Healthy, baked, Turkey Meatballs in this delicious Meatball Parmesan casserole. Move over Chicken Parmesan, there’s a new dinner at the table!
Love easy dinner recipes? Try our Ravioli Lasagna for a quick and easy pasta dish. Or give our Million Dollar Spaghetti casserole dish a try next.
Why This Recipe Works
Everyone loves meatballs! Why not bake them into a casserole with plenty of cheese and spaghetti sauce?
If you’ve never made your own meatballs from scratch, this is the perfect recipe to get you started! Made with ground turkey and parmesan cheese, they’re packed with protein and flavor!
My family loves this casserole on its own with an olive garden salad on the side or served over a bowl of pasta (or zoodles).
You could also serve up some Meatball Sliders for an easy weeknight dinner! Or give our Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe a try.
So many ways to enjoy savory seasoned turkey meatballs any night of the week!
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what you need to make Meatball Parmesan Casserole.
- Ground turkey – Lean ground beef works as a substitute.
- Egg – helps bind the meat with the other ingredients.
- Plain breadcrumbs – Store bought or make your own by pulsing plain white bread in the food processor to form fine crumbs. You could also use panko bread crumbs if you prefer a little more texture!
- Italian seasoning – I use the dried herb blend, but the fresh kind that comes in a tube would work fine as well.
- Parmesan cheese – Freshly shredded or grated–not from a shaker!
- Mozzarella cheese – I prefer to buy it in blocks and grate it myself for best taste and consistency.
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- Spaghetti sauce – Jarred or try this easy homemade marinara sauce.
How to Make Meatball Casserole
For the meatballs:
- Mix the meatball ingredients together and use your hands to roll them into balls.
- Spread them out onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 -25 minutes.
For the casserole:
- Pour half the jar of sauce into a casserole dish, then top with the baked meatballs, remaining sauce and shredded cheeses.
- Bake the casserole covered with foil for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes.
The cheese should be melted and slightly bubbly. Serve hot!
Recipe FAQs
You can bake meatballs ahead of time and then freeze them for later. Freeze the cooled meatballs on the baking sheet for about 30 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container.
When you’re ready to make the casserole, you can add the frozen meatballs right in; you’ll just need to add a few minutes of baking time.
Yes, mozzarella could be used in the meatballs instead of parmesan if preferred.
Sure thing! These meatballs would be delicious with ground beef as well.
Cover the casserole dish with cling plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container. Keep refrigerated until ready to reheat and eat!
Serving Suggestions
You’ll love this meatball casserole all on its own but we also like to mix it up! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
- Meatball Subs – Slice hoagie rolls in half and toast them before piling them high with the saucy meatballs. Add all your favorite sub toppings and enjoy.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti – Have a classic pasta night and ladle the casserole over cooked spaghetti noodles. Top with extra cheese if desired.
- Zoodles– Serve it up low carb style on zucchini noodles instead of pasta.
Looking for a great side dish for Meatball Parmesan Casserole? Make some Cheesy Garlic Bread or Olive Garden Breadsticks.
Or make these for the holidays with a side of sweet potato casserole. Our green bean casserole would be delicious too.
With so many delicious ways to enjoy healthy baked Turkey Meatballs, you’ll never run out of meal ideas the whole family loves.
More Dinner Recipes
- Oven Baked Pork Chops
- Bruschetta Meatballs
- Meatloaf Recipe
- Mississippi Pot Roast
- Margherita Chicken
- More Dinner Recipes
Don’t forget dessert! Give our easy peanut butter balls or banana pudding recipe a try next.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Meatball Parmesan Casserole
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cranks fresh ground black pepper
For the casserole:
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce 24 ounce
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- For the meatballs: In large bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients until combined evenly (I use my hands). Roll into 40 balls (about 1 1/2-2 inches).
- Space evenly on prepared baking sheet. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
- For the casserole: Pour half of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 2qt baking dish. Top with meatballs. Pour remaining sauce over meatballs. Top with shredded parmesan and mozzarella.
- Cover with foil and bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.
- Serve as is, or with a pile of pasta. Also great on a sub sandwich!
Notes
- Swap out the homemade meatballs for frozen meatballs instead.
- You can bake the meatballs ahead of time and then freeze them for later. Freeze the cooled meatballs on the baking sheet, then transfer to an airtight container. When you’re ready to make the casserole, you can add the frozen meatballs right in; you’ll just need to add a few minutes of baking time.
- These meatballs would be delicious with ground beef as well.
- Cover the casserole dish with cling plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container. Keep refrigerated until ready to reheat and eat!
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.
Oops I read the recipe one more time. You need to put the parmesan in the meatballs. What happens if someone can’t have parmesan in any recipes. Is there a way you really need the parmesan. Is there any other substitute. Take care, Sylvia
Good evening to all of you on this page. My question is can you just make the Turkey Meatballs without the casserole. Like only do steps 1 and 2. and forget about the parmesan casserole. Sincerely, Sylvia
I could eat this every day of the week!
I mess up and ussed tomato sauce in sted of prego sauce. I hope it come out no am so xcit to make it. Am cooking it w/garlic knots.
Hope you enjoyed your dinner 🙂
I want to cook the pasta with it. How much sauce would you recommend adding? Precook the pasta? Sorry, I’m new to cooking!
Although I used my own recipe for the meatballs[fresh garlic, parm cheese, bread soaked in milk, It. seasonings, minced onion, It. turkey sausage mixed with the ground turkey], I loved the method., so I guess that’s what my review is about! It looked so good with the bubbling sauce and melted cheese. I also cooked pasta and used extra sauce as you suggested. I had a houseful of family who enjoyed it including the 7 grandkids. Thanks for sharing. I will make again.
Vicky
I love to hear when people use my recipes as a suggestion, or a method. So glad you enjoyed your dinner 🙂
Delicious! Thank you for this recipe! It was super easy to follow and doable on a weeknight. I will make ahead and freeze next time like you suggested. The small meatball size is perfect for my toddler!
Hey Aimee, it’s Joann again I forgot to ask you if you used fresh parmesan or that in the green can, and also did you use all those meatballs in one casserole (I know that was probably a dumb question, but just making sure HaHa)? And about how many did you use in your casserole? So Sorryyyy :(. Thanks again. 🙂
Hey there Aimee, just saw the “Meatball Parmesan Casserole”, and it looks delicious. I do have a question, can you use ground beef instead of turkey? and if so, would I need to change anything or just use the same seasonings and everything you used. 🙂 Thanks so much for any help you can give me. Can’t wait to try this. 🙂
I’m not sure what I did wrong when I made the meatballs. Mine kind of oozed out and got flat on the bottom. So it’s not really meatball casserole, it’s hunk of meat casserole. It tastes good, though!
These are the bomb-diggity of meatballs…seriously! This is the third time I’ve made them and I’m tripling up because they go so fast. I’ve been using the squeeze tube of Italian Seasoning that comes out in a paste form and holy meatballs, the flavoring is just amazing. I like this one so much I might just turn it into meatloaf, and it’ll be the first meatloaf I’ve had since childhood. But it’s that good. Thanks very much for making me into a meatball lover!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Cammie!! Thanks for stopping back over and letting me know, I love to hear when people try my food!!