Healthy Turkey Meatballs and Shishito Peppers

I love using ground turkey for my meal preps. It’s nice to switch it up a bit and turkey is leaner than beef but still has big flavor. This meal prep recipe for healthy ground turkey meatballs is easy to make, moist and juicy, and makes 5 servings for meal prep. It’s not every day you see baked turkey meatballs that are seasoned with raisins and pepitas, but they add big flavors and textures to this recipe.

The meal prep is served with charred shishito peppers (which I get from at Trader Joe’s) and my take on Mexican rice and beans using quinoa. The entire meal prep is easy to make and a great way to use ground turkey in a recipe. I would highly recommend using ground turkey thighs for this recipe as they have more flavor than breasts and won’t dry out as easily. Once again, I buy my turkey at TJ’s. Jeez..they need to start paying me for giving them so much love!

How To Make Ground Turkey Meatballs

I wanted to give these baked turkey meatballs a Mexican flavor, so I seasoned them with ancho chile powder (not too spicy), cumin, cilantro, and the kicker are the raisins and pepitas (Mexican pumpkin seeds). The combination of these seasonings adds moisture, sweetness, and ensures that the baked turkey meatballs don’t dry out – something that can easily happen with lean ground turkey. Like I mentioned before, use ground thighs for this recipe. You will thank me later 😉

I think what gives the turkey meatballs such good flavor is a quick sear in a hot pan before getting baked in the oven. Yes, you can skip this step and place the turkey meatballs on a sheet tray ad bake them, but you are missing out on the opportunity to add massive flavor by searing the meatballs and forming a golden brown crust. Just like when you sear a steak, that layer of crusty goodness adds so much flavor. Don’t you want that in your baked turkey meatballs, people!? The entire meatball recipe makes enough for 5 servings of meal prep for the week.

How Do I Cook Shishito Peppers?

My wife loves to order shishito peppers whenever she sees them on a restaurant menu. Don’t get me wrong.  I love those sweet and spicy little peppers too, but I don’t like paying $8 for it. Once I realized that TJ’s sold shishito peppers in their store for $2 per pack, I won’t let Dessi order them at restaurants anymore! There I go again, you owe me one, TJ’s.

All you have to do to make really tasty shishito peppers at home is have a smoking hot pan with a touch of oil in it. Toss the peppers in and let them blister for 4-6 minutes until the exterior looks charred and the interior is soft. Get them out of the pan and season with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, and you will never order them out at restaurants ever again!

Easy Weight Loss Recipes For Meal Prep

This meal prep recipe is perfect for weight loss because we are using lean ground turkey to make the meatballs. Plus we swapped out starchy rice and are using quinoa to mix with the black beans. Each meal prep serving has 563 calories and 23.2 grams of fat, and the meals are very satisfying.

The recipe makes 5 servings of meal prep for the week that can last in the fridge for 5 days or can be frozen for 2-3 months. The best way to reheat the meal prep is in a 350 degree F oven for 7-10 minutes. If using a microwave, cover the container with a wet paper towel and make sure not to over-heat as the turkey meatballs will get dry.

Here are some other ground turkey recipes you need to check out:
Loaded turkey Meatloaf with Cauliflower Rice Pilaf
Moroccan Turkey Kefta with Honey Glazed Carrots & Herby Couscous
Epic Double Turkey Cheeseburger with Low Carb Cloud Bread Bun