I adapted these Thai turkey meatballs from a burger recipe and turned them into a delicious bowl. Bowls are a great meal option, they’re easily adjusted based on meal preferences, so I can load up on vegetables and Husband can have as much starch as he needs and everyone’s happy. Meatballs are a great option because you can scale up or down depending on your hunger. And these Thai turkey meatballs are SO incredibly flavorful. I doubled the original recipe, but kind of wish I’d made even more because they’d be great to freeze.

While making meatballs can sound rather intimidating (they definitely weren’t part of our routine when I was growing up), they’re actually pretty simple to make. And instead of being fussy with hand rolling each meatball, I use a cookie scoop to get uniform meatballs. Typically meatballs are pan-fried to get nice caramelization, however, I’m impatient and like to just bake them. I was able to cook 33 meatballs in just 15 minutes. While they’re weren’t as pretty as they would have been, they were still delicious and I used the hands-off time while they were in the often to make the quick slaw.

These bowls were super satisfying with a quick cabbage slaw, some quick pickled carrots, brown rice and the most flavorful turkey meatballs.

What are your favorite bowl ingredients?

Quick Pickled Carrots

Adapted from The Kitchen Girl
Makes 1 12oz jar

• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Add the carrots to large jam jar. In a small sauce pan, bring the vinegars, water, sugar, and salt to a boil. Pour the liquid over the carrots. Let cool, then seal with a lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Thai Turkey Meatballs

Adapted from Feasting at Home
Makes 33 meatballs

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 6 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tsp lemongrass paste
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 limes, zested (about 2 tsp)
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 2 baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together until just combined. Use a cookie scoop to form meatballs and line them up on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through (at 165°F on a meat thermometer). While the meatballs are cooking, make a quick cabbage slaw.

Quick Cabbage Slaw

• 4 cups shredded red cabbage
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

In a bowl, toss all ingredients together. Let flavors meld for about 15-20 minutes.

Serve the bowls with rice, cabbage slaw, pickled carrots and meatballs.