Baked Turkey Meatballs

I never used to be a meatball kinda person, but these have changed my mind. They take a little bit of work to prep but they are sooo worth it in the end. They taste FANTASTIC and are a great way to spice up the boring old spaghetti routine. JoyTheBaker never lets me down! For a gluten free version, I'm thinking about substituting rice or quinoa for the bread chunks.  (Adapted from here)

Ingredients

• 3 slices italian or whole wheat bread, torn into medium chunks (substitute 2 cups cooked rice or quinoa for a gluten free version)
• 1/3 cups milk (any % works, I've even used lactose free)
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 - 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley (I used dried)
• 3 to 4 cups tomato-based pasta sauce (I like Prego best)

Directions

• Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, pour the milk over the bread crumbs.  Allow to soak for 5 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the onions and cook until softened and browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Place the ground turkey in a large bowl.  Squeeze any excess milk from the bread.  Add the bread to the turkey and discard the milk.  Add the cooked onions and garlic.  Add the eggs, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, cheese, tomato paste, and parsley.  Use a wooden spoon to work all of the ingredients together.  You may need to get in there with your hands to thoroughly and evenly combine all of the ingredients.
• In two 9×13-inch pans, spread about 2 cup of sauce (1 cup in each pan).  Shape together 24 meatballs.  Each meatball will be about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture.  Use your hands to best shape the meatballs.  Rinse your hands in warm water every few meatballs to keep your hands from getting too sticky.  I found that having slightly damp hands helps tremendously in shaping the balls. Top each meatball with a small spoonful of sauce.
• Bake meatballs for 25 minutes, or until bubbling and cooked through.  Remove from the oven and serve with pasta, or just with sauce and a hearty green salad.  Meatballs will last up to 4 days well wrapped in the refrigerator.