There’s lemon zest in the meatballs and lemon juice in the sauce making these double lemony. Lemony Turkey Piccata Meatballs and Spaghetti turns the traditional dish into a fun and kid friendly dinner.
Don’t you just love meatballs? They’re bite sized bits of meat fun. Okay. That didn’t sound right. Meatballs are fun. That’s for sure. And they’re bite-sized. Meatballs are just plain fun. Bottom line.
I’ve made quite a few meatballs on my blog. They’re in soups, grilled, and of course with pasta. I even stuffed some into onions. Those were fun but difficult to make.
There is a list of meatballs here.
Lately, I’ve been into mash up type recipes. Where you take an ingredient or technique and put with something unrelated. Sort of like my Italian Beef Pho. Oh and there’s the Moroccan Pad Thai just to make a few. That Pad Thai is so good. I should make that again.
This recipe is sort of like that. It turns the traditional piccata recipe, that’s made with pieces of chicken (or other meat), and turns them into fun meatballs. They have all the flavor of piccata, but not all the complication of making it. Well, some might say it’s not complicated at all and others only make it on special days or for special dinners.
I have to confess that piccata is one of my husband’s signature dishes that he likes to make for special dinners. He gets all his ingredients together and gets to work. It always comes out delicious and it’s not when he cooks a whole meal for me.
Not that he doesn’t cook for me. It’s just typically breakfast with his famous scramble. Man is that good!! Bacon or sausage, celery, peppers, green onions, jalapeno, and mushrooms sauteed and topped with scrabmled eggs. It’s sort of like a frittata that’s scrambled instead of solid. Meaning, we keep turning the eggs until they cook like they’re scrambled but with bits of veg and meat in them. OH yeah. It’s that good.
He also makes a delicious Roman chicken.
But neither the scramble or the Roman chicken have citrus in it. Just the piccata does. It has lemon juice in the sauce that goes over the chicken and the pasta.
Piccata is more of a method of cooking than it is an actual dish. It’s meat, typically chicken or veal, that’s sliced thin, pounded thin, dredged in flour, and then fried in butter and/or olive oil. After the meat cooks, white wine and lemon juice makes the sauce. Everything is garnished with capers before serving. Voila! Piccata!
The history and origin of this dish is a mystery. But, there’s no doubt that piccata (without the chicken or veal in front of it) is a method and not an official dish. It’s probably the Italian Americans that made chicken piccata or veal piccata famous.
You can even find sweetbread piccata, duck piccata, and even wild boar! Thus confirming that it’s more of a method than a traditional recipe. I cannot even imagine sweetbread piccata.
Either way, chicken piccata is just darned delicious!
And so are these lemony turkey piccata meatballs. Which aren’t as lemony as you think. But they do have a double dose of lemon in them. There’s some zest in the meatballs and the juice in the sauce.
Of course, if you’re my husband you’d say they were too lemony. He’s not a huge fan of citrus in anything. Except lemonade. I think he likes lemonade. And, of course, margaritas. You can’t have those without lime juice. I know he likes those. And orange juice itself. So, only citrus that you drink and his piccata.
Not even lemon pound cake or lemon cookies!
I should probably talk about these meatballs now. Don’t they look delicious? And they are quick and easy to whip up any night of the week.
I know I say that a lot, but I do a lot of weeknight cooking. So, most of the recipes I share you can make any night of the week. Because I made them on a weeknight. And I made these on a weeknight!
Prepping the meatballs is easy. You just put all those ingredients in a bowl, stir with your hands, and then form meatballs. I used a cookie scoop or you can use an ice cream scoop to form them and make it easier. Then you round them out a little in your hands and place it on the plate.
When you finish forming the meatballs, just saute them up in the pan like you would the chicken or veal for regular piccata. Since the meatballs aren’t rolled in flour before cooking, you make a slurry for the sauce. This is how the lemon juice and wine gets thickened to cover the pasta.
Lemony turkey piccata meatballs are light and flavorful. Alone, they have a hint of lemon, garlic, and capers. They would make a fun sandwich, I think. Top with some Provolone? Yes? No?
Moving on.
With the sauce and pasta they make for a hearty and delicious dinner for your family. I’d serve with some crusty bread or garlic bread to clean up the flavorful sauce. It’s vibrant and light. The lemon isn’t too acidic. The wine isn’t too heavy. It’s all combine with some chicken stock to make a silky smooth sauce for the meatballs and pasta.
If you don’t want to use wine, you can easily use more chicken stock instead. The wine isn’t required and still makes for a delicious dish either way. I enjoy the layer of flavor that wine gives to the sauce, but it’s really not needed.
Several of us bloggers shared seasonal citrus recipes today. I hope you find some new delicious recipes or a twist to a favorite today. There are some salads, cocktails, a bread recipe, and a couple of entrees. A great variety of recipes.
If you enjoy the recipes and want to join the group, click on the link below the list of recipe and ask to join. We’re always looking for more members to help each other grow!
More meatball recipes:
Lemony Turkey Piccata Meatballs and Spaghetti
Turkey Piccata Meatballs and Spaghetti has all the flavors of the traditional, Italian dish in a fun to serve meatball. They are full of lemon and capers and super easy to make any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 20 ounces ground turkey breast
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/3 cup drained capers, divided
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 8 cups cooked pasta
Instructions
- Combine the ground turkey with bread crumbs, milk, 1/4 cup capers, egg, parsley, and lemon zest.
- Form into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides.
- Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and lemon juice. Simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the remaining capers before serving with the cooked pasta.
Seasonal Citrus Recipes
- Baked Grapefruit Poppy Seed Donuts by Sweet Beginnings
- Citrus Spa Water by Family Around the Table
- Grapefruit Bourbon Smash Cocktail by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Lemony Turkey Piccata Meatballs and Spaghetti by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Meyer Lemon Bourbon Mule by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Meyer Lemon Pound Cake by Cookaholic Wife
- Mini Orange Creamsicle Shots by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Parmesan Chicken with Lemon Rice by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
We share Recipes From Our Dinner Table! Join our group and share your recipes, too! While you’re at it, join our Pinterest board, too!
Jaida ~ Sweet Beginnings says
My mouth is watering just looking at these! I love all things lemon, I am also a big fan of meatballs, and piccata is such a good method with all kinds of meat. Can’t wait to try these!
Chris says
We love piccata and meatballs here, too. Please let me know how you like them.
Jolene says
We love piccata, and serving it up in meatball form is brilliant!
Chris says
Thank you!
Camilla at Culinary Adventures says
We are a huge fan of meatballs! Our around the world cooking adventure would have been called ‘meatballs around the world!’ And yours looks fantastic.
Chris says
I have a few other meatball recipes from around the world, too. Meatballs and egg dishes are in almost every country.
Ellen says
I love chicken piccata. This fun twist looks hearty and delicious.
Chris says
Thank you!
Cheese Curd In Paradise says
The color on these meatballs is wonderful! I would love to dig into a big bowl of this pasta!
Chris says
Thank you! It was definite dig in worthy.
Hezzi-D says
I love me some lemon pasta! The addition of the lemon to the meatballs sounds perfect as well!
Chris says
Just adds that little layer of flavor to tie it all together.
Karen says
This take on piccata sounds delicious! Your meatballs look amazing on that bowl of pasta.
Chris says
Thank you! Meatballs and pasta are always a good thing in our house.