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Turkey & Zucchini Meatballs are oven baked and ready in 30 minutes. A perfect way to add some extra veggies to your meal. These make an easy and quick weeknight meal, and are great tossed with a marinara sauce and served with pasta or coated with gravy and served with mashed potatoes.
These meatballs have been a family favorite since the first time I made them. It is a good way to use up some of the shredded zucchini you have from the garden or even in the freezer. That's exactly how I made these. I had ground turkey thawed, a bag of shredded zucchini and the kids wanted spaghetti. Behold Turkey & Zucchini Meatballs that I served with Easy Marinara Sauce and spaghetti.
The zucchini adds extra richness and flavor to the lean turkey that can sometimes be bland, plus moisture which is always good in meatballs. This meatball recipe isn't just great for weeknight meals or fancy Sunday dinners, they are great for batch cooking, meal prepping and are freezer friendly.
Ingredients for Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini
- Lean Ground Turkey
- Bread Crumbs
- Shredded Parmesan
- Egg
- Shredded Zucchini
- Minced Garlic
- Minced Onion
- Parsley
What is the best way to shred zucchini?
I like to use my food processor best, however if you don’t have one you can use a box grater. I like to shred the zucchinis that get rather large. There is no need to peel them, but the seeds need to be scooped out. Cut the zucchini in half, scoop out the seeds and then cut the zucchini into chunks to fit the food processor. I’ll shred 2-3 large zucchinis when I’m doing this so I can freeze what I don’t use.
How to freeze extra shredded zucchini?
After the zucchini is shredded I put it in a paper towel line colander so the towel can absorb some of the excess water from the zucchini. I like to freeze my shredded zucchini in 2 cup portions. Measure out 2 cups and place it in a quart size freezer safe zip top bag. Then I stack all the bags flat on a baking sheet and place it in the freezer. I like the bags to freeze flat because they will store easier in the freezer and there is no wasted space.
How to Make Easy Turkey & Zucchini Meatballs
These meatballs are oven baked so first thing, preheat the oven the 400° and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Next, gather all the ingredients, add them all to a large bowl and using your hands mix the meat mixture together just until everything is evenly distributed throughout.
Using a medium size scoop, scoop the meat and roll into balls. The scoop is optional, you can just eyeball it with your fingers. I like using a scoop so the balls are equal in size which leads to even cooking.
Lay the balls in rows on a the baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.
How to Serve Turkey & Zucchini Meatballs?
We love serving them with Easy Marinara Sauce and pasta. I do have some "meat and potato" family members and they love these meatballs with gravy and Mashed Potatoes. Add a green veggie or salad and you have a perfect well balanced dinner. They also work well as an appetizer served with marinara or sweet bbq sauce.
How to freeze meatballs?
Freezing meatballs is really simple. First flash freeze them by placing them on a baking sheet, spread out so they are not touching each other and place sheet pan in freezer. Once the meatballs are frozen, add them to a freezer safe container or zip top bag. Flash freezing them will prevent them from sticking together in the container or bag, making it easy to remove the exact amount of meatballs you need to thaw. These meatballs work great in meal prep meals or homemade TV dinners. Add the meatballs and freezer friendly side dishes to your containers and freeze.
To thaw: take out the amount you need and place in a separate bag or container and place in fridge overnight to thaw. You can reheat these meatballs from frozen too, heat through in a sauce on the stove top or bake them on low heat to reheat them. The microwave works too for thawing and reheating the meal prep meals or homemade TV dinners.
Looking for more weeknight friendly family meals? Here are some you might like to try.
- Family Favorite Sloppy Joes
- Cheesy Spaghetti Bake
- Baked Cumin Chicken
- Tator Tot Hotdish
- Taco Pasta Skillet
- Oven Roasted BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Mac n Cheese
Try out these scrumptious Turkey & Zucchini Meatballs and let me know what you think in the comments below! Pictures encouraged on Instagram with the hashtag #heathershomemadekitchen You can also follow me on Social Media to see what other crazy things my family and I are doing! If you like what you see, please share with your friends and family!
Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later!
Turkey & Zucchini Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds lean ground turkey
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix together with hands just until everything is all incorporated.
- Using a medium scoop, scoop the meat mix and roll into balls. Balls are about 1½ inches in size.
- Place meatballs in rows on baking sheet.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
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