then adding it is the key to success.
One of the best ways to mix together the meatball mixture is with your hands. Even though meat can feel unpleasant, hands are one of the best tools for getting an evenly mixed combination.
Adding olive oil on top of the meatballs before they go into the oven will give them additional flavor and help them roast. It’s a quick extra step that makes a big difference in both taste and texture.
Nutrition
Serving: 1meatball | Calories: 169kcal