Meatballs and Gravy

Meatballs and Gravy is delicious using either ground turkey or ground beef. The gravy is easy to make, plus it’s amazing and bursting with flavor. It’s a staple recipe that’s flexible to what you have on hand, and I’ll tell you how. It goes great over a variety of side dishes, for example mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta. Maybe one of the best things about this dish is the bold taste, but with low calories. 

What I love about this recipe is that it’s flexible. What I mean by that is although the recipe calls for certain cans of creamed soups, you can mix and match based on what flavors you have on hand. For example, the recipe calls for 2 cans of cream of celery and 1 can of cream of chicken. If you don’t have those exact flavors, you can substitute what you do have on hand. It’s great with cream of mushroom, or use 3 cans of all the same flavor. 

Also, you can make this dish using fewer calories. Using a super lean ground turkey is lower in fat and calories than say ground beef. Further, the cans of creamed soup can be the Healthy Choice or you can use the original recipe. I’ve made these meatballs so many different ways, but the flavor is always there. 

Staying on this flexible path, if you don’t have any chicken broth, use water. Trust me, it’ll taste delicious.

In addition, if you have ground beef, but no ground turkey, that’s fine, too. I haven’t tried it with ground chicken yet, but I’m pretty sure it would be delicious as well. No reason it wouldn’t be.

Let’s make some meatballs.

Mix together the ground meat of choice (either turkey, beef, or chicken), with the chopped onions, chopped celery, cracker crumbs, the egg, plus some salt and pepper. The meatballs will stay together better if you chop the celery and onion into smaller pieces.

Make the meatballs about the size of a golf ball or a ping pong ball (approx. 2″).  Making them this size usually results in about 36 meatballs.

After you form each meatball, place it directly into a 13 x 9″ baking dish. It’s ok if they touch.

That’s about it for the meatballs. Easy, right?

 

Let’s make some gravy.

In a medium pot, mix together the cans of soup, the packet of onion soup mix, plus the broth. Heat just until it starts to soft boil, then remove from the stove. Pour over the meatballs, and be careful, because it’ll be hot. 

Cover with foil and it’s ready to be baked.

Meatballs and Gravy can be made ahead.

If you’re ready to start baking your Meatballs and Gravy, place them in a preheated oven set at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover the dish and continue to bake for another 30 minutes. This allows the tops of the meatballs to brown just a little, giving them a bit of color. 

If, however, you want to make them, say in the morning, but don’t want to bake them until dinner time, follow all the same directions up to baking. Place them in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake them, then place them in the preheated oven (350°) for 55 minutes, then uncover them for another 30 minutes. 

What should I serve Meatballs and Gravy with?

Pasta is great with Meatballs and Gravy, plus it’s so easy to make. Pictured was the fettuccine I had, but I also use spaghetti or large elbow noodles.

I struggle with egg noodles, but only because they’re hard to poke with a folk, and it’s weird serving meatballs with a spoon. lol

Mashed potatoes…who doesn’t love mashed potatoes anyway, right? I almost never have leftovers, but when I do, I love frying some up in butter the next morning with my scrambled eggs. So good!

Rice is great with meatballs, too. Any kind of rice; white, brown, jasmine, basmati, or if you like mushrooms, try my Less Boring Wild Rice.

Don’t forget dessert.

So, I’m thinking a piece of either Chocolate Banana Pudding Cake or No Bake Lemon Blueberry Dessert would be perfect after a dinner of Meatballs and Gravy. More of a lemon bar lover? Check out this recipe for Sugar Cookie Lemonade Crumble. Delish! Plus, these are three of my top desserts thanks to you, the readers. Tried and true.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you have a wonderful blessed day.

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