Turkey Meatballs & Pasta in Mushroom Cream Sauce

I’m sure all of you have had the same experience as I did this past week. I see something delicious on a blog and it gets stuck in my head. I keep thinking about it. I add all the ingredients to my shopping list. I’m planning on which day I’m going to make it. I’m anticipating how scrumptious it’s going to be.

I’d had this experience 3 times over the past month. It started with some lovely looking stuffed cabbage on a food blog. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. No one in my house will eat stuffed cabbage. No one. So if I make a pan of it, I better be having a dinner party and if I’m having a dinner party, I’m going to have to make stuffed cabbage and another main course, cause again, no one in my family will eat it. Ugh. So I moved the stuffed cabbage out of my brain….for now.

Next up…the Accounting department where I work has a little Halloween lunch. They all bring homemade goodies. I’m not in the Accounting department, but they like me and I get invited to come and sample said goodies. I immediately see spinach dip with bagel chips. Ok…that’s all I need. Push all the other food aside. I’m all set.

I eat spinach dip for the next 2 day at lunch (there were leftovers) and I still can’t get enough of it. I’m craving dip at 8pm, first thing in the morning, I could eat it for lunch again, but alas, spinach dip is yet another food that my family would turn their noses up at, so I’m waiting for Thanksgiving on that one.



Now on to the meal that I could make, that everyone in the family would eat! Hallelujah!

Joan over at Mayberry Magpie posted this Turkey Meatballs & Pasta with Mushroom Gravy last week, and let me tell you, my heart sang. We’re all about the meatballs in this house and the fact that I didn’t have to bake them separately – even better!

This was absolutely, extraordinarily delicious!

It reminds me of a stroganoff, and Joan's husband thought so too, but it's even better than stroganoff to me, it’s got such great depth of flavor. The mushroom, wine, and cream just sent me over the edge. We LOVED it. All of us, even my picky “I hate mushrooms” kid. He loved it!

This recipe makes a lot. Joan doubled it. The direction here are for the doubled amount. I got about 40 small meatballs from it. We all ate and there were leftovers for the next day…and we ate every single bite of them. I’d half the recipe if you were only making this for 2 or 3 people.

The only change I made was adding leeks – see notes. We all love the taste of leeks so I used one in the meatballs and one in the sauce. I used a sweet Italian Moscota wine.

This recipe is great for a chilly autumn night.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Joan. I know this will be in heavy rotation at my house.



Turkey Meatballs and Pasta in Mushroom Cream Sauce
For the meatballs:
½ cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
2/3 cup milk
2 pounds ground turkey
½ cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
½ cup green onions, finely chopped (I used 1 medium leek, thinly sliced and sautéed)

In the Dutch Oven:
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup green onions (again I used 1 medium leek, thinly sliced and sautéed)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used portabella)
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup white wine
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 pound pasta, cooked according to package directions

Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Combine the ground turkey ½ cup parmesan, eggs, 1 tsp salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, garlic, parsley, ½ cup green onions. Add in the breadcrumb mixture and mix well with your hands. Form into small meatballs. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add remaining ½ cup of green onions, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and sliced mushrooms. Sauté for approximately 5 minutes. Add the flour and continue to stir for 2 more minutes. Add broth and wine, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Gently drop the meatballs into the sauce (It’s ok if they are a little crowded or are in a double layer). Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cream, stir gently and return to a simmer.

Add the drained cooked pasta to the pot and gently stir to combine. Serve with remaining Parmesan cheese.