Packed with veggies, herbs and fragrant spices, these turkey zucchini meatballs are exceptionally flavorful, light and healthy. I like to serve these scrumptious turkey meatballs as an appetizer, with lemony yogurt sauce on the side for dipping.
I love meatballs— Moroccan Meatballs, Lamb Meatballs, Meatball Soup — and the list goes on.
I'm always on the lookout for the next amazing meatball recipe to try. So when I discovered this Turkey Zucchini Meatball recipe in Ottolenghi's cookbook Jerusalem, I loved the idea of super healthy meatballs packed with zucchini, scallions and fresh herbs, with no breadcrumbs or flour. But I have to say, I was skeptical that they would hold together.
Even the first time I made them, as I was forming the meatballs, I had my doubts. The mixture seemed much too loose and wet to ever brown properly.
But this recipe works! The meatballs brown beautifully and they turn out tender, juicy and incredibly flavorful. Ottolenghi is a true genius. I say that to myself every time I make these amazing Turkey Zucchini Meatballs.
If you have the cookbook Jerusalem, you'll notice that Ottolenghi calls these burgers. I call them meatballs. They don't look quite like either one. They're small — two or three bites apiece — and they're served with a lemony yogurt dip and no bun.
I like forming them into an oblong shape because it makes them more like finger food that you can hold and dip. In fact I often serve them as an appetizer, with the lemony yogurt sauce in a small bowl on the side for dipping.
Want To Save this Recipe?
Share your email and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
HOW TO MAKE TURKEY ZUCCHINI MEATBALLS
Considering that these turkey zucchini meatballs are made without breadcrumbs or flour, it's surprising how well they hold together and how beautifully they brown up. The mixture is softer and wetter than traditional meatball mixtures, so shaping them requires a slightly different technique. You'd be frustrated if you tried to "roll" them like you normally do with meatballs. Here are some tips:
- Scoop up about 2 ½ tablespoons of the mixture and toss it gently from hand to hand, giving little light squeezes to form a into a small, oblong-shaped meatball.
- Three or four tosses and squeezes per meatball should do the trick.
- If the mixture sticks to your hands, fill a bowl with ice water and dip your hands in from time to time. The mixture is less likely to stick to cold, damp hands.
- As you form the meatballs, set them on a large plate.
- Heat oil in a skillet and gently slide the meatballs into the hot pan. Cook them in batches, turning until they're nicely browned on all sides.
- Transfer the browned meatballs to a parchment-lined baking sheet and finish cooking them in a 425ºF oven for 6-7 minutes.
I love to serve these Turkey Zucchini Meatballs with the lemony yogurt sauce on the side for dipping or drizzling. The sauce is made with Greek yogurt, sour cream, lemon, garlic and sumac — a beautiful deep red Middle Eastern spice with a tangy, lemony flavor.
If you try these Turkey Zucchini Meatballs, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Ottolenghi's Turkey Zucchini Meatballs with Lemony Yogurt Sauce
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 6-8 Servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Low-Carb
Description
These healthy Turkey Zucchini Meatballs are tender, juicy and packed with fresh herbs and spices. They're naturally gluten-free with no breadcrumbs or flour, and they're delicious as a main dish or appetizer with lemony yogurt sauce for drizzling or dipping.
Adapted from a recipe by Chef Yotam Ottolenghi in his cookbook Jerusalem
Ingredients
- ½ cup sour cream
- ⅔ cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sumac
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground turkey (white or dark meat)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large zucchini, grated (about 1 ¾-2 cups), squeezed in a clean dish towel to remove excess water
- 6 scallions, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil for sautéing
Want To Save this Recipe?
Share your email and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
Instructions
Make the Yogurt Sauce
- Combine all ingredients. Set aside or refrigerate for up to 3 days, until needed.
Make The Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 425F/220C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, gently combine the turkey, zucchini, scallions, egg, mint, cilantro, garlic and spices, using your hands.
- Shape the meatballs (about 2 ½ tablespoons per ball) by gently squeezing them and tossing them from hand to hand. If they stick to your hands, dip your hands in a bowl of ice water, which will keep the mixture from sticking. Set the formed meatballs on a large plate. Makes about 18 meatballs.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Slide half the meatballs into the pan and brown them on all sides, about 4 minutes. Carefully transfer them to the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the meatballs, adding extra oil to the pan, if needed.
- Slide the tray into the center of the oven and cook for 6-7 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Serve warm with the lemony yogurt sauce for dipping or drizzling.
Notes
- Yogurt sauce variation: For a lighter sauce, replace the sour cream with additional Greek yogurt. The sauce will be a little tangier but still delicious.
- Make-Ahead Strategy: The meatballs can be browned earlier in the day, arranged on the baking sheet, covered and refrigerated until you're ready to serve. Finish them in the oven as directed, adding an extra minute or two to the cooking time if they're going straight from the refrigerator into the oven.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Appetizer or Main Course
- Method: Baked, Pan-Fried
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Brushjl
Fantastic! The meatballs were a but tricky to make, but it was worth it. The sauce was delicious.
Lisa Goldfinger
I agree there's some finessing involved to shape the meatballs but I'm really glad you found it all worthwhile. Thanks for circling back to leave a rating and a comment. It's much appreciated.
jennie
Where I live zucchini can be up to 2 lbs or more at farmers markets. The original recipe calls for 200g of grated zucchini which to me is a small zucchini, about 1/2-2/3 the size of an english cucumber. For my family this made dinner for three and one leftover lunch - definitely not enough for dinner for 8! The sauce is delicious.
