Baked Turkey-Zucchini Meatballs
Prep time:
25 minutes
Cook time:
20 minutes
Servings:
Makes 6 (6-meatball) servings
Quick Tips
Three ways to serve these meatballs:
- In hot pasta sauce over hot cooked pasta. You can use canned pasta sauce or make your own with this recipe.
- In hoagie buns topped with warm barbecue sauce
- Add to hot vegetable soup
Prep Tip: To freeze meatballs for later use, place cooled meatballs on cookie sheet lined with wax paper, leaving space between the meatballs. Loosely cover and freeze about 2 hours or until firm. Remove meatballs from pan and place in a heavy-duty plastic bag. Close bag and freeze for up to 2 months. When you are ready to serve them, just heat them in the microwave oven.
Baked Turkey-Zucchini Meatballs
Bits of zucchini, sweet potato or carrot add specks of color and moistness to these tasty meatballs.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1 cup shredded fresh zucchini, sweet potato or carrot
- 1/2 cup dry unseasoned whole grain bread crumbs or finely crushed cornflakes cereal
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In medium bowl, use a fork to mix egg until combined.
- Stir zucchini, sweet potato (or carrot), bread crumbs (or cereal), onion, Parmesan cheese, water and salt into egg.
- Add ground turkey or beef. Use hands to mix until just combined.
- On a piece of wax paper, use hands to gently pat meat mixture into a 6 x 6-inch square.
- Use a knife to cut meat square into 36 1-inch squares. (Be careful not to cut wax paper.) Remove meat squares from paper and gently roll into balls. Place in shallow baking pan, leaving space between meatballs.
- Bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, using a meat thermometer. (If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can purchase one from a supermarket or dollar store.)
Quick Tips
Three ways to serve these meatballs:
- In hot pasta sauce over hot cooked pasta. You can use canned pasta sauce or make your own with this recipe.
- In hoagie buns topped with warm barbecue sauce
- Add to hot vegetable soup
Prep Tip: To freeze meatballs for later use, place cooled meatballs on cookie sheet lined with wax paper, leaving space between the meatballs. Loosely cover and freeze about 2 hours or until firm. Remove meatballs from pan and place in a heavy-duty plastic bag. Close bag and freeze for up to 2 months. When you are ready to serve them, just heat them in the microwave oven.
Prep time:
25 minutes
Cook time:
20 minutes
Servings:
Makes 6 (6-meatball) servings
Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. This material was partially funded by USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - (SNAP) and USDA's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program - (EFNEP).