Homemade herbed turkey air fryer meatballs are the perfect weeknight meal. Super versatile, they pair well with salads, mashed potatoes, lots of veggies, or even in a meatball sub for lunch the next day. Simply add the ingredients together, roll into balls and cook in the air-fryer for dinner perfection. They also work well as a meal prep option as they can be made, frozen, and simply reheated in the air fryer on a busy night.
We love trying out new meatball recipes as they are always a hit with the whole family. Why not try these Spanish Meatballs next?
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Simple Herbed Turkey Air Fryer Meatballs
These herbed turkey air fryer meatballs need to make it to your meal plan for the busy weeks ahead.
They are the perfect basic recipe to have up your sleeve as they are so quick and easy to make and they are always a hit with the kids, which is what you need on a busy night.
Only a handful of ingredients and super easy prep and you have a meal the whole family will love.
You are going to need:
- Turkey mince (ground turkey): feel free to sub in another ground meat or ground chicken if prefered;
- Dried onion
- Dried cilantro
- Dried parsley
- Eggs
- Salt and pepper
Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, roll into 1-inch bowls and cook in the air fryer for approximately 9 minutes.
Couldn’t be easier.
Substitutions and Replacements
No ground Turkey?
No problem.
You can easily replace the ground turkey in this recipe with some ground chicken or even ground pork if you have it on hand.
Feel free to switch up the herbs for what you have on hand as well, just be mindful it will change the flavor profile.
How To Prepare Meatballs To Freeze and Cooking Frozen Meatballs In The Airfryer
If you are a meal planner you might want to have some frozen meatballs on hand to save on prep time on an especially busy night.
For this, go on ahead and prep the recipe as listed in the recipe card below.
Once cooked, allow the fully cooked meatballs to cool and then freeze on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Once frozen through transfer them to a freezer bag or a freezer-friendly container. This additional step stops the meatballs from sticking together, which will make it a lot easier to reheat the frozen meatballs when dinner time rolls around.
I like to make a double batch of herbed turkey meatballs, eat one batch for dinner on the night of preparation and save the other half in the freezer for a busy night or to pull out for school lunches.
What To Serve With Air Fryer Meatballs
As this is a simple recipe with subtle flavors, herbed turkey meatballs are super versatile when it comes to serving time.
Serve with:
- Zoodles
- Buttered noodles
- Homemade tomato sauce (or store-bought if that is what you have)
- Mashed potatoes, or how about switching it up with some cauliflower mash
- A simple salad
- Rice or quinoa
- In a meatball sub
- As an appetizer served on a toothpick and some dipping sauce
- Alongside some Air Fryer Broccoli or Air Fryer Asparagus
How To Cook Meatballs In The Air Fryer
It's pretty simple, just pop the rolled meatballs into the air fryer and cook for around 9 minutes.
Once they are cooked you can use a pair of tongs to remove the hot meatballs and serve.
One extra step you can take is to place a sheet of parchment paper with small holes poked into it in the basket of the air fryer before placing the meatballs in. This prevents too much mess from the fat melting in the meatballs when they are cooking.
This is not necessary, but if you don’t do it be prepared to wash the entire inside of the air fryer after cooking.
Don't Have An Air Fryer?
If you don’t already have an air-fryer, choosing one can be a bit confusing as there are so many different types on the market.
My biggest tip would be to consider capacity.
How many people are you cooking for? I am cooking for a family of 5 and we regularly have people over, so I chose the biggest one I could find on the market with a good brand name and warranty behind it.
If you are only cooking for yourself, or yourself and a partner, you may benefit from having a smaller unit.
Also, consider bench space. The big ones can be pretty huge, so you want to make sure you have enough space before adding it to your family of kitchen appliances.
More Recipes For The Air Fryer.
- Air Fryer Broccoli
- Air Fryer Asparagus
- Air Fryer Meatloaf Sliders
- Bang Bang Cauliflower from Cook It Real Good
Happy Eating
xx
Recipe
Herbed Turkey Air Fryer Meatballs
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey (turkey mince)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon dried chopped onion (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried cilantro (coriander)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg.
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix with your hands until well combined.
- Spray your hands with nonstick spray or some olive oil and mold the mixture into about 1-inch balls.
- Spray the air fryer with nonstick cooking spray. Place the meatballs in one even layer in the bottom of your air fryer. If you have a stacking tray then stack on top with another level of meatballs.
- Cook for about 9 minutes at 400 degrees or until cooked through. Repeat with the rest of the meatballs.
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