These turkey and zucchini meatballs are perfect for this time of year to use up that abundance of fresh zucchini you may have. The meatballs are also a healthy alternative to meatballs with more traditional ingredients such as breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. This recipe uses ingredients for the meatballs such as ground turkey, grated zucchini and onion, and garlic. There is also a homemade sauce that goes with this dish. The sauce is tomato based and gets a lot of its flavor from Italian seasoning. To add a little bit of heat to the sauce, a small amount of crushed red pepper flakes are used. You can serve this recipe with pasta or just serve the meatballs with the sauce. Enjoy.
Turkey and Zucchini Meatballs Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- Meatballs-
- 2lbs ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups zucchini (finely grated)
- 1 small red onions (grated)
- Sauce-
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Use a mesh strainer to drain the liquid from the grated zucchini. Press down onto the zucchini in the strainer until all or most of the liquid comes out.
- In a large bowl combine ground turkey, olive oil, minced garlic, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, zucchini and onion. Mix well using your hands until the ingredients are well combined. Scoop 2 tablespoons sized meatballs from the mixture and roll into a firm ball. Place onto the prepared baking sheet, repeat with the remaining meat.
- Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until evenly browned and cooked through (the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees F.).
- While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce. Warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for one minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the meatballs are done baking, add them to the sauce and stir to coat.