Apricot Sesame Turkey Meatballs

Apricot Sesame Turkey Meatballs are basically the best weeknight meal I can think of! They come together quickly, are super tasty, and make the most perfect leftovers!

I love any kind of meatballs but turkey meatballs are my favourite. By the way, you can just ground chicken too! 

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Meatballs are so versatile and can be used in a variety of dishes.

Instead of smothering these turkey meatballs in the delicious apricot sesame sauce, you can leave the sauce out and they would go great with any type of pasta, or you could even toss them in with your favorite stir fry! 

Freezer Meal

If you like freezer meals, and just like taking steps to make your life easier in general then do yourself a favour and make a double batch of these babies and freeze them! 

Make sure they are fully cooked and cooled, then toss them in a freezer bag with or without the sauce and freeze them for up to 3 months! Then when you are ready to eat them, toss them in the crockpot or oven to reheat, as soon as they are hot, they are ready to eat! 

Making the Meatballs 

In a large mixing bowl, add in the ground turkey, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, pepper, salt, egg, breadcrumbs, and green onions. 

Using your hands or a spatula, mix all of the ingredients together until well combined. 

Pinch off a golf ball sized piece of the mixture and roll it into a ball and repeat until all of the meatballs are rolled. 

To Cook the Meatballs

In a large heavy bottomed skillet or cast iron pan, add the cooking oil and cook the meatballs until browned and fully cooked. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Flip the meatballs regularly to ensure that they are being cooked on all sides.

Making the Apricot Sesame Sauce

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the apricot preserves, white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, water/cornstarch mixture, toasted sesame seeds and salt. 

Toasting Sesame Seeds

If you can’t find toasted sesame seeds at the grocery store, you can make them with plain sesame seeds! 

To make toasted sesame seeds, add plain sesame seeds into a shallow fry pan. Over medium heat, tossing regularly, cook until the sesame seeds start to brown. This will take about 3-5 minutes. 

The sesame seeds brown very quickly, so you have to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. 

Back to the sauce

In a medium sized saucepan heat the extra virgin olive oil, add in the garlic and ginger, saute for 30 seconds until fragrant.  

Add the apricot sauce mixture into the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stirring regularly, heat until sauce has thickened, this takes about 5 minutes. 

Pour the apricot sesame sauce over top of the cooked turkey meatballs. Reheat if necessary and serve.

Serve the apricot sesame turkey meatballs over rice or quinoa and enjoy!

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Apricot Sesame Turkey Meatballs

Yield: 6 servings

Apricot Sesame Turkey Meatballs are the best weeknight meal I can think of! They come together quickly, are super yum, and make the most perfect leftovers!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Turkey
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ½ teaspoon Cumin
• 2 teaspoons Oregano
• ½ teaspoon Paprika
• ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• 1 large Egg
• ¾ cup Breadcrumbs
• 4 Green Onions, finely diced
• ¼ cup Cooking Oil, of choice

Apricot Sesame Sauce

• ¾ cup Apricot Preserves
• 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• ⅔ cup Water + 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch, mixed together
• 2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds, see tip
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic, minced (about 5 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger, minced

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the ground turkey, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, pepper, salt, egg, breadcrumbs, and green onions. Using your hands or a spatula, mix all of the ingredients together until well combined.
2. Pinch off a golf ball sized piece of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat until all of the meatballs are rolled.
3. In a large heavy bottomed skillet or cast iron pan, add the cooking oil and cook the meatballs until browned and fully cooked.

Apricot Sesame Sauce

1. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the apricot preserves, white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil, water/cornstarch mixture, toasted sesame seeds* and salt.
2. In a saucepan heat the extra virgin olive oil, add in the garlic and ginger. Saute for 30 seconds until fragrant.
3. Add the sauce mixture into the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stirring regularly, heat until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
4. Pour the apricot sesame sauce over top of the cooked turkey meatballs. Reheat if necessary and serve.

Notes

Tip*- If you can’t find toasted sesame seeds at the grocery store, you can make them! To make toasted sesame seeds, add plain sesame seeds into a shallow fry pan. Over medium heat, tossing regularly, cook until the sesame seeds start to brown. The sesame seeds brown very quickly, so you have to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

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