Zucchini Noodles with Turkey Meatballs
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These make-ahead meal prep boxes will make you forget all about pasta. It’s light, healthy and low carb!
Zucchini noodles. Spaghetti sauce. And turkey meatballs.
That’s been my lunch all week.
With a hot bowl of this.
Because this LA rain will. not. stop.
But really.
These meal prep boxes are everything.
The zucchini noodles are a perfect stand-in for pasta.
And the meatballs keep me full without having the need to reach for a box of chocolate later!
Zucchini Noodles with Turkey Meatballs
These make-ahead meal prep boxes will make you forget all about pasta. It's light, healthy and low carb!
Ingredients
- 1 pound 3 medium-sized zucchini, spiralized*
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
For the meatballs
- 1 ½ pounds ground turkey
- ½ cup Panko
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, Panko, Parmesan, egg yolks, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder and red pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/2-to-2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
- Place meatballs onto the prepared baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until all sides are browned and meatballs are cooked through; set aside.
- Place zucchini in a colander over the sink. Add salt and gently toss to combine; let sit for 10 minutes.
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook zucchini for 30 seconds to 1 minute; drain well.
- Divide zucchini into meal prep containers. Top with meatballs, marinara sauce and Parmesan.
Notes
*This is the spiral slicer that I use. It’s so easy to use – it honestly just takes minutes to spiralize!
Did you make this recipe?
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I’ve spiralized zucchini before but it retains a lot of moisture/water and dilutes the toppings. I’m going to try drying it out in the oven. Any other suggestions? Thank you!!!
Delicious! I would recommend this recipe to all my friends.
My son made this for his meal prep and then I made it for dinner. Absolutely delish! We didn’t change anything and used Barilla marinara sauce. Fed a family of four with one very large zucchini from neighbor’s garden and we could have used a 2nd large zucchini but it was still filling with me taking the little remaining zucchini. Definitely on our rotating meal schedule!
Love this, however my “noodles” get mushy. What am I doing wrong??
Hello there! Can you please tell me the nutrition facts per meal? I see You used 4 meatballs. 🙂
Excellent!! Don’t hesitate to try. Meatballs have such a great flavor, you honestly don’t miss the pasta!
How much pre-spiraled zucchini would be needed?
Hi Melissa! The amount would remain the same (1 pound).
The ground turkey I buy only comes in 1 lb. so should I change the amount of any of the ingredients if I’m using only one pound of turkey?
Hi Cristy! If you are planning to use one-third less turkey than in the recipe, you could deduct one-third from each ingredient to keep it entirely the same. But I’ve made these before with only 1 lb and kept everything the same and it turned out great. So it’s totally up to you!
Can these meal preps be frozen?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
What about using frozen spiral ones zucchini, instead of fresh…? Is that doable for thisbrecipe?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This dish is awesome! I have looking for different recipes that my kids will also love and they said”can you make this everyday!” I substituted the red peppers with chili powder since i didn’t have any but it was still delicious!
SOOOOO GOOD! Was so simple and so delicious. Only thing different is I didn’t boil my zucchini, I put them into a frying pan with some garlic and a lil bit of oil. Definitely making this recipe again!
Great!
How many days will these keep in the fridge?
This should keep covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps, Brittany!
I had two pounds of ground turkey I needed to use last night, so I made a double batch of your meatball recipe. My plan was to freeze most of them and serve a few with a pasta dinner immediately, but they were so delicious that my boyfriend ate most of them! Looks like I’ll have to make another batch! Awesome recipe, thank you!
That’s great!
Made this tonight and it was so good!!I am both a turkey and zoodle hater, but keep trying new recipes to find one I like be a use I know it’s a good switch. This one has changed me! I can’t wait to use these meatballs over and over again in all kinds of recipes.
Are you able to substitute beet noodles instead of zucchini noodles?
I have some beets that need to get used up and thought this would go well with it!
Hi Tobi! Beet noodles sound AMAZING! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Absolutely delicious! Perfect amount of seasoning in the turkey meatballs. Will be sharing with friends and making it a staple! Thank you so much!
Sorry! I meant per meatball.
Thanks!
Not at this time – sorry!
Hi! Do you know the nutrition facts meatball?
Thanks!
Hi!! Didn’t you use to use an electric spiralizer? If so, is there one you can recommend? I feel like I asked you this before, but cannot remember what you said. Seems like it was around $25 – 30. Thanks!!
No, I actually used a hand spiralizer!
I bought an electric spiralizer from Aldi, works great!