Zucchini Beef Meatballs

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Zucchini Beef Meatballs with pasta marinara is a lightened up comfort meal the whole family loved ~ this easy and healthy meatball recipe is a must try!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 7 ounce zucchini, trimmed and grated (about a packed cup)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• ¾ cup ricotta cheese
• 3 heaping Tbsp minced (fresh!) parsley
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• olive oil (for brushing)
• spaghetti
• ¾ lb spaghetti, cooked al dente
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce, heated
• garnish
• grated Parmesan cheese
• fresh basil leaves

Method

1. Put the zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the excess moisture. Add it to a bowl along with the beef, egg, cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. I like to use my stand mixer with the paddle attachment to mix ground meat for meatballs and meatloaves, I find it does a perfect gentle job of mixing everything well without compacting the meat. You can also do this with clean hands. Whichever method you chose, mix the ingredients so they're well blended together without over mixing.
2. I use my 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop to scoop out the meat mixture and roll into 20 balls. Place on a cookie sheet and lightly brush the balls with olive oil. You can refrigerate the meatballs at this point if you like. I like to refrigerate for about 20 minutes to allow them to firm up.
3. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375F
4. Cook the meatballs for about 10-15 minutes, then finish under the broiler to get some nice caramelization. A thermometer should read 160F when they're done.
5. Serve hot over spaghetti and your favorite marinara sauce, with a shower of Parmesan cheese.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island