Ground Turkey Meal Prep: Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles

Replace your high carb spaghetti cravings with these easy, healthy, and low carb Baked Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles!  This entire meal is clean eating, paleo, gluten-free, under 350 calories, and absolutely delicious!

When it comes to clean eating, finding healthy alternatives is important. Having a balanced diet is also important. I think you all know that limiting the consumption of red meat is recommended when following a healthy diet.

And don’t get me wrong, I love steak, I also love tacos, and beef stew. You get it, I love beef dishes. I also love to add ham or bacon to my omelets or my breakfast sandwiches. Because… you know, YUM. Even though I make these dishes healthy and I can enjoy them guilt-free, I have other high protein dishes I like to make. To keep things balanced, I alternate them with chicken dishes. Or with… turkey dishes. Ground turkey in this case. Which brings me to this post and this delicious Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles recipe I want to share with you.

But first, let me tell you another thing that allows me to maintain my healthy lifestyle. I think you already know what I’m about to say. If you guessed meal prep, congrats! You know me well, my friend.

Meal prep allows me to keep things under control. And to enjoy yummy dishes. I love to open my fridge and to see all the delicious dishes that are there, waiting for me to pick them up from the fridge, reheat them, and enjoy them.

So this post is not only about the Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles recipe, but it’s also about ground turkey meal prep in general. Because ground turkey meals are perfect to have in the fridge. They are healthy, nutritious, lean, and, of course, tasty. They gotta be. Otherwise I wouldn’t be talking about them, ya know?

From how to season ground turkey and what to make with ground turkey to how long does ground turkey last in the fridge and other useful tips, you’ll find the answer to all your ground turkey meal prep questions right here.

Shall we begin?

I think we shall!

HOW TO MEAL PREP WITH GROUND TURKEY

Let me start with the Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles because OMG, it’s such a delicious ground turkey meal. The turkey meatballs are juicy, flavorful and so yum. You have to learn how to make them! Seriously, it’s a must. And then, when you add the spaghetti squash noodles, and homemade marinara sauce, the must becomes an ASAP must!

To make this ground turkey meal prep healthy…

• we have to bake the meatballs instead of deep frying them;
• use almond meal instead of all-purpose flour;
• to make the meatballs juicy and extra delish – we add a little bit of parmesan;
• we use spaghetti squash instead of regular pasta;
• and we make the homemade marinara sauce instead of using canned marinara sauce from the grocery store.

Not that complicated after all, hm?

GROUND TURKEY NUTRITION BENEFITS

Is ground turkey healthy?  Not only is ground turkey healthy, but it also has numerous nutrition benefits. And it’s easy to prep so it’s even better.

Ground turkey nutrition (per cup):

• ~ 150 calories;
• ~ 5 g fat;
• ~ 54 g protein (almost 100% of the daily value of protein recommended);
• phosphorus and selenium;
• vitamin B6.

To sum up, ground turkey is a great lean protein that’s very good for you. This means you should try many ground turkey recipes because they are simply amazing.  Just like with ground beef, make sure to look for LEAN ground turkey when purchasing your ground turkey from the store, however, because not all ground turkey is created equal.

HOW TO COOK GROUND TURKEY

Aside from the Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles recipe that teaches you how to meal prep ground turkey, there are other important things about how to cook ground turkey that I think you should know. Things like…

• ground turkey is cooked when there is no pink color left, basically, when the ground turkey is fully white;
• or the fact that you can make ground turkey change taste with spices, seasoning, and veggies. I’ll explain this later.

But the most important things you should know about how to cook ground turkey are the different cooking methods and different dishes you can make. Because different methods = more ground turkey meal prep ideas. And you know how it goes – having options is always a great thing.

You can…

• make my recipe for Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles. The flavors and taste of the turkey meatballs are simply the best. For realz.
• sautee the ground turkey with a little bit of olive oil breaking it apart with a spoon during cooking. You’ll get ground turkey crumbles that you can use in numerous ground turkey recipes.
• make turkey burger patties and fry them with a little bit of olive oil. Or bake them. Now you can make healthy burgers. Yuuuhuuu!

If you ever wondered what can I make with ground turkey, now you know.

WHAT TO MAKE WITH GROUND TURKEY

And speaking of what to make with ground turkey… you can come up with endless easy ground turkey recipes if you simply substitute beef with ground turkey in your favorite recipes.

• Ground turkey tacos? They are awesome!
• Ground turkey meatloaf? Why not? It’s yummy!
• Burgers? I mentioned this already but seriously YUM! Or make this ground turkey bowl. It’s yummy and easy to make and you don’t have to worry about healthy burger bun alternatives.
• Pasta dishes – also super yummy. For a healthy pasta dish, opt for whole wheat pasta or quinoa pasta.
• Use ground turkey as filling for veggies to make delicious baked meals as I did with this Ground Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats.

