Our flavorful and juicy Thanksgiving Meatballs are smothered in gravy and perfect for enjoying over mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce! Thanksgiving Day leftovers were the inspiration for this delicious dinner recipe and we can’t wait for you to enjoy it!
The Best Thanksgiving Meatballs
Thanksgiving Day is one of our all-time favorite holidays and we always make plenty of turkey and side dishes to not only feed everyone at our holiday table but to also have a lot of leftovers! All the side dish leftovers were definitely the inspiration for these tender Thanksgiving meatballs that have all the best flavors that you know and love. Highly recommend serving this meatball recipe over warmed up potatoes, stuffing, and a side of cranberry sauce. Or you can easily make stovetop versions of those side dishes for an epic dinner that the whole family will love!
Looking for More Cozy Meatball Recipes?
If you love delicious meatballs as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Swedish Meatballs!
What You Will Need
- slices of bread – just two pieces of your favorite bread to help keep the meatballs super tender.
- cream – any type of creamer would work here – heavy whipping cream, half & half, or a dairy-free alternative.
- ground turkey & ground pork – a combination of ground meat that are perfect for this meatball recipe.
- wild rice & dried cranberries – classic ingredients that go in so many different classic Thanksgiving recipes.
- large egg – the binding agent that holds everything together.
- shallots – just a little bit for that mild onion flavor.
- onion powder, garlic powder, ground sage, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt and pepper – a combination of seasonings that bring so much great flavor!
- unsalted butter – melt butter in the large skillet to begin making a creamy gravy for serving on top.
- all-purpose flour – option to swap out for gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour.
- turkey broth – we found turkey stock at our local grocery store, but can be swapped out for homemade turkey broth or chicken broth.
- optional serving suggestions: cooked mashed potatoes, stuffing, and/or cranberry sauce.
How To Make Thanksgiving Meatballs
The first steps to making this easy recipe are to gather all of the ingredients.
Now, put two slices of bread in a large bowl and pour your creamer of choice over the top. Let them soak for 5-10 minutes. Break apart with a fork and then add the rest of the meatball ingredients to the bowl.
Use a cookie dough scoop to help form into equal sized meatballs and roll in your hands. Place the meatballs in an oven safe skillet or pan and bake at 375 degrees F for 22-24 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked meatballs from the hot pan and set aside. Bring the large skillet to a medium heat, add butter to melt and then whisk in the flour. Gradually pour in the turkey broth, whisking continuously. Add in the salt and pepper, whisk again. Simmer to your desired consistency.
Toss the meatballs back in the pan with the gravy and stir to coat. Serve any way you want!
Best Ways To Serve Thanksgiving Meatballs
Our whole family loves all the flavors of Thanksgiving! There is nothing better than piling them all together and pouring a generous amount of gravy over the top. That was the inspiration here and our favorite way to serve them. In a big bowl, add mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and then the meatballs with gravy!
Option to Sear Meatballs
If you prefer a sear on your meatballs, feel free to skip the oven option and cook them on the stove top instead. Take a large cast iron skillet and add just enough olive oil to thinly coat the pan. In batches, sear the meatballs on medium-high heat and then let cook on medium heat until cooked through (approx. 10-15 minutes). Internal temp should reach 165 degrees F. Then remove the meatballs from the skillet and take a little extra broth to deglaze the pan and then continue making the gravy. The color of the gravy with the stove-top version might be a little darker than if you bake the meatballs.
Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram and TikTok account for some behind-the-scenes action and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more delicious recipe tutorials! Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!
Other Meatball Recipes You Might Like
- Meatballs and Rice
- Meatballs and Dumplings
- Saucy Italian Meatballs + Parmesan Orzo
- BBQ Meatballs
- Smoked Meatballs
Thanksgiving Meatballs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Stovetop + Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our flavor-packed Thanksgiving Meatballs recipe is a fun way to serve all those Thanksgiving flavors in one bowl for an easy weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 2 slices of bread (any type of bread, we used white bread)
- 1/4 cup dairy-free unsweetened unflavored creamer or half-&-half
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/3 cup wild rice, cooked
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries (craisins), chopped
- 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Gravy:
- 4 tablespoons butter (sub plant-based butter)
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups turkey broth (sub chicken broth)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Serving (optional):
- cooked stuffing
- mashed potatoes
- cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (See: Notes for stove top/sear option)
- Meatball Mixture: Put the bread slices and creamer in a large bowl. Let it soak for 5-10 minutes. Use a fork to break the bread apart and then add the rest of the meatball ingredients to the bowl. Mix everything to fully combine.
- Form Meatballs: Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to form 1 1/2 tablespoon meatballs and roll between your hands. Continue this process with the rest of the meatball mixture and place the meatballs in a single layer in a large cast iron skillet or braiser that can go in the oven.
- Bake: Move the large skillet to the preheated oven to bake for 22-24 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 165 degrees F (use a meat thermometer).
- Optional Serving Suggestions: While the meatballs bake, it is the perfect time to make the stuffing, mashed potatoes, or any other items that you plan to serve with the meatballs and gravy. Or make these when you have lots of holiday leftovers to warm up.
- Make Gravy: Once the meatballs are fully cooked, carefully remove them from the oven and use a slotted spoon to remove meatballs from the hot skillet – set aside. Do NOT drain the grease. Bring the large skillet to a medium-high heat and add butter to melt. Whisk in the flour to create a paste or roux. Gradually pour in the turkey broth, a half cup at a time, whisking continuously to make a thick and creamy gravy. Whisk in the salt and pepper, taste and make any desired adjustments. If you prefer a thicker gravy, let it simmer for a little bit and if you prefer a thinner gravy, add a little more broth.
- Combine: Add the cooked meatballs back to the hot pan and toss in the gravy to fully coat.
- Serve: Highly recommend serving these meatballs in a bowl with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce with plenty of gravy on top!
Notes
- Stove Top Variation: If you prefer a sear on your meatballs, feel free to skip the oven option and cook them on the stove top instead. Take a large cast iron skillet and add just enough olive oil to thinly coat the pan. In batches, sear the meatballs on medium-high heat and then let cook on medium heat until cooked through (approx. 10-15 minutes). Internal temp should reach 165 degrees F. Then remove the meatballs from the skillet and take a little extra broth to deglaze the pan and then continue making the gravy. The color of the gravy with the stove-top version might be a little darker than if you bake the meatballs.
- Holiday Leftovers: If you have a lot of leftovers from a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner, like stuffing, mashed potatoes, & cranberry sauce, we highly recommend making these Thanksgiving Meatballs for dinner and serving in a bowl with all those delicious side dishes!
- Side Dishes: If you don’t have leftovers, you can make our Stove Top Stuffing, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and Cranberry Sauce. Store-bought or instant versions of these work great too and are so easy!
- Creamer: We used NutPods Non-Dairy Creamer, but feel free to use half-&-half, heavy cream, or any other non-dairy alternative.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 307
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 510 mg
- Fat: 17.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Protein: 19.2 g
- Cholesterol: 98.1 mg
Leave a Rating & Comment