These baked turkey meatballs are mixed in with a homemade pesto which gives the meatballs a delicious flavor and also keeps them from drying out. So good served over pesto orzo and leftovers keep really well!
To make the pesto, combine garlic, basil, and chopped onion in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Then add seeds, parmesan, salt, and pepper, and pulse the processor while you drizzle in the oil until the pesto forms a rough paste. If it seems very dry, add more olive oil by the tablespoon.
Portion out half of a cup of the pesto for the meatballs and save the rest to toss with the pasta for serving.
To make meatballs:
Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a medium bowl, combine ground turkey, pesto, egg, and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and mix together well with your hands until the mixture is uniform. It should hold its shape. If it is too wet or soggy, add another 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with some nonstick spray. Roll out the meatball mixture into about tablespoon-sized meatballs and place them on the baking sheet. You should get about 30 meatballs out of the batch.
Bake meatballs at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes until they are cooked through, reaching 165˚F in the center of the meatballs. Flip the meatballs halfway through baking.
While meatballs bake, you can make pasta (I like orzo with these meatballs). After the pasta is cooked, save 1/2 cup of pasta water. Toss pasta with reserved pesto and pasta water to form a light sauce.
Serve baked turkey meatballs over pasta garnished with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.