Turkey Pumpkin Meatballs with Creamy Harvest Tomato Sauce

Its Thanksgiving week!! I usually get the question if I am meal prepping for this week or if I am only doing a half meal prep, which is ironic because I especially look forward to meal prepping for this week. I try and find the most delicious fall recipes to make and enjoy a full week of Thanksgiving type food! Plus, once Thanksgiving is over I always have a couple comforting meals to ease me back on track without feeling like I am going "back to the diet." Honestly though, meal prepping delicious meals that I truly look forward to eating is always my goal. Anyways, I am getting distracted from this amazing recipe. This picture DOES NOT do the recipe justice! These meatballs turned out so delicious! Not only is there pumpkin in the meatballs, but pumpkin is also in the sauce, which turned out equally as delicious and also full of savory herbs and spices! I doubled the meatball portion of the recipe and made the sauce as is, besides increasing the tomato sauce and pumpkin puree a tiny bit, to get me a total of 10 meals. I served these meatballs over zucchini noodles, but the original recipe served them over sweet potato noodles. These meatballs can be served with any side of your liking though! Since zucchini noodles don't keep very well I only prepped three days worth of those and will prep more mid-way through the week. If this recipe even sounds a little bit appealing to you then I definitely recommend giving it a try! I absolutely loved this one!

Turkey Pumpkin Meatballs with Creamy Harvest Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
Meatballs:

• 1.25 lbs ground turkey
• 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
• 1 tbsp fresh sage minced
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary minced

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp organic coconut oil or ghee
• 15 oz can tomato sauce 
• 1 1/4 cups organic pumpkin puree or remaining amount from a 15 oz can
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk see note**
• 1/2 cup chicken bone broth or homemade bone broth
• 1 small Onion chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic minced
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice optional
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Crushed red pepper optional, for spice
• Chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:
To Make Meatballs:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix all meatball ingredients in a large bowl with your hands until well combined. Form mixture into 18 balls*
3. Bake meatballs (makes 18) on baking sheet at 425 for 15-18 minutes or until no longer pink on the inside, turning once midway.
4. Transfer to pot with the sauce (instructions below), allow to simmer in sauce on low heat for about 5 minutes

To Make Sauce:

1. Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil or ghee in a large saucepan or stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent and fragrant, then add the garlic and continue to cook for 2 minutes or until soft and fragrant.
2. Lower the heat, then add the tomato sauce, pumpkin, broth, coconut milk, Italian seasoning, pumpkin pie spice, dried sage, dried rosemary and stir to combine well. Season with salt, black pepper or crushed red pepper, if desired. Stir to combine flavors, then cover and allow to simmer for 5 minutes prior to adding the meatballs.  After adding meatballs, continue to simmer on low heat about 5 minutes prior to serving.
3. Serve over your favorite veggie noodles!

Recipe Notes
*If your mixture is sticky, wet your hands a bit before rolling into balls, as needed.
**Blend your coconut milk to a smooth consistency before adding. If you prefer a slightly thinner sauce, use 1/4 cup coconut milk and 3/4 cup broth instead of 1/2 and 1/2.

Original recipe found here