I kind of have a confession to make: I’ve been holding this recipe out for some time. It’s one of my all time favorite meatball recipes, and to me, one of my all time favorite recipes in general.
The tender turkey meat absorbs the flavor really well from all of the peppers, onion, and spinach, bringing you a delicious bite sized ball of meat that anyone on keto is sure to love. Heck, even non-keto people will love the smell of bacon and that’ll get them going enough to really want to dig into this dish.
I normally don’t have a recipe for the “spinach butter” that I make to go with these, so that one is more up to you and what you have in mind for the night. The only base ingredients I always use is the bacon fat and a handful of spinach. To give you some ideas, I normally do garlic, basil, and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Of course salt and pepper to season, and sometimes a quick squeeze of lemon juice if I want to freshen it up. But, the “butter” is something that I’m going to leave up to you.
Wait until the meatballs come out of the oven until you make your “butter”. Let the bacon fat solidify a little bit so that you can form this into a “block” with your hands or with a fork and serve it out on the table. Cut off little pads of the “butter” and serve it under each meatball.
I also just want to take a second to tell everyone out there that already doesn’t have one: GET A FOOD PROCESSOR! This piece of machinery will save you so much time and trouble in the kitchen, cleans pretty easily, and costs nearly nothing. Seriously, do yourself a favor and spend a small chunk of change on a good and cheap food processor. This is the exact same one I use and I wouldn’t go a day without it.
The Preparation
- 10 slices bacon
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 3 small red chilis
- ½ medium green pepper
- 1 small onion
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 large handful spinach
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ounce pork rinds
The Execution
1. We’ll be starting this recipe by cooking the bacon in full. Preheat your oven to 400F and then lay the bacon strips onto a baking sheet lined with foil. Cook this for 30 minutes.
2. While the bacon is cooking, start the prep for the meatballs. Take 2 lbs. of ground turkey out of the fridge and set aside. Dice 3 red chilis, 1 small onion, and 1/2 medium green pepper.
3. In a food processor, grind 1 oz. pork rinds into a powder and set aside.
4. Using the food processor again, grind 1 large handful of spinach and 3 sprige of thyme (stem on, or off).
5. Add all of the vegetables, pork rinds, and turkey to a large mixing bowl.
6. Mix together everything well so that the fillings are distributed evenly.
7. Add 2 large eggs to the turkey mixture and mix again well.
8. Once the 30 minutes are up, take the bacon out of the oven and set it aside. Drain off excess grease from the baking sheet and also set aside.
9. Form the turkey mixture into 20 meatballs and place them on the same baking sheet as the bacon. Cook this for 15-20 minutes, or until juices run clear.
10. Once the meatballs are done, begin to make your spinach “butter”. Add 1 handful of spinach, all of the rendered bacon fat, and the seasonings of your choice (read top of post for ideas). Process this mixture well until everything is combined and spinach leaves are no longer visible. Form the mixture into a “stick” of butter.
11. Serve meatballs skewered with toothpics. 1/2 piece of bacon per meatball and a pad of spinach “butter” under each.
This will make 20 total turkey meatballs, each being 141 Calories, 10.3g Fats, 0.6g Net Carbs, and 12g Protein. That’s 66% calories from fats, 2% calories from carbohydrates, and 34% calories from protein. I know this dish is a little protein heavy, but you can sub out the turkey for ground beef or ground pork and it would help. I don’t mind the little bit of excess protein because I do intermittent fasting during the day.
| The Best Turkey Meatballs | Calories | Fats (g) | Carbs (g) | Fiber (g) | Net Carbs (g) | Protein (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 slices Bacon | 1218 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| 2 lbs. Ground Turkey | 1200 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 176 |
| 3 small Red Chilis | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1/2 medium Green Pepper | 12 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1 small Onion | 29 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 1/2 tsp. Salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 tsp. Pepper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 lage Handful spinach | 28 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 sprigs Thyme | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 large Eggs | 140 | 12 | 1.2 | 0 | 1.2 | 12 |
| 1 oz. Pork Rinds | 160 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Totals | 2825 | 206 | 15.2 | 4 | 11.2 | 239 |
| Per Meatball | 141.3 | 10.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 12.0 |
This will make 20 total turkey meatballs, each being 141 Calories, 10.3g Fats, 0.6g Net Carbs, and 12g Protein.
The Preparation
- 10 slices Bacon
- 2 lbs. Ground Turkey
- 3 small Red Chilis
- 1/2 medium Green Pepper
- 1 small Onion
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Pepper
- 2 lage Handful spinach
- 3 sprigs Thyme
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 oz. Rork Pinds
The Execution
- Line a baking sheet with foil and add your bacon. Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Once the oven is heated, add bacon to oven and cook for 30 minutes or until crisp.
- While bacon is cooking, prep all ingredients by adding to food processor and dicing.
- Add all ingredients (except bacon) to the ground turkey and mix well.
- Once bacon is out of the oven, set bacon aside and drain fat into separate container. Form 20 meatballs and lay over the same sheet the bacon cooked on.
- Cook meatballs for 15-20 minutes or until juices run clear, then skewer 2-3 pieces of bacon to each meatball. Each meatball should get 1/2 a piece of bacon.
- In the food processor, combine spinach, bacon fat, and seasonings of your choosing (see top of post). Create "stick" of butter and serve under meatballs.
