Baked Turkey Zucchini Meatballs

Name: Baked Turkey Zucchini Meatballs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds ground turkey meat (ground beef will work too!); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 3 cloves of garlic, minced; 2 large eggs; 3 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; Salt and ground black pepper, to taste (I suggest starting with 1 and 1/4 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper); 2 cups zucchini, finely grated and drained (it will look more like 1 cup once it's been drained of excess liquid; see post if you need more clarity on this); 1 small red onion, grated; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

July 20, 2015 by Ashley Manila 49 Comments

These juicy baked turkey zucchini meatballs are served with homemade marinara sauce! Ready in about 30 minutes, this is a crowd-pleasing recipe easy enough to whip up on a weeknight!

Baked Turkey Meatballs

When we lived in Brooklyn one of our happiest Sunday afternoon traditions was to schlep a few miles south, find a seat at the bar, and order a good part of the menu at our favorite little pizza shop. Icy cold draft beers, piping hot Neapolitan pizzas, and one or two small plates to start. My definition of heaven on earth.

One of my favorite starters was the meatballs in sauce. No pasta; no bread; just perfectly plump and juicy meatballs delicately surrounded by a few spoonfuls of spicy marinara sauce.

Simple, sensational, and so so satisfying. The way real Italian food is and should always be.

Last week I awoke with a fierce craving to once again call those meatballs my own, and decided to take matters into my own hands. <—- Recipe testing beats a 3 hour drive to Brooklyn every time 😉

Knowing many of you love quick, healthy, family friendly meals inspired me to take my dreamy Brooklyn meatball memories and transform them into a recipe we can all make at home – and fast! P.S. If you’re only here for the sweets and treats – don’t worry- I have something just for you coming up next (hint: cherries + brown butter are involved!).

So today I’m sharing with you my new favorite dinner recipe with you…

Baked Zucchini Meatballs in Homemade Marinara Sauce!

These meatballs are dairy and grain free ( Yup! No Parmesan or Breadcrumbs), baked in the oven, and finished off with a slightly spicy and super flavorful marinara sauce.

This recipe is:

Quick √
Easy √
Healthy √
Hearty √
Big on flavor √
Low in calories √
Sure to please √

Seriously you guys, this simple Italian meal has me ready to book a one-way trip to Rome! Hey, a girl can dream… right? Keeping my savings account in mind I’ll just have to settle for a second helping and a few glasses of red wine. Not a bad compromise 😉

How to Prepare the Zucchini

First thing you’re going to need to do? Grate some zucchini!

You’ll want to grate two whole cups (about 1 large zucchini). Measure it first, then transfer it to a fine mesh strainer, a piece of cheesecloth, or a verrry clean and lint free dishtowel. You’ll want to let the zucchini rest a few minutes so it can begin releasing moisture – this will happen almost immediately – then squee(eeeeeeeeee)ze as much liquid out of the shredded zucchini as possible. There will be a lot of excess liquid, so this may take two or three tries. When you’re done squeezing your zucchini it will look more like 1 cup than the the two you started with.

Meatball Mixture

Once your zucchini is prepped, grab a large mixing bowl and toss in your meat, onions, garlic, eggs, zucchini, seasoning, and olive oil.

Then the fun (and kind of gross) part: smash it all together with your hands!

Roll the Meatballs

Once you’ve combined all of the ingredients, you’ll simply roll and bake. I like to make my meatballs around 2 tablespoons in size (1/8 of a cup) but you can make them a little bigger if you’d like; just remember to increase the bake time accordingly. I find my two tablespoon meatballs are perfectly cooked right around the 25 minute mark. Be sure not to over bake yours or they’ll loose their juiciness and taste “tough”.

Make the Marinara Sauce

Now, while the meatballs are in the oven doing their thing, we make the sauce!

This is the simplest of simple marinara sauces. Crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, and seasoning. I also add a hearty pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, but if you’re not into heat – or feeding children – you can skip this ingredient, or use a smaller amount. The sauce only needs to simmer for 15 minutes, meaning it’s ready to go the second those juicy meatballs emerge from the oven.

Final step: Toss meatballs in sauce and DIG IN.

You can eat these meatballs on their own, add some crusty bread, place them over a bed of spaghetti, top them with cheese, etc. The ways to enjoy are endless ♡

My favorite way? Extra sauce, cold beers, handsome face sitting across the table. We both go crazy for this meal every-single-time.

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