What do you make with leftover turkey and mashed potatoes? Why Curried Turkey Meatballs, of course! File this recipe under ‘leftover turkey ideas.’ With their golden hue, and ease of eating, it’s hard to stop at just one or two. Sufficiently flavored, they don’t need a dipping sauce, but if you fancy one, I have included the recipe for a yogurt, cardamom and mint dipping sauce.

Who knew leftover Turkey and mashed potatoes could be this delicious and easy to make! These tender bite size Turkey balls have so much flexibility, just scroll down to see how they can be modified.

With each Turkey Meatball coming in at 70 calories and only 3 g of fat, these are a healthier alternative to beef or pork meatballs.

Following the recipe below will produce paleo Turkey Meatballs (some paleo diet followers will not eat mashed potatoes while other followers will.)

Ingredients

Leftover cooked Turkey: a mixture of white and dark meat is ideal. No skin or bone.
Mashed potatoes: add a little butter to them if they do not originally contain butter.
Garlic: fresh, preferably organic.
Garlic powder: granulated.
Curry powder: I used yellow curry powder.
Egg: fresh.
Oil: high temp oil, I used avocado oil.

Instructions How To Make Turkey Curry Meatballs

Remove garlic skins from the cloves of garlic. Save these skins to make Vegetable Stock . Cut garlic cloves into smaller pieces.

Pour oil to a preheated pan on medium heat.

Place the garlic into the preheated oil and sauté until golden brown.

Add the turkey meat to a food processor bowl. Pulse meat for 1-2 minutes until well blended.

Add the mashed potatoes.

Add the egg, garlic, curry powder and garlic powder.

Pulse for about 30 seconds, or as long as it takes to mix everything well.

With your hand or using a small food scooper, scoop out some of the turkey mixture and form into a ball. Feel free to make mini Turkey Meatballs.

In the same pan you sautéed the garlic, add a little more oil to it, preheat it and add the turkey balls in to sauté.

While the turkey balls are cooking, prepare the dip. You will need 4 oz Greek yogurt, 1 tsp dried mint and 1 tsp ground cardamom.

Add the spices to the yogurt and mix.

Add salt to taste.

Flexibility with the Ingredients for this Turkey Balls Recipe

Use any cooked meat, with chicken being the best substitute. Simply swap out the turkey with cooked chicken, pork, beef, duck and even fish.

Ground turkey meatballs (or chicken) can be made using this recipe with some adjustments. Cook the meat first. Preheat a little high temp oil over a medium heat, add the ground turkey or chicken and cook until the meat reaches 165 degrees F / 75 degrees C when using a digital thermometer. Instead of adding pre cooked shredded turkey, you’ll be adding cooked ground turkey (or chicken). Continue on following the recipe.

Add Thai spices to make Thai Curry Turkey Meatballs, instead of the yellow curry powder, for a slightly different flavor profile. Serve these Thai Turkey Meatballs with a sweet chili dipping sauce.

Or, make the Turkey Meatballs as outlined above and add them into an Indian or Thai curry sauce. Serve these curry Meatballs over rice, or with pita bread. My favorite Turkey Meatballs curry is in coconut curry sauce.

If you want to move away from the curry theme, there are other menu possibilities with these Turkey Meatballs:

By omitting the curry powder and maintaining the garlic presence, these Turkey Meatballs can be used like any meatball.

Add a marinara sauce for an Italian theme. Serve with pasta or use them for a sub sandwich.
Pesto sauce turns these Turkey Meatballs into an irresistible finger food.
BBQ sauce is an obvious addition to these Turkey Meatballs.
Chipotle seasonings and /or sauce will take these Turkey Meatballs in a Mexican direction.
Popular herbs, either dried or fresh, such as oregano and thyme, along with a little feta will give you Greek overtones. Pita bread and tzatziki sauce are must have accompaniments.

Alternative Methods of Cooking Curried Turkey Meatballs

In this recipe Turkey Meatballs from leftover turkey, were cooked by pan frying in a little oil. Alternative ways to cook them is:

Air fryer Turkey Meatballs. Prepare the Meatballs and instead of shallow frying in a pan of oil, these Turkey Meatballs can be brushed with oil and placed in an air fryer for about 6-8 minutes at 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C. As the meat is already cooked, the goal is to get some color on the balls.
Baked Turkey Meatballs are also individually brushed with oil and are placed in a 400 degrees F / 205 degrees C preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Storage

Store leftover Meatballs in an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The US Department of Agriculture recommends storing leftover turkey for 3-4 days. Reheat leftover Turkey Meatballs in the air fryer, or microwave. Be sure an internal temperature of 165 degrees F / 75 degrees C is reached using a digital thermometer.

Freeze Curried Turkey Meatballs for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and reheat using the above directions.

Similar Recipes

Skillet with Gluten Free Meatballs in tomato sauce, with cheese and spaghetti.

Meatballs made from beef and toasted oats to make them gluten free, are an alternative to Turkey Meatballs.

Another use of a leftover, is using leftover Meatloaf to make a slider. Slather baconnaise thickly on both sides of the slider bun and top with crispy onions.