What Is an Italian Meatball Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis?

Giada de Laurentiis has a recipe for classic Italian turkey meatballs. It’s from the “Meatball Madness” episode of her “Giada At Home” series, which debuted in 2008 and is still running, as of 2015. The total prep time for the recipe is roughly 85 minutes, and it yields four to six servings.

Add 1 cup of plain breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup of finely grated Parmesan, 1/4 cup each of chopped basil and fresh Italian parsley, 1/4 cup of room temperature milk and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste to a large bowl. Also add 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, 2 large room temperature eggs, 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 small finely chopped onion.

Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it’s blended. Add the ground turkey and sausage meat. Gently incorporate the meat and the other ingredients by hand until combined. Shape the meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls using a small ice cream scoop or a cookie scoop. Evenly space the meatballs apart in lines on a heavy nonstick baking sheet. Drizzle the meatballs with olive oil, and bake them until they are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Simmer the cooked meatballs in any pasta sauce. Giada offers an accompanying tomato sauce recipe at FoodNetwork.com. Serve the meatballs with pasta or as an appetizer with grated Parmesan on the side.