Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus

This Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus is a perfect midweek dinner, for nights when you’re short on time but still want to make your family a hearty meal. It comes together quickly and incorporates a store-bought Alfredo sauce shortcut.

I usually cook everything from scratch, as I think it typically tastes better, but I’ve been known to make exceptions occasionally, especially, when I’m on the run and need to make a dinner quickly. One of the shortcuts that I’m willing to use in my kitchen are good pasta sauces.

Recently I discovered that my favorite pasta sauce brand makes an Alfredo sauce in organic version, so I stock up on them (I love organic stuff and I will always chose it over non-organic).

For these turkey meatballs I used exactly the same ingredients as in this recipe for Buffalo Turkey Meatballs. The difference here is that I covered these meatballs with Wondra flour and then browned them on the pan, instead of baking.

I’ve loved using Wondra flour ever since I made this Jacques Pepin Chicken with Garlic & Parsley. I also used it in this recipe for Pan Fried Haddock Mediterranean Style. This flour is super fine and can make a wonderful crust on meat or fish.

I came up with this quick Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus for 3 reasons:

1. It’s spring (finally) and everybody prefers to stay outside rather than in the kitchen. So, quick and easy dinner ideas are something that a lot of people like;
2. It’s also asparagus season and this is such an easy way to incorporate this amazing veggie into your diet; (PS, if you too are an asparagus lover, you may want to check my super easy Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese recipe);
3. It’s kid friendly – pasta, meatballs and cheesy sauce is something most kids enjoy eating. By sneaking in some asparagus, you may be able to convince some them that veggies are actually good.

What’s actually in these Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus?

For the meatballs:

• Ground turkey;
• Egg;
• Panco breadcrumbs;
• Onion;
• Grated Parmesan Cheese;
• Parsley;
• Worcestershire sauce;
• Salt, pepper & garlic powder;
• Wondra flour;
• Ghee or cooking oil for frying

For Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus whole dish:

• Turkey meatballs, featured above; (Tip: for even easier version of this dish you could also use store-bought Turkey meatballs;
• Penne pasta (obviously you can use whatever pasta you’d like, but I like penne because I it can trap the sauce in the little holes);
• Store bought Alfredo Sauce; (if you want to forgo a store bought sauce, you can use my recipe for a garlic parmesan sauce which I used for this Tuscan Style Chicken and Potatoes – simply omit the spinach and sun dried tomatoes; OR you can use Rea Drummond, The Pioneer Woman recipe from Food Network)
• Asparagus; &
• Parsley.

Now I will walk you through an easy step-by step for this Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus recipe (printable recipe can be found below);

1. Combine ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, grated onion, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and garlic powder into a bowl;
2. Mix everything gently with a fork (Tip: you don’t want to overdo the meat, which is why it’s super easy to do this using a fork);
3. Form little meatballs, the size of a tablespoon (Tip: water your hands so the meatballs don’t stick and it helps you in forming nice balls)
4. Place Wondra flour on a plate and start covering the meatballs;
5. Cover each ball with the flour on all sides;
6. Continue until all the meatballs are fully covered with Wondra;
7. Heat up ghee or cooking oil in a pan and add your meatballs. Brown the meatballs on each side;
8. Prepare your asparagus spears by cutting off all the tough ending parts (Tip: snap one at the part where it naturally break to the remove tough part and then cut the rest of the spears at approximately the same length); Then cut the spears into smaller pieces so they can be consumed in one bite;
9.  Add Alfredo sauce to the pan with meatballs and cook for couple of minutes until the meatballs are cooked through;
10. In the meantime boil pasta according to instructions and add asparagus 2 minutes before pasta should be done; Then drain in a coriander;
11. Add pasta and asparagus to the pan with meatballs and Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

I am confident that your family will love this dish too. So, if you short on time and have all the ingredients handy, just make this Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus and enjoy!

Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus

This Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus is a perfect midweek dinner, for nights when you're short on time but still want to make your family a hearty meal. It comes together quickly and incorporates a store-bought Alfredo sauce shortcut.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 624kcal

Author: Edyta

Ingredients

• 1 lbs Turkey Ground
• 1/3 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 Onion Large, grated or 1/2 small one
• 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley Chopped; + more for garnish
• 2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Salt Kocher or Himalayan
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 jar Alfredo Sauce
• 1 cup Asparagus spears cut; about 10-12 spears
• 2 cups Penne Pasta dry
• 1/2 cup Wondra flour
• 3 tbsp Cooking Oil or Ghee for browning the meatballs
• Freshly Ground black pepper as much or as little as you like

Instructions

• Combine ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, grated onion, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and garlic powder into a bowl;
• Mix everything gently with a fork (Tip: you don't want to overdo the meat, which is why it's super easy to do this using a fork);
• Form little meatballs, the size of a tablespoon (Tip: water your hands so the meatballs don't stick and it helps you in forming nice balls)
• Place Wondra flour on a plate and start covering the meatballs;
• Cover each ball with the flour on all sides;
• Continue until all the meatballs are fully covered with Wondra;
• Heat up ghee or cooking oil in a pan and add your meatballs. Brown the meatballs on each side;
• Prepare your asparagus spears by cutting off all the tough ending parts (Tip: snap one at the part where it naturally break to the remove tough part and then cut the rest of the spears at approximately the same length); Then cut the spears into smaller pieces so they can be consumed in one bite;
•  Add Alfredo sauce to the pan with meatballs and cook for couple of about 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through;
• In the meantime boil pasta according to instructions and add asparagus 2 minutes before pasta should be done; Then drain in a coriander;
• Add pasta and asparagus to the pan with meatballs and Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes

Nutrition Facts

Turkey Meatballs Alfredo Pasta with Asparagus

Amount Per Serving

Calories 624 Calories from Fat 225

% Daily Value*

Fat 25g38%

Saturated Fat 10g63%

Cholesterol 172mg57%

Sodium 1514mg66%

Potassium 441mg13%

Carbohydrates 64g21%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 32g64%

Vitamin A 440IU9%

Vitamin C 4mg5%

Calcium 47mg5%

Iron 3.3mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 624kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 172mg | Sodium: 1514mg | Potassium: 441mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 440IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3.3mg

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