Penne with Mini Turkey Meatballs
Penne pasta tossed with a homemade marinara sauce made from fresh Roma tomatoes and mini meatballs made with ground turkey, herbs, and spices.

servings: 4
total time: 1 hour
recipe by: Frankie
Ingredients
- THE MEATBALLS:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- THE SAUCE:
- 1 pound fresh Roma tomatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 TBSP freshly chopped basil leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- THE PASTA:
- 1 pound uncooked penne pasta
- freshly grated Parmesan for serving
Directions
- THE MEATBALLS:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large mixing bowl thoroughly mix together all the meatball ingredients. Form the mixture into meatballs about 1-inch in diameter (you should end up with about 25 meatballs). Place meatballs on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
- THE SAUCE:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Rinse the tomatoes and remove any stems. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon transfer the tomatoes from the boiling water (keep the water on the stove boiling for the pasta) to an ice bath and let sit for 5 minutes. Take the tomatoes out of the ice bath and gently remove and discard the skins. Roughly chop the tomatoes and set aside.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic cloves, and onion to a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato mixture to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the basil and salt then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the meatballs. Partially cover the pan and simmer, gently stirring occasionally, while you cook your pasta.
- THE PASTA AND FINISHING UP:
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook your pasta just shy of al dente (firm to the bite). Drain pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl.
- Pour the sauce and meatballs over the pasta and gently toss to combine. Serve pasta with freshly grated Parmesan.
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