Zucchini Turkey Meatballs: A quick and simple dinner recipe for you!
Got Zucchini?
If you have a garden or you’re part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), you most likely are looking for new ways use up your zucchini. I know I am! These Whole30 friendly Zucchini Turkey Meatballs are fast-and-easy to make, made with just 6 ingredients, delicious and freezer-friendly. I recommend you double the recipe so that you’ll have yourself a quick and easy meal stocked away for the future.
Got Zucchini? Try our @Whole30 friendly Zucchini Turkey Meatballs! #freezerfriendly Click To TweetThis recipe is AIP friendly, too!
If you follow the autoimmune protocol, this recipe can easily be made for you by omitting the crushed red pepper, black pepper and skipping the marinara sauce. They taste delicious on their own, too!
Adding shredded zucchini to these meatballs is an easy way to sneak in veggies, especially with picky eaters (my husband, Shane, included). You could also add shredded carrots or spinach to this recipe and sneak in even more veggies…they’ll never know. These meatballs are tasty as is but you can also toss them with your favorite marinara sauce, serve over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles and top with a little parmesan cheese (not Whole30). So good!
Add this recipe to your weekend meal prep!
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Zucchini Turkey Popper Meatballs
A simple recipe that is easy to make ahead of time and is freezer-friendly. Feel free to add your favorite spices and dried herbs. These meatball are tasty as is or you can toss them with your favorite marinara sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 16 mins
- Total Time: 26 mins
- Yield: 12 meatballs (4 servings) 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (lightly squeezed to remove some of the liquid)
- 1 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (omit for AIP)
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper (omit for AIP)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix with hands.
- Form into 12 golf ball-sized meatballs and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and insides are no longer pink.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 350mg
- Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 22g
Comment below to share with us your favorite way to cook or bake with zucchini. We’d love to hear!
Pin now to make later!
Made these last week and I will be making them again! So easy and tasteful.
Thanks for the feedback April! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Made these today for a friend who had a baby and they turned out DELICIOUSLY!! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
That’s great news! And how sweet of you to deliver such a nourishing and thoughtful food gift to your new mama friend!
Hi there! Can you tell me …do I skin the zucchini before baking? Also…did you cook the zucchini at all first before baking??
Thanks so much
Hey Mandy,
You don’t have to peel the zucchini before shredding it and you add it raw to the meat mixture.
Just made a test batch and I love it! Going to make a larger batch to freeze for emergency meals!
Thanks for this lovely recipe 🙂
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Thanks, Lulu! We love to hear when readers find a recipe they love and can stock their freezers with for easy ‘reheat & eat’ meals later on!
Would you bake them before freezing them? I’d looking forward to trying this recipe soon! Looks great!
Hi Shari,
I usually bake them first before freezing that way I can place them in the fridge to thaw overnight then quickly reheat them i a covered skillet with a little water for a 5-minute meal.
Do u use 99% lean turkey or 93%?
Hi Kathy,
We generally use 93% lean turkey for all of our recipes. Though the 99% would work it tends to be a bit dry when not cooked into a soup or sauce.
Oh my just starting to put everything together and i have NO Rosemary 🙁
very upset… what can I use to replace it…
help
Hi Cheryl,
Do not despair! You can substitute dried thyme, basil or oregano (or even Italian seasoning) for the rosemary and they’ll be absolutely delicious.
Made my 2nd batch of these a couple of nights ago. I’m really happy with them. The first batch I followed directions and cooked in the oven only they were lovely and juicy. The 2nd batch i pan fried first to brown the outsides and then stuck them in the oven to cook the inside. Came out a little more dry but more like rissoles. Happy either way. Thank you!
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We love hearing this kind of feedback! Thank you 🙂
I can’t have zucchini. Is there another vegetable that I could substitute for the zucchini?
Spinach, kale, or shredded carrots would all be great substitutes!
I did read the recipe….however because zucchini has a lot of water in it – I usually squeeze out the water before adding it to recipes; so for this recipe you leave the water content in, correct?
Great question! I don’t squeeze the water out as it helps prevent the meatballs from drying out especially of using lean ground meat.
Have you tried these with ground beef? I don’t have any ground turkey or chicken (it’s not easy to find ground turkey where I live so usually use ground chicken).
Yes, you can certainly use ground beef with this recipe. Enjoy!
Since zucchini season has passed, could I substitute mashed sweet potato?
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Hi Shera
I don’t see why you couldn’t. I’d eyeball the amount of mashed sweet potato so that you’re adding just enough to add flavor and nutrition without changing the consistency (as adding too much may make them soggy when baked).
Can I make these in a crockpot??
Hi Katelyn, we have never tried this recipe in the slow cooker but I’d imagine they would turn out just fine. I would cook them on low for 4-6 hours or until cooked through. Let us know if you give them a try in the slow cooker.
Is there any way you could email me the recipe? All I see is the picture of the meatballs, but no recipe! I’ve tried different browsers and nothing 🙁
Hi Diana,
Please accept our apologies, our site is experiencing an intermittent technical issue that our team is working on. If you still aren’t able to access the recipe, please email us at info@therealfoodrds.com and we’ll happily assist you.
I just printed out a copy. I can’t wait to try these. Thank you!
Can you use ground chicken instead of turkey? If so what would be the temperature and cooking time? Love this recipe and so did my family however they are requesting to try it with chicken! Thank you
Absolutely, you can use chicken in this recipe. The time will be the same. Enjoy!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! They freeze beautifully, too! Just shared on my blog! Thank you!
Thank you, Jody! We appreciate the share!
Can I put these in a pot with tomato sauce vs the oven
Hi Julia,
I think you could. You may want to start them in a skillet first just to brown them and help them hold their shape better.
These look yummy. Do you think you could cook them in an Instany Pot?
You could sure try! I have not tried that method of cooking them but if I were, I would start them on the sauté setting to brown them a bit and then cook them in the IP on manual for about 8 minutes. You’ll want to add a little bit of liquid to the IP before cooking them on manual. Let us know if you give it a try!
Delicious!! Thank you for the simple recipe. I love not having to add all the “extras” (bread crumbs, egg, etc). We easily got 6 servings out of this. We each had 2 meatballs and 1 oz of pasta with it plus the veggie side.
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Great! Glad you enjoyed this simple recipe!
Any suggestions on another sauce to use with them that doesn’t include any nightshade vegetables?
Hi Heather,
We don’t have a ‘tomato’ sauce recipe that doesn’t include nightshades but if you do an Internet search of “AIP pasta sauce” you’ll find quite a few sauces. You could also serve them with pesto.
I am obsessed with these meatballs! They are so simple, yet so very delicious and satisfying. Thank you for the recipe! I make them pretty much on a weekly basis these days.
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