Let me apologize up front.
There’s only so much prettying up you can do to muffins made primarily out of ground turkey, quinoa and eggs. You know the saying “lipstick on a pig,” well, here it’s parsley on a turkey muffin. It helped…a little.
Luckily the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” has some weight to it though because these are a prime example of just that. Not the sexiest guy on the block, but don’t worry ladies, he makes up for it on the inside.
Ok, that’s like three idioms in four sentences…let’s move on.
Ulysses made fun of these when I told him what they were. His response was something along the lines of “ohhh, you’re all into protein, protein, protein now. You’re gonna get like super huge muscles eating all this protein….” (said jokingly).
He’s partially right, I am a bit more “into” protein recently since starting the Livefit trainer program but I’m not just downing buckets of cottage cheese or anything. I’d like to actually enjoy that extra protein and eat something besides egg whites which is pretty much what I’d be doing if following the meal plan exactly. Also, this is coming from someone who as I’m typing this, is in the room above me telling some stranger on the internet that the enemy is coming up behind him. I think he might actually converse more with his Battlefield friends than me in a given day.
Needless to say, his criticism is taken with a grain of salt.
Back to the muffins…
So let’s call a spade a spade, (let’s see how many idioms I can squeeze into one post) these are basically meatloaf muffins. They’re made with oats and quinoa and a bunch of non traditional meatloaf spices, but that’s basically what they are, perfectly portioned (just about 100 cals, 10g protein, 7 carbs, 3.5g fat for those that care) tastier than average, meatloaf muffins.
So go get your ducks in a row, get your feet wet and dig in.
See what I did there? Bam…8 in one post.
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- ¾ cooked red quinoa
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a muffin pan or line with muffin cups.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl together.
- Roll into balls (about 3 tablespoons of the mixture per ball) and place in muffin tin.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until fully cooked.
- Let cool for 5 minutes, use a knife to loosen the edges (the egg whites will sort of ooze out a bit and make them stick slightly) and cool on a rack.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Adapted from Jamie Eason
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great recipe!!! Love it and only about 100 calories each! Perfect!!!
Great recipe!
I love the look of these, they would be a perfect breakfast to go too. Wondering if I could make them without the grain, but not sure they would be dry enough.
they were pretty “wet” as is so I think you’d need something to replace the grain…
Quinoa isn’t a grain!
No it’s not, but oats are.
I never would’ve guessed that there was quinoa in these muffins/meatloaf balls. I love this, you’d be a great mom sneaking in good food for your kids
hahaha sorry, I went there, hope that doesn’t offend or scare you. These would be a great snack to tie over hunger between the hours of 2pm and 5pm for me lol
haha, not offended but I think it might be the only thing I’d be a “good mom” at. The whole zero patience thing kinda makes me an unfit candidate.
These look awesome and I bet are great to have in the fridge for the week to pop when a protein pick me up is needed. You have such great recipe ideas!!
i want to see you try to actually put lipstick on a turkey.
We’ve got plenty up here in the sticks to practice on!
We adore these around here too. Topped with mashed taters icing for the kidlet.
parsley on a turkey muffin…Lol
You did an amazing job on the photos of these. Until one would personally have to shoot little balls of meat that are brown in color, they would have no idea how tricky this could be…you nailed it!
I just have to tell you, I am very picky about “favoriting” food blogs. But, I clicked the link from your comment on How Sweet Eats and the moment I saw that you had a recipe for quinoa I clicked that little star! I have been battling with how to make quinoa edible for my family for MONTHS. No one will eat it and I want to cry. I am SO SO SO thrilled to try this recipe! Thank you!
Thanks Rachel!
I hope they like them. You really don’t even notice the quinoa in these at all.
Do you think, just to cancel out all healthy benefits, that I should use the other 2 egg yolks to make hollandaise for topping them with?
obviously
You could probably just use 2 regular eggs instead of any whites if you don’t even want to be tempted 
I really appreciate the high protein healthy recipes!! I get tired of egg white, chicken, etc. and can’t wait to include these. YUM. PS- Your photography is so great!
YUM! I am definitely making these!
Oh man, this looks good even if it doesn’t “look” good, ya know? I’d have to throw a little BBQ sauce on top because, that’s just me!
Mmmm…BBQ, that would be good
Gina these looks fabulous! I am totally making these. Hopefully they will spur the lose the additional 15 pounds I need to get rid of before the wedding. I’ve got everything I need. I’m making these tonight. no joke.
Ground meat is so hard to photograph. These sound delicious though…especially since my scale appears to be stuck at the wrong number.
I love meatloaf muffins simply because I like the crusty edges of the meatloaf. These are mouthwatering Gina!!
bringing them to Easter brunch? BTW kids “teach” you patience …
these look great. My mom jsut went gluten free so I will have to reccomend these to her! And of course myself too
Your pictures look great for balls of ground meat! I am always looking for new ways to Quinoa, can’t wait to try these!
These look amazing and I think you did a great job with the photos. I made vegan, gluten-free stuffing muffins at Thanksgiving this year and I had a heck of a time making them look edible and not just like a round little mound of junk. It definitely isn’t easy.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love how simple it is. Thanks for sharing!
YUM! These don’t need any lipstick
They look delicious!! I’m your newest follower, so happy I found your yummy blog! I’m actually really jealous of these little muffins… I tried to make some turkey quinoa patties the other night and they didn’t end up so great! Thank goodness for peanut butter sandwiches 
These look awesome. I was going to make Jamie Eason’s muffins this week but I’m glad I didn’t get the ingredients. Making these instead. A half batch. Since I’ll be traveling part of the week.
my “muffins” are in the oven and smell delicious! just wanted to clarify…3/4 cup of cooked quinoa, right? i made 3/4 cup dry quinoa which turns out to be a lot more than 3/4 cup cooked. i put 3/4 cup cooked quinoa in my muffins…wasn’t sure if there was supposed to be more?
Yes, 3/4 cooked! Oops, should’ve clarified that. Thanks for pointing it out! Hope you liked them
Can’t wait to try this recipe – but have a quick question – do you have a recommendation for the % fat content on the ground turkey? What did you use?
I’m a new follower. These muffins look delicious! I can’t wait to make them for dinner tomorrow. I know they will be a hit with my kids.
Thanks,
Lee
I make these all the time. Thank you for the recipe! I don’t use a muffin tin – as I hate cleaning them. I use an ice cream scoop and just put on a baking sheet. After I bake them I cool them and put in the freezer and grab 2 or 3 to take to work for lunch. I have also had them for breakfast! I make these almost every 2 weeks! (double batch)
I found this recipe last week and am already making them for the second time right now! Two words.. Simply amazing! (And delicious!!)
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