Mexican Meatloaf Meatballs

These crowd-pleasing Mexican Meatloaf Meatballs are a delicious blend of ground turkey, corn tortillas and green chilis simmered in a savory enchilada sauce and topped with melted cheese.  

With these healthy turkey meatballs we’re going to learn how to make meatballs without breadcrumbs.  Instead of breadcrumbs we blend corn tortillas to make our meatballs with giving them an authentic Mexican flavor.  These Mexican meatballs are juicy and delicious and simmered in enchilada sauce and topped with cheese for the win!

These Mexican meatballs have a really incredible flavor (my mom gave them a two-thumbs-up) and they’re super fun to make! They’re great for serving a crowd and they also make a fun appetizer for game day!

Healthy Meatball Recipe

This ground turkey meatball recipe has a delicious blend of classic Mexican ingredients.  You can either make homemade enchilada sauce for this recipe (enchilada sauce recipe below), or in the interest of time, store-bought enchilada sauce will work just fine.

• Ground turkey (2 pounds)
• Enchilada sauce, divided (homemade or store-bought)
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped green chilies
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup finely ground corn tortillas
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cups grated Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup black olives for garnish
• 2 green onions, sliced for garnish
• chopped cilantro for garnish

How to Make Mexican Meatloaf Meatballs

This healthy Mexican meatball recipe comes together in about 20 minutes, then we return the meatballs to the oven to simmer in an enchilada sauce for another 30 minutes.  Total time to make these incredible Mexican meatballs is about 1 hour.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil and set aside
• In a large bowl, gently fold together the meat, 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce, eggs, onion, green chilies, garlic, cilantro, ground corn tortillas, salt and black pepper. Don’t over mix or you’ll end up with tough meatballs.
• Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the meat mixture and shape into balls. Place on the cookie sheet.
• Bake for 25 minutes then remove from oven.
• Drain the excess juices from the cookie sheet.
• Transfer the meatballs to a baking dish.
• Spoon the remainder of the enchilada sauce over the meatballs.
• Top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes, then add the green onions and black olives and bake for another 7 – 10 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
• 3 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth

How to Make Enchilada Sauce

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet.
2. Over medium high heat cook the onion, jalapeno and garlic for about 8 to 10 minutes or until soft and cooked evenly.
3. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano and sugar.
4. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth and chopped tomatoes.
5. Blend well and bring the sauce to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the sauce has slightly thickened.
6. Strain the sauce transferring the onions to a large bowl and set aside.

Serving Suggestions

• Homemade Spanish Rice
• Black Beans
• Mexican Pinto Beans
• Cilantro Lime Quinoa
• Mexican Salad Recipe

Craving Mexican food, try these other 

Looking for More Healthy Mexican Recipes to Make?

• Mexican Style Shredded Chicken
• Enchilada Style Baked Chicken
• Taco Skillet
• Green Chicken Enchiladas
• Easy Chicken Fajita Bake
• Easy Turkey Enchilada Casserole

More Healthy Meatball Recipes

• Best Ever Barbecue Meatballs
• Italian Turkey Meatballs

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Print

Yield: 18 meatballs

Mexican Meatloaf Meatballs

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

These crowd-pleasing Mexican Meatloaf Meatballs are a delicious blend of ground turkey, corn tortillas and green chilis simmered in a savory enchilada sauce and topped with melted cheese.  

Ingredients

For the Enchilada Sauce

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
• 3 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth

For the Meatballs

• 2 pounds turkey ground meat
• 2 cups enchilada sauce, divided
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped Orgeta chilies
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup finely ground corn tortillas
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cups grated Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup black olives for garnish
• 2 green onions, sliced for garnish
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

For the Enchilada Sauce

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet.
2. Over medium high heat cook the onion, jalapeno and garlic for about 8 to 10 minutes or until soft and cooked evenly.
3. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano and sugar.
4. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth and chopped tomatoes.
5. Blend well and bring the sauce to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the sauce has slightly thickened.
6. Strain the sauce transferring the onions to a large bowl and set

For the Meatballs

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil and set aside
• In a large bowl, gently fold together the meat, 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce, eggs, onion, Oretega chilies, garlic, cilantro, ground corn tortillas, salt and black pepper. Don't over mix or you'll end up with tough meatballs.
• Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the meat mixture and shape into balls. Place on the cookie sheet.
• Bake for 25 minutes then remove from oven.
• Drain the excess juices from the cookie sheet.
• Transfer the meatballs to a baking dish.
• Spoon the remainder of the enchilada sauce over the meatballs.
• Top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes, then add the green onions and black olives and bake for another 7 - 10 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is bubbling.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 230Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 573mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 16g