Brown Sugar-Glazed Turkey Meatballs
Sep 14, 2014, Updated Jul 07, 2021
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This recipe for Brown Sugar-Glazed Turkey Meatballs packs a bite-size punch of sweet and spicy, juicy and delicious. These meatballs are baked to perfection and are a perfect appetizer for sharing with friends!
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Butterball Every Day for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Looking for more turkey meatball recipes? Try these Grilled Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs Skewers or this Lightened-Up (Turkey) Swedish Meatballs Recipe!
These Turkey Meatballs Are Perfect For Football Season
Happy Sunday, Guys! & Girls!
You know the saying, “Ask, and you shall receive”?
Well. Between Twitter and Facebook, you all raised your opinion and I listened. Brown Sugar-Glazed Meatballs IT IS!
Do you know what’s before us? Football Season!!
Saying that I “LOVE” football-food is an understatement. If there wasn’t a “main course” to deal with, MY food-life would be all about appetizers; meatballs, dips, and finger food, to be exact. Calories would be non-existent, and scales, too.
Buuuut, since calories and scales are pretty much here to stay (booooo), I always find a way to work around their stubbornness.
You and I are no strangers to meatballs – Pineapple Barbecue Sauce Glazed Meatballs, Cream Cheese Pork Meatballs, Cashew Chicken Meatballs – clearly, we’re all in this together. BUT today’s meatballs are a bit special.
Made with Butterball’s Turkey Sweet Onion Burgers meat, these meaty balls are lean and delicious, wholesome and super tasty. Like, finger-snapping good.
I’m especially fond of these beauties because I didn’t have to sacrifice a delicious tasting meatball. Butterball’s Turkey Burgers come in a variety, from Original to Sweet Onion – which is what I used in this recipe – and from Cheddar to All Natural White. Apparently, there’s something for everyone.
Also? There’s Butterball Turkey BACON!! ♥
OH! And Dinner Sausages! And deli meat.
Did I say bacon?? Good.
Since my meatballs always bring all the boys to the yard, instead of just throwing a couple of Turkey Burgers on the grill for our Football Party, I did a little soul searching, which resulted in breaking up that meat and rolling it up with an out of this world seasoning that I make all.the.time.
And, just to clear things up, truth of the matter is; it’s not my meatballs that bring the boys to the yard. It’s my husbands 50 football and soccer channels.
These meatballs are a way to keep THEM occupied while I surf around Facebook.
ENJOY!
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Brown Sugar-Glazed Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 package, (2 lbs.) Butterball Sweet Onion Turkey Burgers, thawed
- 1/2- cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
- 1 egg, , lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, , or to taste
- 2 garlic cloves, , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
For the Glaze:
- 1/2- cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Place a baking/wire rack over a baking sheet; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine thawed turkey burgers, bread crumbs, egg, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic and oregano.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix until well combined and thoroughly incorporated.
- Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and place on previously prepared baking sheet. You may have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your baking sheet.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until cooked through.
In the meantime, prepare the glaze.
- In a large, non-stick frying pan, combine brown sugar, white vinegar and rice vinegar.
- Add baked meatballs to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, turning meatballs once half way through cooking, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from frying pan.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Can you substitute rice vinegar for anything else?
Apple cider vinegar closely matches the sweet-to-sour taste of rice vinegar, and white wine vinegar is the next best option.
Can these be made in a crockpot? Or maybe put in crockpot after baking to keep warm?
Hi!
I have not made these in the crock pot so I can’t comment on that, but I definitely know that you can keep them in the slow cooker to keep warm.
I live in Australia so how can I make meatballs from scratch, we haven’t got the ready made frozen turkey meatballs, but would like to make this yummy recipe, any ideas!🇦🇺
Sure! You can use my meatballs recipe, but instead of the ground beef, pork, and veal, you will want to use ground turkey. You can get the recipe right here: https://diethood.com/oven-baked-meatballs/
And, instead of the marinara sauce, use the brown sugar glaze.
I also have this other recipe for Turkey Swedish Meatballs: https://diethood.com/lightened-up-turkey-swedish-meatballs-recipe/
I hope this helps.
If you can only find the plain turkey burgers what seasoning would you recommend adding to make up for not having the sweet onion ones?
Hi!
I would suggest just adding in 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. 🙂
I don’t have any rice vinegar, is there a substitute I could use?
Hi! You can use white vinegar. I hope that helps!
I’m replying with a question on this message because i don’t see where i can add question. You mention a wire rack over a baking sheet. can i just put them on the baking sheet?
Hi!
You definitely can put them on a baking sheet, but, by baking them on the wire rack the meatballs get crispier rather than getting mushy due to sitting in the meat-juices as they bake.
thank you, they are in the oven as I type. I used two baking sheets. I improvised a wire rack on one of them by turning over the top of a broiler pan. i’ll let you know how they turn out.
Hi Katerina:
Well, they were beyond my expectations! I followed your recipe to a T. Just delicious, everyone loved them. thank you!