Dollop
Air fryer turkey stuffing meatballs with gravy
Thanksgiving in meatball form: turkey rolled with herby stuffing and cranberries, air fried until golden and smothered in gravy over mashed potatoes.
- 45 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.18 a serving
- 480 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup stuffing mix
- 1¾ cups chicken broth, divided
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- ¼ cup butter, divided
- ½ cup milk
- 1½ cups instant mashed potatoes
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1¼ cups water
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 480 calories, 28 g protein, 38 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $2.18 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No ground turkey? Ground chicken works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the stuffing mix with ¼ cup of the broth in a large bowl and let it 5 minutes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Timer: 5 min
Add the turkey, egg and cranberries and mix gently with your hands. Roll into 1½-inch balls, about 16, and wash your hands.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
the air fryer to 380°F. Cook the meatballs in a single layer, in batches if needed, 12 to 14 minutes, shaking the basket halfway, until and 165°F in the middle.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 13 min
Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
While they cook, 2 tablespoons of the butter in a over medium heat. in the flour and cook 1 minute.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heat
Slowly in the remaining 1½ cups broth and 3 to 4 minutes, until it into gravy. with the pepper and keep it warm on low.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
For the potatoes, bring the water, milk, remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the salt in another . Take it off the heat and in the potato flakes.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
High heat
Spoon the mashed potatoes onto plates, top with the meatballs, and pour the gravy over everything.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