HOW TO STORE GROUND TURKEY MEAL PREP

For this particular ground turkey meal prep recipe, I highly recommend glass or plastic meal prep containers. I use glass meal prep containers. I have these if you’re curious. They are eco-friendly, I can reheat the ground turkey meal prep in the meal prep container, and I can wash them in the dishwasher. Convenient, right?

However, if you don’t have meal prep containers, you can still make this healthy ground turkey meal prep. Just use Ziploc bags. Or any airtight container you have.

If you’re wondering how long is cooked ground turkey good for, you should know that, properly stored, ground turkey lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge.

3-4 days without stress over dinner? That’s a good plan! Who’s with me?

TIPS FOR MAKING GROUND TURKEY RECIPES HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS

Making ground turkey recipes healthy doesn’t mean tasteless, boring dishes. But making ground turkey meal prep delicious can be a bit tricky since lean turkey is not high in fat. Which pretty much means is less flavorful. No worries tho’, you can easily change that. You’ll need more than salt and pepper but it’s doable. Here are my tips:

• Use herbs and spices (garlic or onion powder, paprika or cayenne, cumin, oregano etc) to add flavor when making ground turkey recipes healthy;
• Season the ground turkey with salt, pepper, and spices before you start cooking – the flavors will intensify while cooking. Depending on how you cook the ground turkey, you can add more herbs and spices during cooking until your taste buds are happy.
• Add veggies to ground turkey. Not as a side, nope. I’m talking about adding veggies when you make burger patties or when you cook ground turkey to use in tacos or pasta. You can use bell pepper, hot pepper, onion or shallot. For extra flavor – sautee the veggies before mixing them with the ground turkey.

MORE HEALTHY MEAL PREP RECIPES

What do you think about this meal prep with ground turkey? It’s easy, right? Well, how do you feel about more easy-peasy meal prep recipes? For me, the more, the merrier. I hope that’s what you feel too cuz’ I have these recipes ready for you and I know you’ll love them.

EASY SWEET POTATO MEAL PREP – BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES 4 WAYS

You can meal prep full meals, you can meal prep main dishes separately but you can also meal prep sides. Yummy sides like this Easy Sweet Potato Meal Prep – Baked Sweet Potato Fries 4 Ways.

Curious about the flavors? We have Garlic herb, Cajun, Spicy, and Cinnamon Sugar. Pick your favorite and get started. Get the recipes.

HOW TO MEAL PREP – CHICKEN (7 MEALS UNDER $5)

Now that you know how to cook ground turkey and turn it into ground turkey recipes, it’s time to learn How to Meal Prep – Chicken (7 Meals/Under $5)!

Because chicken doesn’t have to be bland and tasteless either. With this meal prep, you get deliciously flavored Cilantro Lime Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sautéed Broccoli. Get the recipe.

SLOW COOKER SHREDDED CHICKEN MEAL PREP

Another great idea for meal prep – Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Meal Prep. Why is it a great idea? Because you can use shredded chicken in many different chicken dishes.

And you have 4 different flavors to choose from – Classic Shredded Chicken, Buffalo, BBQ, and Mexican. Get the recipes.

Ground Turkey Meal Prep: Turkey Meatballs w/Spaghetti Squash Noodles

Ground Turkey Meal Prep: Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles

Replace your high carb spaghetti cravings with these easy, healthy, and low carb Baked Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti Squash Noodles!

For the Turkey Meatballs:

• 1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey breast
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, (grated (plus more for topping))
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley, (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 eggs

For the Spaghetti Squash Noodles:

• 2 large spaghetti squash
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

For the Quick Marinara Sauce:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, (minced)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 fresh basil leaves, (chopped (plus more for topping))

For the Turkey Meatballs:

1. To make the meatballs, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, then set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, almond meal, chopped Italian parsley, grated parmesan, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and eggs, and mix very well.
3. Using your hands, form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs.
4. Place the meatballs into the baking sheet, separating them a by 1 inch so they can evenly bake.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until almost cooked through, and then turn the oven to broil for 3-5 minutes to create a crispy, golden-brown top.

For the Spaghetti Squash Noodles:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
3. Carefully slice the squash in half through the stem. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds and discard.
4. Lightly drizzle the olive oil over the flesh (cut-side) of the spaghetti squash. Then, lightly sprinkle the salt and pepper until evenly coated.
5. Flip the squash over to be cut-side down on the baking sheet.
6. Place on the oven and roast until a fork can easily pierce through the skin and flesh, approximately 45 min – 1 hour.
7. When the squash is cool enough to handle, gently scrape the flesh with a fork to remove it in long strands, and then divide into the bowls.

For the Quick Marinara Sauce:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute or until fragrant.
3. Add the tomato paste, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add crushed tomato, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in basil.

Nutritional information provided is for 1 cup spaghetti squash noodles paired with 5 turkey meatballs.

This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

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* This article was originally published here

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