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An overhead shot of turkey meatballs on a bed of pasta with pesto sauce on a white scalloped plate, garnished with basil leaves and shaved parmesan. The plate sits on a grey textured surface alongside a second dish of pasta, a dish of parmesan, and two glasses of rose wine.

Juiciest Baked Pesto Meatballs (Turkey or Chicken)

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  • Author: Jess Larson
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: serves 4
  • Category: Pasta Recipes, Main Dishes
  • Method: Oven-Baked and Broiled
  • Cuisine: Italian, American

Description

These Oven-Baked Pesto Meatballs are loaded with the vibrant flavors of classic Italian pesto!

Made with your choice of ground chicken or turkey, they’re packed with fresh basil, garlic, parmesan, and pine nuts for a bold punch of pesto flavor—and no extra oil needed! Oven-bake, then broil for no-fuss tender and juicy meatballs—just as good as pan-fried, minus the mess!

Ingredients

Scale
  • nonstick cooking spray
  • 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey or chicken
  • 1 large egg
  • ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
  • ½ small yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1 ½ cup lightly packed fresh basil tender stems & leaves
  • ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts
  • for serving, as desired: Lemon Basil Pesto Sauce or Simple San Marzano Tomato Sauce, cooked pasta or crusty Italian bread, a simple green salad or Caesar salad, grated parmesan, thinly sliced basil, etc.

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, ensuring one rack is positioned in the center of the oven and a second rack is positioned directly under the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Prep the pesto meatball mixture: Place the ground turkey or chicken, egg, panko breadcrumbs, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Set aside.An overhead shot of breadcrumbs, an egg, ground chicken garlic powder, parmesan, salt and pepper in a glass bowl atop a grey textured surface.
  3. Finely chop the aromatics: To the bowl of a food processor, add the remaining listed ingredients (yellow onion – pine nuts). Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor, you can finely chop the aromatics by hand.An overhead shot of garlic, pine nuts, basil, parmesan, salt and pepper, and yellow onion in the bowl of a food processor atop a grey textured surface. An overhead shot of chopped aromatics in the bowl of a food processor atop a grey textured surface.
  4. Mix the pesto meatballs: Transfer the basil pesto mixture to the mixing bowl with the ground meat. Using your hands, mix just until combined – take care to avoid over-mixing.An overhead shot of breadcrumbs, an egg, ground chicken garlic powder, parmesan, the aromatics mixture, salt and pepper in a glass bowl atop a grey textured surface. An overhead shot of a combined meatball mixture in a glass bowl atop a grey textured surface.
  5. Form the pesto meatballs: Divide the pesto meatball mixture into equal portions slightly larger than the size of a golf ball. Gently form each portion into a meatball, rolling just until smooth. For quickness and ease, I like using a spring-loaded scoop. The mixture yields about 16-18 2-inch meatballs. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.An overhead shot of 7 formed meatballs on a parchment lines plate alongside a glass bowl of meatball mixture and a cookie scoop on a grey textured surface.
  6. Bake the pesto meatballs: Lightly spritz the meatballs with cooking spray for a golden finish, then transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake 12-14 minutes, until nearly cooked through. Remove from the oven and carefully slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet. Spritz the meatballs once more with cooking spray. Switch the oven to broil on its highest setting and transfer the meatballs to the oven rack directly below the broiler. Broil 3-4 minutes for a golden brown crust – be sure to check them every so often and rotate the sheet pan as needed to broil evenly.An overhead shot of baked chicken meatballs on a sheet pan atop a grey textured surface.
  7. Serve: Serve the pesto meatballs immediately as desired. Feel free to toss them into a quick pesto or simple tomato sauce, then serve them with pasta or in a meatball sub, etc. Enjoy!An overhead shot of baked chicken meatballs on a sheet pan atop a grey textured surface. A small dish of pesto sauce sits on the pan alongside the meatballs, and the pan is surrounded by basil leaves, pine nuts and a dish of pepper.

Equipment

Notes

Jess’ Tips and Tricks:

  • Ground poultry: The secret to seriously juicy and tender chicken or turkey meatballs is using ground poultry with a decent fat content, otherwise your pesto meatballs will dry out. Look for at least 93% lean, though if you can find 90-92%, that’s even better! If you’re purchasing from your grocery store’s butcher counter, ask for ground chicken or turkey thigh or dark meat.
  • 15-20 Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for these recipe comes from prepping and forming the pesto meatballs. Take care of some of this in advance and you can jump straight in to cooking during the week: mix and form according to Steps 2-4 of Recipe Directions, above. You can roll out the meatballs immediately or save the rolling for dinnertime; either way, the mixture will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (15 minutes active for meatball mixture prep, 5 minutes active for forming the pesto meatballs)

Storage and Freezing: 

  • Storage and Reheating: Transfer cooled pesto meatballs to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, adding a splash of water or chicken stock as needed to help them steam up and loosen any sauce that may be on the meatballs.
  • Freezer Instructions: These pesto meatballs are also incredibly freezer-friendly. To freeze, transfer the baked and cooled meatballs to a freezer container or divide between multiple freezer containers for smaller portions. Freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen pesto meatballs in the refrigerator overnight. Easily reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, adding a splash of water or chicken stock as needed to help them steam up and loosen any sauce that may be on the meatballs.

Find it online: https://playswellwithbutter.com/pesto-meatballs/