Prep: 15 Need a comforting, lightened-up recipe for dinner tonight? These Healthy Turkey Swedish Meatballs are savory, delicious, and easy to make. Served in a creamy sauce that’s heavenly, the entire family will love this meal!
When we had our baby, one of our favorite meals that people brought us were meatballs. They’re easy to freeze, they can be paired with a ton of different sides, they’re delicious, and they taste like all things comfort food!
Today, I’m sharing my favorite Healthy Turkey Swedish Meatballs recipe with you guys! This one’s a staple in our household and perfect as a lightened-up freezer meal that can be made in advanced. Whether you’re making these for your family tonight, freezing them for later, or taking them to a friend, this recipe is one of the best!
Tip: Serve these delicious Swedish meatballs with Creamy Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes for a yummy meal that everyone will love!
What you’ll need
This recipe uses chickpeas, ground turkey, eggs, and a slice of whole wheat bread. Another option is to use lower-carb bread (opens in a new tab) or gluten-free bread instead!
How to make Healthy Turkey Swedish Meatballs
Typically, Swedish meatballs are made with ground beef (like these Lebanese BBQ Meatballs). However, today we’re making this recipe with ground turkey for a lower calorie alternative!
- Mash the chickpeas.
- Tear the toasted bread into small pieces.
- Mix all of the ingredients together for the meatballs.
- Roll into meatballs.
- Cook on the skillet (or bake) for about 20-25 minutes!
These meatballs are so easy to make and incredibly yummy!
Keep the meatballs from sticking to your hands by adding a little bit of olive oil on your hands before starting!
To make the Swedish meatball sauce:
We’re lightening up this Swedish meatball sauce by using finely-ground almond flour (opens in a new tab) instead of regular flour and yogurt instead of cream. It comes together so easily and the creamy texture perfectly balances the savory flavors of the meatballs!
- In the same pan that the meatballs were cooked in, melt the butter and bring to a light simmer.
- Add in the flour and whisk to make a paste-like texture.
- Pour the broth and the yogurt into the pan and whisk together until smooth.
- Bring to a simmer and let it reduce/thicken (about 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat).
- Remove from heat and add the meatballs back into the pan!
TIP: To keep the sauce from getting too thick, be sure to keep from over-simmering or from simmering for too long. The sauce will also thicken as it cools!
How to fix sauce that is too thick or too thin
Too thick – simply add more broth (1/4 cup at a time) while the sauce is still cooking and whisk!
Too thin – add in an extra 2 Tbsp of flour (up to 1/4 cup) while the sauce is still cooking and whisk while simmering a couple of minutes longer.
What is traditionally served with Swedish meatballs?
Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with boiled or mashed potatoes. However, they also go great with rice or noodles!
For a lower carb option, try serving them over cauliflower or broccoli rice. Another option is to top them over zucchini noodles!
How to freeze Turkey Swedish Meatballs
To freeze this recipe, place the meatballs and the sauce in an airtight, freezer-safe container. (opens in a new tab) Place in the refrigerator (without the lid) for about 1 hour. Then simply add the airtight lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months!
Be sure to check out the other freezer meals in this series!
- Skinny Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
- Honey Balsamic Chicken & Veggies
- 30-Minute Healthy Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Slow Cooker Pork Chops And Potatoes W/ Apples
Or sign up to grab your FREE EBOOK copy of 6 Healthy Freezer Meals (opens in a new tab) to make them all in one day (with instructions + recipe cards + grocery list)!
Healthy Turkey Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
Turkey Swedish Meatballs
- 1 slice bread (toasted)
- 1/2 cup chickpeas (opens in a new tab) (canned or cooked)
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt/pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil (opens in a new tab)
Swedish Meatball Sauce
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/2 cup almond flour (opens in a new tab) (or flour of choice)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 cups beef broth
Instructions
- Lightly toast the bread and break into small pieces.
- Mash the chickpeas in a food processor or with a fork.
- Combine the bread, chickpeas, turkey, egg, allspice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
- Mix together and roll into meatballs (makes about 16-18 meatballs).
- In a saucepan, add the olive oil and cook the meatballs over medium heat (covered) for about 20-25 minutes or until fully cooked (rotating every 5-7 minutes).
- Remove the meatballs and set aside.
- Place the butter in the same saucepan and melt over medium heat.
- Whisk in the almond flour until a "paste" is formed.
- Immediately add in the yogurt and broth, then whisk until smooth.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and allow to simmer (whisking continuously) for about 7-10 minutes (or until sauce begins to reduce and thicken).
- Remove from heat and allow the sauce to thicken.
- Add in the meatballs, coating each one with the sauce.
- Serve and enjoy or freeze for later!
Notes
- Feel free to use lower-carb bread or gluten-free bread!
- Make sure that the almond flour is super finely-ground for the best sauce consistency.
- Keep the meatballs from sticking to your hands by adding a little bit of olive oil on your hands before starting!
- To keep the sauce from getting too thick, be sure to keep from over-simmering or from simmering for too long. The sauce will also thicken as it cools!
- Too thick? Add more broth (1/4 cup at a time) while the sauce is still cooking and whisk!
- Too thin? Add in an extra 2 Tbsp of flour (up to 1/4 cup) while the sauce is still cooking and whisk while simmering a couple of minutes longer.
Nutrition
Did you make this? I’d love to see!
Tag me on socials at @JarOfLemons (opens in a new tab) or #JarOfLemons (opens in a new tab)
The meatballs were good however I feel like the Turkey is too dry and the sauce was very thick. If the gravy was thinner I would have enjoyed the consistency and texture better.
These were DELICIOUS! The only substitution I made was I used ground chicken vs turkey. They will definitely be in heavy rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for letting me know you made it. Glad you enjoyed!
This has quickly become a staple in our household.
Today I didn’t have plain Greek yogurt so I ended up using sour cream instead, and I also added spinach into the gravy.
This is very very good. My only correction is the proportions of the butter, broth and flour are a bit off. My experience is 1 c liquid + 1 tablespoon flour + 1 tablespoon fat. Using 1/2 cup flour to 2 cups liquid would make the equivilent of wallpaper paste. I adjusted the ratios and the gravy was perfect. Highly recommend these perfect meatballs!
How much nutmeg is used in step 3?
Hi, Rene! SO sorry about this, there shouldn’t be nutmeg in the recipe. That was a mistake and I will get the recipe card updated! Thank you for letting me know and enjoy the recipe!