Name: Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 pound ground turkey; 1 egg; ½ cup panko breadcrumbs; 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp. olive oil; Salt and pepper (to taste)

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These Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs are quick and easy to make, not to mention super tender and flavorful! This is a great all-purpose recipe that can be used in multiple dishes.

White plate of air fryer turkey meatballs on a white background with a blue and white napkin and a white bowl of tomato sauce on the side on the side.

Everyone loves meatballs. They’re so versatile! You can put any type of sauce you want with the meatballs, and it seems like you have an entirely different food.

Use them in marinara, and it’s the classic Italian spin, or you can use teriyaki sauce, and it’s got a bit of an Asian flair. You can use them as an appetizer or a main dish to pair with sides.

These Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs are a great all-purpose recipe. They make 12 larger meatballs, but you can certainly roll them into 24 mini meatballs that you can use as an appetizer. Plus, these meatballs are made in the air fryer, which you know how much I love my air fryer recipes.

Ingredients

Ground turkey: Turkey is one of my favorite meats to make meatballs, but you can certainly substitute other ground meats if you prefer.

Egg: This helps bind the meatball together.

Panko breadcrumbs: This kind of breadcrumb is much bigger than regular breadcrumbs, giving the meatball a less dense and more airy texture.

Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese makes everything better, am I right? I’m all for easy swaps and buying pre-cut things whenever needed, but grating the parmesan yourself yields a superior taste, in my opinion, compared to pre-grated parmesan cheese.

Seasonings: Garlic powder, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce are my go-to seasonings for meatballs.

Olive oil: Since ground poultry is relatively lean, I like to add a little bit of fat back into the meatballs with some olive oil. Fat helps with feeling satisfied from food, which is one of the Intuitive Eating principles. You can skip the olive oil though if you swap for a fattier cut of ground meat like pork or beef.

A black air fryer basket with 4 turkey meatballs inside.

How to Make Air Fryer Meatballs

You can put all of the ingredients in one big bowl. I typically mix everything together with my (clean) hands as it’s much easier to get all of the ingredients evenly distributed rather than using a mixing spoon or spatula. No one wants to bite into a chunk of breadcrumbs because the ingredients weren’t evenly mixed.

Also, don’t overwork the mixture. When you’re mixing together all of the ingredients, be careful not to overmix. If you do, the meatballs might become tough. Mix just long enough for the ingredients to be evenly distributed.

I usually use a cookie scoop or small ice cream scoop to scoop out the mixture from the bowl to get uniform meatballs. They will cook more uniformly when they are uniform in shape.

I preheat my air fryer so that when I put the meatballs in the air fryer, they’ll get a light sear on the bottom. After cooking them for about 10 minutes or until they reach 165 degrees F internally, the air fryer turkey meatballs are ready to be tossed in your favorite sauce.

White plate of air fryer turkey meatballs on a white background with a blue and white napkin on the side.

Why use the Air Fryer for Meatballs?

Air frying works so well because it uses very hot air that circulates rapidly around the food. This allows the food to crisp or sear quickly.

When we sear meat, we lock in the moisture. When moisture seeps out, we can get dried out meatballs, which aren’t pleasant.

Air fryers is just a small convection ovens, but they are an incredibly easy and efficient way of cooking, which is exactly why I have so many air fryer recipes on my site.

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