Cellentani with Turkey Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
With the perfect blend of sweet marinara and flavor-packed meatballs this pasta dish will be a new stable in your home, guaranteed!
Ingredients
- 16 oz uncooked Cellentani noodles 1 box or about 6 cups uncooked noodles-option to use any noodle
For the Marinara
- ¼ cups olive oil
- 6 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 cups diced yellow onion
- 29 oz can crushed tomatoes, no salt added (2 - 14.5 oz. cans)
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon water
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- fresh ground pepper to taste
For the Meatballs
- 1 ½ lbs ground turkey
- 1 ½ tablespoon quinoa flour (I grind raw quinoa to make my own)
- ¾ cups shredded parmesan cheese
- ¾ cups minced parsley (or cilantro)
- ¾ cups minced yellow onion
- 3 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ¼ cups shredded zucchini (squeeze out excess liquid)
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Make the Meatballs
- Shred zucchini and squeeze out excess liquid. In a medium bowl, combine zucchini with ground turkey. Add remaining meatball ingredients and mix well using a fork or your hands. Don't overmix.
- Let mixture sit to allow the quinoa to absorb moisture. If possible leave overnight but if not then just let sit as long as possible. If quinoa flour is very fine then you don't need to wait long (5 minutes).
- Roll mixture into small rounds. I use 1 tablespoon scoop per ball but you can make them bigger, it will just decrease the overall amount.
- Start cooking noodles (until al dente).
Baked Meatballs Option
- Spray meatballs lightly with olive oil and bake at 400℉ for 30 minutes on middle rack.
Pan Fry Option
- Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to a large pan. On low-medium heat place meatballs. Cook for approximately 3 minutes covered and then decrease heat slightly.
- After approximately 6 minutes of cooking roll/flip balls with a spoon. After another few minutes decrease heat to Lo and cook covered for another 4-5 minutes until lightly browned.
Make Homemade Marinara Sauce
- Heat a large skillet to medium heat and add 2 tbsp. olive oil. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add spices, canned crushed tomatoes, and water and bring to low simmer. Decrease temperature to Lo for about 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and let sit. Once cooled slightly, Using blender or immersion blender to blend all ingredients until smooth to your liking.
- Choose to combine noodles, marinara, and meatballs together to serve or pour marinara over noodles and top with meatballs.