This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #20MinutesToTasty #CollectiveBias These Easy Kids' Thanksgiving Appetizers with Homemade Marinara Sauce are fun and delicious - and ready in under 20 minutes when you're busy making the Thanksgiving feast!
Can you believe it's already November? I'm so excited for Fall and Thanksgiving and fires and marshmallows... this is my favorite time of year by far! For Thanksgiving, we always have a huge family get-together at my aunt's house with close and extended family.
However, it doesn't matter what time we plan to eat, it's never early enough for all the kids romping about! But this year when the kids are begging and whining, "When's the food gonna be ready?", I have a solution for you! You can hold them over with this fast, fun and delicious appetizer that is 20 Minutes to Tasty using Farm Rich products!
It's so easy to put together and you can have it ready in less than 20 minutes! Are you ready to find out how to make these cute little turkeys?
Let's do it! Here's what you'll need:
Ingredients:
For each Turkey Appetizer you'll need:
- 5 Farm Rich Mozzarella Sticks
- 1 Farm Rich Italian Style Meatball
- 2 Tablespoons of Homemade Marinara Sauce (recipe below)
- Garnishes for the turkey faces - cheese for the beaks and chopped black olives for the eyes (not pictured)
To make the Marinara Sauce, you'll need:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (approximately 3 teaspoons)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can of diced, fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
The great thing is all of these ingredients are probably staples in your pantry and/or readily available at your local Walmart!
Before you start making the marinara sauce, go ahead and start preparing the meatballs and mozzarella sticks according to the package directions. I did the mozzarella sticks in the oven and the meatballs in the microwave so they'd both be ready by the time I finished the marinara!
While they're cooking... start on the sauce!
Making the Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce
While they're cooking, you can make this Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce!
Start by pouring the olive oil into a skillet and bring it to a sizzle.
When the oil is hot, saute the minced garlic until it's brown and fragrant - maybe 2-3 minutes.
Then add the diced fire-roasted tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning and salt.
Bring it to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer on low for 10 minutes. At this point you have a delicious, chunky marinara sauce.
This last step is optional, but if you don't like your sauce quite so chunky, the blending sort of makes it perfect. I take it off the heat and let it cool for 2-3 minutes, then pour it into my blender. I can blend it for about 10 seconds and it comes out fantastic!
Next I pour it back into the pan, then stir in the warm meatballs and coat them in the sauce. Now you're ready to make some turkeys!
Assembling the Turkeys
First, spoon 2 tablespoons of the marinara sauce onto the center of a small plate.
Place one meatball in the center of the sauce.
Fan out 5 Mozzarella Sticks around the top of the meatball.
Last, give your little turkey a face! I used a tiny triangle of cheddar cheese and 2 pieces of chopped black olives.
Serve and make some kids very, very happy! My kids absolutely went nuts for these appetizers and even dressed them up more by adding olives between the cheese sticks and used the extra cheddar cheese to make feet! 🙂
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Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce (Printable!)
PrintRecipe
Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce
- Total Time: 15 minutes
Description
This is an easy, delicious marinara sauce with only 5 ingredients and it can be ready in 15 minutes or less!
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 14.5 oz can diced, fire roasted tomatoes
- 3 tsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Start by pouring the olive oil into a skillet and bring it to a sizzle.
- When the oil is hot, saute the minced garlic until it’s brown and fragrant – maybe 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the diced fire-roasted tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning and salt.
- Bring it to a boil, then immediately turn it down and let it simmer on low for 10 minutes.
- At this point you have a delicious, chunky marinara sauce.
- This last step is optional, but if you don’t like your sauce quite so chunky, the blending sort of makes it perfect. I take it off the heat and let it cool for 2-3 minutes, then pour it into my blender. I can blend it for about 10 seconds and it comes out fantastic!
- Serve with meatballs, cheese sticks, over pasta... it's all fantastic!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Sauce
Do you want to see some other appetizer and snack ideas? Check these out:
Baked Potato Skins Kabobs with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Christmas Crunch Popcorn Snack Mix
Marinated Cheese Appetizer
Carolyn West
Cute idea. I'm sure those would keep the kids busy until dinnertime. #client
Kari Wagner Hoban
This is absolutely adorable and creative.
Rose
Thank you so much!