Creamy Tomato Penne & Turkey Meatballs
with Fresh Tomato & Parmesan
- Milk
- Wheat
Now with leaner ground beef! You asked, we listened: This isn't the HelloFresh you remember. Bigger menu. Upgraded recipes. Increased portion sizes. More variety. The best way to cook dinner just got BETTER. Is there anything better than a plate of pasta and meatballs? In our flavorful riff, tender Italian-spiced meatballs join al dente penne in a rich, garlicky, creamy sauce enhanced with tangy, umami sun-dried tomato paste. The dish is finished with juicy bites of seasoned tomato and a shower of Parmesan.
Ingredients
10 ounce
Ground Turkey
1 ounce
Sun-Dried Tomato Paste
4 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
6 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1 clove
Garlic
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Tomato
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce.
Dice tomato into ¼-inch pieces. Peel and mince or grate garlic.
In a large bowl, combine beef*, panko, Italian Seasoning, and a big pinch of salt and pepper.
Form into 10-12 1½-inch meatballs (20-24 meatballs for 4 servings) and arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Roast on top rack until browned and cooked through, 14-16 minutes.
Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes.
Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water (2 cups for 4 servings), then drain.
Meanwhile, toss tomato in a small bowl with a drizzle of olive oil (large drizzle for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.
Once pasta is done, heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.
Add cream sauce base, sun-dried tomato paste, and ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water (½ cup for 4 servings). Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and combined, 1-2 minutes.
Add drained pasta; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce.
Divide pasta between shallow bowls. Top with meatballs, tomato, and Parmesan. Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Some found the dish tasty, but others felt it lacked flavor, especially in the sauce and meatballs.
- Ease of prep: Turkey meatballs were challenging to form; consider chilling the mixture before shaping for better consistency.
- Suggestions: Add extra garlic and sun-dried tomato paste for richer flavor. Cook the fresh tomatoes in the sauce if preferred.
- Portions: Many felt the dish was too dry; increase the amount of sauce or reduce pasta for better balance.
- Meatballs: Turkey meatballs tended to be dry; consider reducing cooking time or adding moisture to the mix 🍲.
Reviews from our home cooks
This was good. Very nice sauce and enjoyed the addition of fresh tomatoes. Portions were good. Only complaint, turkey has less fat and the meatballs got a little dry. Would have liked some more moisture in the making or more clear instructions to alter cooking time.
Tastes really good. Could provide a bit more cream sauce and sun dried tomato paste, maybe one more packet each for the 4 servings size. Was a little dry.
I'm not a huge fan of raw tomatoes. If I made this again, I would cook the tomatoes in the sauce.
Needs more flavor and cream sauce. Was dry even after adding water from boiling water.
Send more garlic...I had one really small clove so I added some
Probably would be better with beef instead of turkey. The turkey was dry.
I won't get turkey for meatballs again. The meat is too soft and hard to form into balls.
I thought by ordering this with ground turkey instead of beef the consistency of the meat would be better. Sadly, it was grainy and weird. I did not like the meatballs at all.
Too much pasta and not enough sauce, turned out very dry. Subbed beef with Turkey and the meatballs turned out so dry we couldn't eat them
The sauce was runny and thin so don't add so much water to recipe. Also the combo when turkey was substituted was too dry.
