Turkey Meatballs in an aromatic Moroccan sauce with roasted veg and giant couscous salad

Healthy Turkey Meatballs in a Moroccan meatballs sauce is definitely one of the best ways to enjoy minced turkey. The fact that its high in protein and low in fat is just an added bonus, because these amazing meatballs in this delicious Moroccan sauce taste incredible. A good helping of meatballs and giant couscous contains less than 500kcal, under 2g of saturates, and 2 portions of veggies.

For another Moroccan twist on the nutritious turkey why not check out my Slow Cooker Turkey Tagine?

Meatball sauce

I just love Moroccan Tagine flavours, all that warm, rich, sweet flavour, with prunes and root veggies, and yummy couscous on the side. Its all so moreish and wonderful. For my Moroccan style meatball sauce I use chicken stock, passata, ras el hanout paste, ginger and mixed spice.

A bonus about this dish is that the Moroccan sauce is separate and so its up to you whether the whole lot goes all over the meatballs, or of its drizzled on top of the couscous, or if its kept to the side as a dip.

Personally, I prefer the whole lot poured all over the meatballs with a bit of creme fraiche on the side.

Turkey Meatballs with Moroccan Couscous recipe ingredients

The ingredients you will need to make this recipe are:

For the Cous Cous Salad

150g courgette diced
150g aubergine diced
100g red onion
210g tinned chickpeas (130g drained)
drizzle of oil
black pepper
170g giant cous cous
250ml chicken stock

For the meatballs

500g minced turkey
1 medium egg whisked
40g breadcrumbs
130g pitted prunes roughly chopped
200ml passata
200ml chicken stock
4 teaspoon ras el hanout paste
0.5 teaspoon ginger
0.5 teaspoon mixed spice

How to make Turkey Meatballs

In a large bowl mix together the turkey mince, egg, prunes and breadcrumbs.
Use your hands to form small meatballs from the turkey mixture. Place shaped meatballs onto the large plate.
Place a griddle pan on a high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil.
Gently transfer the meatballs to the heat pan and brown all over - turn the meatballs to give an even colouring
For the sauce add the stock, passata, ras el hanout paste, ginger and mixed spice to a small bowl or jug - mix together well and then pour over the meatballs
Add the Place a lid over the meatball pan and simmer them in the sauce for a good 10 minutes. Ensure meatballs are cooked through (nice a firm) before serving.

How do you keep meatballs from falling apart?

The key to making your meatballs hold together is the egg and the breadcrumbs. The egg and the breadcrumbs combine to bind the meatballs but too many breadcrumbs can dry the meatballs too much and cause the to break. The breadcrumbs should be added to a meatball mix until it can be shaped without feeling too soggy. When these meatballs are browned you should have achieved the Best Turkey Meatballs!

Can you cook meatballs from frozen?

The meatballs in this recipe can be made ahead of time and frozen for a quick evening meal any day of the week. Meatballs should be cooked in the sauce and then cooled and frozen immediately.

The meatballs will keep in the freezer for around 3 months but should be consumed sooner if possible.

Defrost the meatballs and reheat in a pan or a wok until piping hot throughout. serve and enjoy.

The couscous is a really simple salad, which is the perfect accompaniment to these Moroccan meatballs. The veg and chickpeas are roasted in the oven, whilst the giant couscous simmers on the hob. When ready, just mix together and serve.