I love fettuccine alfredo, and I love turkey, so I thought, why not put them together? To keep it simple, which is my M.O., I could have sliced up a turkey breast and added that into the pasta. Easy peasy. I'm sure that would have been delicious. But I wanted to take it one step further. So, I made delicious turkey meatballs, roasted them and tossed them with pasta and alfredo sauce. Amazing! In all honesty, I've been thinking about this dish for weeks now, so I am very excited to have finally made it and to share it with you. This recipe is surprisingly light because the sauce doesn't have nearly as much cream as you would expect. The sauce and the turkey meatballs are a perfect match and exactly what you need for dinner. Okay, enough chit-chat. Let's get to it.
This post is written as a paid partnership with Turkey Farmers Of Canada and thinkturkey.ca
The first step to this dish is to make the turkey meatballs. To do that, combine one pound of ground turkey with one teaspoon of kosher salt (about half a teaspoon if you are using table salt). Add a quarter teaspoon of white pepper, one teaspoon of each fresh chopped rosemary and Italian seasoning, two tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, and one tablespoon of minced garlic. Mix well.
First, to form the turkey meatballs, wet your hands with cold water, then pick up about a tablespoon of the turkey mixture and roll it into a ball. Put the turkey meatball on a lightly oiled roasting pan and continue until all the turkey has been used up. In total, you should get around twenty to twenty-four turkey meatballs. Wet your hands after every fourth or fifth ball to prevent the turkey from sticking.
To cook the meatballs, roast them for fifteen minutes at 400°f. Once the turkey meatballs are roasted, heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add one tablespoon of olive oil and a quarter cup of butter. Wait for the butter to melt and start to foam, then add in the meatballs—Cook the meatballs for two to three minutes or until golden brown on at least two sides.
Before we jump into finishing this dish, I want to talk about alfredo sauce quickly. The alfredo sauce that we are used to is a thick, rich, garlicky cream sauce. The original Italian version of the sauce is just butter and parmesan cheese. The parmesan melts into the butter, and when tossed with the pasta, it makes a creamy, light sauce. Maybe you've seen videos online of people mixing pasta in a giant wheel of parmesan cheese? Well, that is a version of the traditional alfredo. The sauce in this recipe is a cross between the classic sauce and the one we know. There is a little cream in it and a little garlic, but it still much lighter than what you are likely used to. It's not going to weigh you down or make you feel disgustingly full. This lighter version of alfredo sauce pairs perfectly with the lean flavourful turkey meatballs.
Once the meatballs are browned, add one tablespoon (about two cloves) of thinly sliced garlic to the pan and cook, stirring for about one minute or until you really start to smell the garlic.
As soon as the turkey meatballs come out of the oven, start cooking your pasta. For six portions, you want to use a whole (454 g) box. I used gluten-free pasta, but you can use whatever you'd like. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain the pasta and add it into the pan with the meatballs and garlic. Add in one cup of grated parmesan cheese and half a cup of heavy cream. Cook the pasta, stirring and tossing until all of the parmesan has melted and the pasta is coated in the sauce. Finish the pasta by seasoning it with half a teaspoon of kosher salt and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper, then serve.
Note: You can substitute the cream for whole milk if you'd like.
I have wanted to make this dish for a while, and I'm thrilled that I finally got around to it. It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. I hope you try this becasue it is likely something much different than you are used to. The turkey meatballs are bursting with flavour, juicy and tender, and the sauce is light and creamy, with a mild garlic flavour. I really think that you are going to love this. Give it a shot.
Thank you to Turkey Farmers of Canada for sponsoring this post. For more great turkey recipes, check out thinkturkey.ca
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These meatballs were DELICIOUS! We did add about 1/4 cup plain low-sodium Panko bread crumbs. No fresh rosemary available, so we substituted 1/4 teaspoon and tiny pinch of dried. And my husband and I cheated on the Alfredo sauce and used a (semi-healthy) version from a jar. We cooked the meatballs until they were browner and crisper than pictured. Served with a nice romaine salad and sugar-free balsamic vinaigrette. Very quick meal! Next time we will make the Alfredo sauce too