Spicy Turkey Zucchini Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

These spicy turkey zucchini meatballs are made with only three ingredients, but packed with flavor! Serve with a simple roasted red pepper sauce over a bowl of pasta. It’s comfort food made weeknight friendly!

A few months ago, I was experimenting with recipes for a collaboration with Sabra. While I settled on sharing these mediterranean quesadillas, it was a hard choice between that and these easy recipe for spicy turkey zucchini meatballs with roasted red pepper sauce. So, now you’re getting both!

These spicy turkey zucchini meatballs are SO simple, made with just three ingredients. Mix together ground turkey, shredded zucchini, and the secret flavoring ingredient - spicy hummus! All you have to do is spoon them into ping pong sized balls and bake in the oven. Ground turkey has the reputation of being dry, but the zucchini does double duty, adding a serving of veggies and also helping to keep the meatballs nice and moist.

The roasted red pepper sauce served with these turkey zucchini meatballs is absolutely killer too! It’s the perfect combination of flavors with the slightly tangy sauce and spicy meatballs.

Last week a client of mine mentioned how tricky it is to find easy weeknight recipe on food blogs. It's something I think about and yet honestly struggle with, because I do tend to go a little all out when creating recipes. I want to share dishes that people actually cook, but I also want to create recipes that are creative, and to be honest, clickable. Cause hey, this is a business here! 

I think this recipe checks off both those criteria. It's easy to make with a pretty non-intimidating ingredients list, but is also fun and creative! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Turkey Zucchini Meatballs Ingredient Notes

Ground turkey

Use ground turkey (or chicken) as a base for these turkey zucchini meatballs. I would avoid the extra lean ground turkey, which is made with all white meat, as it will dry out quite a bit. Ground turkey that’s 85% lean includes some dark meat, which adds much more flavor and helps keep the meatballs nice and moist.

Spicy hummus

Spicy hummus is the secret ingredient in these turkey zucchini meatballs! It adds flavor, moisture, and helps bind them together. Feel free to play around with different flavors of hummus in making these meatballs - roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, or roasted garlic would all work well here.

Zucchini

Grate one large zucchini to mix into these turkey meatballs to add a nice dose of veggies, and also moisture. Don’t forget to wring out some of the extra liquids though, otherwise you’ll add WAY too much moisture!

Jarred roasted red peppers

Jarred roasted red peppers form the base to this sauce. Using jarred saves you time, but I bet this would be delicious with homemade marinated roasted red peppers! To make the sauce, simply blend jarred roasted red peppers with sauteed aromatics, fresh basil, a bit of balsamic and sugar to cut the acid and add depth of flavor, and chili flakes for spice. You could also blend in cream for a richer, creamier sauce.

How to Serve This Turkey Zucchini Meatballs Recipe

Served over pasta, farro, or rice, this turkey zucchini meatballs recipe makes for a complete balanced meal. You could also serve this as a main dish paired with roasted potatoes or cooked rice along with a veggie side, like one of the following:

• Roasted green beans and mushrooms with herbed breadcrumbs

• Braised mustard greens with bacon

• Za’atar roasted cauliflower with golden raisins

• The best chopped side salad

• Lemon pepper veggies

• Roasted beet and avocado salad

Since publishing in June 2017, recipe, images and text for this spicy turkey zucchini meatballs recipe have been updated to give you the best possible content.

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Spicy Turkey Zucchini Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Serves: Makes about 20 meatballs

Ingredients:

Turkey zucchini meatballs:

• 1 large zucchini

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 1/2 cup spicy hummus

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Roasted red pepper sauce: 

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and diced

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed chili flakes

• 16 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

• 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sugar

For serving:

• Freshly cooked pasta

• Chopped fresh basil

• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray or brush a baking sheet with olive oil.

2. Using the large holes of a cheese grater, shred the zucchini into a pile over a clean dish towel. Wrap the towel over the zucchini and squeeze out as much liquid as you can over the sink. Place the zucchini in a large bowl, and mix in the turkey, hummus, salt and black pepper until well combined.

3. Make 20 ping pong ball sized meatballs and space evenly on the baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned.

4. While meatballs are cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and chili flakes and saute 1-2 minute more. Scrape sauteed veggies into a blender, add roasted red peppers, basil, balsamic and sugar and blend until pureed. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

5. Pour the roasted red pepper sauce back into the skillet. Add the turkey zucchini meatballs and bring to a simmer on medium heat.

6. Serve over freshly cooked pasta garnished with basil and parmesan cheese.

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If you like this recipe for spicy turkey zucchini meatballs, you might also like these simple pasta recipes:

Creamy Spring Pasta with Oyster Mushrooms and Asparagus

Beet Butter Fettuccini

Simple Mushroom and White Bean Pasta

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