This Turkey Meatballs with Mashed Cauliflower is a delicious meal. The meatballs are made with parmesan cheese and almond flour. The mashed cauliflower has a perfectly smooth texture that you and your family will love.
I just came back from Boston and I can’t say enough how much I love that city. It’s so beautiful, charming, and vibrant! I love the fact that it’s a small city, but at the same time, feels big. It has everything that a metropolis can offer!
People are so friendly and there are lots of things to do. And I can’t forget to mention about the lobster rolls. O.M.G. What is that? AMAZING!
We went to visit my auntie, uncle, and cousins for 8 days and they loved to be with Thomas, my 15-month-old adorable boy. They live in a house with a huge backyard, perfect for an energetic little boy like my son to explore. Thomas loved the green space they have there, especially the neighbor who has a horse farm. How fun is that?! We could even give food to the horse. So cool!
My auntie had a BBQ party at her place and she also made some traditional Brazilian food that was so good! Thomas and his cousin Sophia played a lot and had fun together. I was very excited to see my son so happy like that. The weather wasn’t very good but we had a few days of sunshine and blue sky. I really can’t complain. The trip was great and I can’t wait to go back there again.
Now I’m back to share with you these delicious and easy-to-make recipe. I have to say this is a meal you can eat without feeling guilty. It’s loaded with good-for-you ingredients and it’s very flavorful.
The mashed cauliflower is insanely good and I can even say that it’s just as tasty as the traditional mashed potatoes. Believe me! It’s packed with flavors from the cauliflower, parmesan cheese, butter, and garlic powder. This time I steamed (instead of boiling) the cauliflower and I also made it using a hand blender, avoiding the soupy texture that some mashed cauliflower recipes can have. These two tips created a perfect creamy texture to my mashed cauliflower!
I cannot get enough of meatballs! You’re definitely going to find a ton of meatballs on the blog here, like my Baked Meatballs Casserole, Meatball Soup, Ground Turkey Meatballs with Veggies, Baked Meatballs Casserole, and Spaghetti Squash With Meatballs! Seriously, meatballs are such an easy meal! Plus they’re freezer-friendly.
Anyway, for this recipe, I didn’t fry or sauté them. I decided to bake to save some calories. These are seasoned very well and they are very tender and juicy. These meatballs are also good in the freezer for up to six months. When you are ready to eat them, just toss them in a simmering sauce or heat them in the microwave.
Turkey Meatballs with Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
For the Mashed Cauliflower
- 1 medium head of cauliflower
- 1 tbsp chicken broth or milk
- 1 tbsp butter
- ¼ parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
For the meatballs
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Marinara sauce to serve
Instructions
For the Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix well.
- Use your hands to mix everything together and roll the mixture into meatballs.
- Place the meatballs on the baking sheet, separating them a little bit so they can bake evenly.
- Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until they are evenly brown. (This recipe makes 22 meatballs.)
For the Mashed Cauliflower
- Steam the head of cauliflower by filling a large pot with about 2 cups of water and place a steamer basket in the bottom.
- Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile cut the cauliflower head up into large pieces and remove the stem from the cauliflower.
- Place the cauliflower into the steamer basket.
- Cover the pot and steam until the cauliflower is fork tender (6-8 minutes).
- Remove from the heat and let the cauliflower cool down for 5 minutes.
- Place the steamed cauliflower in a bowl and add the chicken broth or milk. Using an immersion blender mash the cauliflower. (You can also use a food processor if you prefer.)
- When the cauliflower is completely smooth, add butter, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Taste to adjust the seasoning.
- To serve: Serve a big scoop of mashed cauliflower with 3 turkey meatballs and marinate sauce on top.
Notes
- Do not over mix the meatball mixture as it will become dense.
- When shaping the meatballs, do not squeeze them tightly together or they will become really dense.
- You can use a cookie scoop so the meatballs are uniform.
- To store: You can store leftover meatballs and mashed cauliflower in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- To reheat: Simply microwave the leftovers to quickly heat them up.
- To freeze: You can freeze the meatballs before or after baking them. Freeze them on a lined sheet pan before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I am ALL about the meatball life lately! These look absolutely amazing. Perfect as a poppable snack, party app or main dish!
Exactly! I love them as a snack too 😉
Your trip sounds so fun – I love that your little one got to feed a horse!! I also love this lightened-up version of classic comfort foods! Yum!
Thanks for stopping by 😉
I’ve tried this recipe 2 times and failed each time. Idk what I’m doing wrong but its discouraging
Malinda, what didn’t work exactly? The meatballs or the mashed cauliflower?
This sounds great!! What is a great substitute for almond meal?
You can use breadcrumbs if you are not on low-carb/paleo/whole30 diet, or Panko for gluten-free. You also can use flaxseed flour.
If using panko would I use the same amount of panko as almond flour?
Yes it’s the same amount.
I made the meatballs, I wasn’t paying attention and used 1 lbs of Turkey instead of two, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup or so of flax meal, 1/4 cup parmesan, chopped onion and the seasonings. I had never used the flax meal before. I was scared they were going to be too wet cuz the meat mixture was really loose, but they turned out so good and moist!!! They were delicious, I pan fried them in olive oil till browned up, then simmered in a quick marinara sauce. I didn’t make the mash, but am looking forward to trying that out soon. Thanks for the recipe!!! And myvmistake actually worked out. Haha!
That’s awesome, Annalisa. Flax meal is very good when we are making low-carb recipes. Happy to hear you enjoyed them 😉
I tried the mashed cauliflower, and I was surprised that it really tasted awesome. My husband even liked it and wants me to make the recipe again. I give 5 stars and thanks for sharing! Now I plan to try the meatballs, and I’ll be back with my star report. 😁
That’s awesome. So happy to hear that. Hope you try the meatballs recipe too. It’s delicious 😉
We served the meatballs with spaghetti for the on carb-ers, and zoodles for me, the low carb-er with spaghetti sauce over top. The spaghetti sauce saved the meatballs for sure. I don’t know what I did incorrectly, but my meatballs were so dry. Luckily with a little sauce, it’s no biggie. The family enjoyed the dinner juuuust fine 🙂 Thank you for sharing your recipe with us, and if you have any tips on what I can do next time to keep the meatballs moist, I gladly welcome the tips!
You can add a little bit of almond milk.
Recipe was great!! I was thrown off a little as I got the recipe via a b & w print from my friend..I was not sure what marinate sauce was but pulled it up on my phone and saw the color picture was a marinara sauce..thanks for the great recipe!!
Thanks for pointing it out. I just fixed it on the recipe box.