Turkey Meatballs and Zucchini Noodles

Soft zucchini noodles, topped with warm marinara sauce, and freshly made turkey meatballs. Perfect for lunch meal prep for the week, or even a healthy dinner for the family! 

Alright guys, so zoodles have totally been a thing for a while, and it's not like I'm trying ro reinvent the wheel or anything, but dang, there needs to be more zoodle recipes on here, I've decided! I have them all the time (especially in the summer), and don't think I have a single recipe on here that uses them. 

Like what the heck, man. 

So here we go - with one of my sure-fire ways to serve zoodles... with lovely, lovely turkey meatballs and marinara sauce. 

Even the meatballs alone probably deserve their own post, but they go so well with these zoodles, I had to pair them together today. The ingredients for these meatballs are already in your pantry, I can guarantee it (along with some ground turkey you might have in the fridge, eh?). 

You could easily use ground beef or even ground chicken if that's what you're craving. I've only tried it with turkey so far, and it was a slam dunk! 

Combine everything in a bowl, stir it together with your hands (always freaks me out, but I know it's the best way to combine all the ingredients together, and faster).

Roll them out in giant meatballs (almost 2-inches wide, friends), and bake them up in the oven. 

Super easy - no tending to the cooktop, rolling meatballs around until they're browned on all the edges. You can just pop these in the oven on a baking sheet, and they practically cook themselves. haha

Next comes our zoodles. I love my spiralizer that was gifted to me at Christmas (if you don't have one, I promise you'll use it all the time! Worth it to put it on your amazon wish list, haha). The straighter the zucchini, the better noodles you're going to get.

Zucchini is a very watery vegetable, so it needs a little help to make them not as mushy. Here's the trick: place them in a colander (when they're zoodles) with a little salt. Toss to coat, and let sit for about 10 minutes. Press the zucchini down to get all the water out. This helps them to not get mushy! Hooray! 

Then of course you can saute them or straight up boil them for 1 minute to finish the job. 

Place them in a bowl with your warmed marinara sauce and turkey meatballs, and seriously, you'll fall in love with this dish within seconds of trying it. Plus, it makes a TON, so you can easily do this for lunch prep for the entire week! 

Enjoy, friends, and happy Wednesday! xo 

Turkey Meatballs and Zucchini Noodles

makes 8 servings

ingredients:

for the meatballs: 

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper 

for the zucchini noodles: 

4-6 small zucchini, or 3 medium ones, spiralized 

2 teaspoons salt

4 cups marinara sauce

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, panko, parmesan, egg yolks, italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes, then season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined (either using clean hands or a spoon). Roll into 1 - 1 1/2 sized meatballs and place on prepared baking dish. 

3. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until they're cooked through. Set aside. 

4. Place the zucchini in a colander with a bit of salt, gently toss to combine. Let sit for about 10 minutes. In a large pot of boiling water, cook zucchini for about 1 minute, then drain well. 

5. Place some of the zucchini in a bowl, then top with warmed marinara sauce, then meatballs, and then garnish with additional parmesan cheese and parsley.