Low Calorie Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Now you can have your meatballs and eat them, too, with this low calorie version of a kitchen classic. Add in a few noodles for classic spaghetti and meatballs, but be sure to count the calories, as noodles tend to add quite a few. We’ve used ground turkey to bring the calorie count down, and we’ve incorporated lots of vegetables into our sauce for flavor. You can’t go wrong with vegetables for a healthy, low calorie diet.

Meatball Ingredients

• 16 ounces ground turkey (960 calories total)
• 1 large egg (60 calories)
• ¼ cup panko bread crumbs (55 calories)
• 1 teaspoon (heaping!) chili powder (0 calories)
• 2 tablespoons ground Parmesan cheese (40 calories)
• Spray oil

Cooking Directions for the Meatballs

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well with a slotted spoon.
• Form small meatballs and add to a heated frying pan – 1-2 ounces each. Lightly spray with no calorie spray oil.
• Fry over medium heat 10-12 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through. Be sure to turn the meatballs every few minutes so they don’t burn on one side.
• Serve with tomato sauce. See below!

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

• One 15-ounce can tomato sauce (140 calories)
• 2 small Roma tomatoes, chopped (~40 calories)
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (4 calories)
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped (~30 calories)
• 2 tomatillos, chopped (~20 calories)
• 1 red or yellow sweet pepper, chopped (~20 calories)
• 1 ounce fresh basil, chopped (0 calories)
• 1 ounce fresh oregano, chopped (0 calories)
• Spray oil

Cooking Directions for Tomato Sauce

• Heat a deep pan to medium heat and spray lightly with spray oil.
• Add onion and cook about 3-4 minutes, or until onion begins to become translucent.
• Add jalapeno and sweet pepper and cook 2 more minutes, stirring often.
• Add remaining ingredients and heat until tomato sauce begins to bubble.
• Reduce heat to medium and simmer at least 20 minutes. You can simmer longer to allow the herbs to strengthen in flavor.
• Serve over meatballs above!

NOTE: If you prefer your sauce to be a bit “saucier” in consistency, you can transfer some of it to a blender or food processor for blending, then set back to the pan to simmer.

Total Calories/Meatballs: 1115 (~279 calories per 4 ounce serving)
Total Calories/Sauce: 254 (63.5 per serving)

Total Calories: 1369 (343 calories per serving) – serves 4 total!