Serena
Love this recipe! Just wondering if these cooked meatballs can be frozen to be reheated later
Pat
I read Ali Slagle's adaptation of this recipe and decided to find the original Ottolenghi recipe. I'm delighted that I did...they are delicious. The recipe calls for one egg, but the photo of the ingredients in the bowl shows either two eggs or a double-yolk egg. I used one egg`, but the recipe was so juicy when ingredients were brought together that I did add about 3/3 cup panko bread crumbs. The result gained enough firmness that the oblong shapes could hold.
I refrigerated the meat'balls' for an hour prior to browning and baking, which worked well.
The result was a truly delicious, tender and flavorful. To the yogurt sauce, having no sumac, I added about 2 TBS balsamic glaze...tasted great.
I served the meat'balls' on acini de pepe (cooked in chicken broth) topped with the yogurt sauce and have added this recipe into my 'favorites' file. Thanks so much for including this recipe on your web page.
Hungrynyc
Just ate dinner and we are so happy!! The rest of this comment is more for myself when I come searching for this recipe again and can’t remember what I used out of necessity 🙈
- Steep 1 tsp of coriander in 2T of neutral oil for thirty minutes
- Sub parsley and dill for of mint and cilantro
- 1 tablespoon dried chives instead of fresh scallions
Wendy Hardman
The recipe says it yields 6-8. Does that mean it makes 6-8 meatballs? or serves 6-8 people?
Lisa Goldfinger
Sorry for the confusion Wendy. The recipe makes about 18 good-sized meatballs and will serve 6-8 people - maybe even more if you're serving it as an appetizer. Thanks for pointing that out. I'm going to add "servings" to that number and update the post.
Lauren
Wondering if they can be kept warm in a crock pot t to bring for a pot luck get-together?
Lisa Goldfinger
I would guess that yes, you can keep them warm in a slow cooker. I suggest you heat them up before you go to the get-together, and then when you arrive, put the slow cooker on high at first and when the meatballs are nice and warm, turn the slow cooker to the "keep warm" setting.
Joni
I finally made these last night and they are absolutely delicious! I did substitute parsley for the cilantro as I'm not a fan of cilantro. My meatballs were more like a small patty but we loved the flavor and will be serving again tonight for family. Love these!! Thanks to Lisa!
Lisa Goldfinger
Yay! I'm glad this recipe worked out so well for you. Nice to know that parsley is a good option for those who don't like cilantro. Thanks for sharing the details!
Melissa
Absolutely delicious. This recipe is a keeper! We served it with garlic naan bread and sautéed veggies (zucchini, onion, mushrooms, garlic)
Lisa Goldfinger
That sounds like the perfect meal. I'm really glad you enjoyed the meatballs!
Holly
This was my first Ottolenghia recipe and it was AMAZING. Seriously, I've never had such flavorful and moist turkey meatballs.They were truly delicious. Not to mention left my kitchen smelling incredible. A new favorite recipe for sure. Next time I would cut back a little on the cayenne though.
PS I have no idea how you get your meatballs to stay so neat! Mine always stick and kind of fall apart in the pan! They still taste amazing though lol
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Holly - These are maybe the most challenging meatballs to shape so you are not alone in your struggle. It took me many tries to get the technique down. But I agree - it's not about how they look!
Laetitia
excellent. made with chicken breasts.
Isabella Gomez
Great taste but I would deff squeeze out the water for the zucchini next time! Maybe my zucchini was too large but when I was pan-frying them it was hard to get them to brown because of the excess water coming out. Other than that it was delicious.
Lisa
Hi Isabella - Squeezing out the water is a great idea. I haven't had that problem but I can see where it could happen with a particularly large juicy zucchini. I'm glad that you enjoyed the meatballs, despite the watery zucchini. Thanks for circling back to leave a rating and comment.
Pat
Great idea to reduce the juices the zucchini gives. That would have negated my need to add panko when I made them.
Joni
I'm back to the market for the ground turkey. Can't wait to try this one!
Lisa
Great - I hope you enjoy!
Nom
DELICIOUS just as is!! Tender, light meatballs, interesting sauce. Instead of four minutes to brown, it probably took me six. I also took others advice and squeezed liquid out of the grated zucchini. I think that was a worthwhile step because the raw mixture is quite loose and wet as it is. This goes into rotation and I’ll make enough to freeze too. As someone who doesn’t eat dairy or flour, this is a great meatball recipe to have in the lineup.
Denise
How many cups of zucchini do I need?
Thanks
Lisa
1 3/4 cups to 2 cups. Enjoy!
Amanda
Love love love this recipe ! Quick question - I grated my zucchini finely and then squeezed out the water. Do you do the larger grate and leave the excess water ?
Lisa
I've never squeezed out the water, Amanda. I just grate the zucchini and add it to the bowl with all the other ingredients. I do think there might be more water when you grate the zucchini more finely. I think you'll have success any way you do it but the meatballs might be a bit easier to form if they have less liquid, so your technique is probably right on!
Lisa
Step three of instructions most likely has a typo "Slice half of the meatballs" should probably be "Slide half of the meatballs."
Lisa
I made the correction. Thanks for your editing help 🙂
Paula
Hi. Ive just come across your recipe. Can these be made and then frozen before you put them in the oven.
Lisa
Hi Paula, I haven't tried this but I am quite sure it will work well. I like the idea of sautéing them to firm them up, and then freezing them. Then all you have to do is pop them in the oven to cook them through.