One of my favorite sauces on earth happens to be enchilada sauce. GIVE ME A SPOON AND A BOWL OF IT.
Of course, enchilada sauce is best when it’s homemade with dried red chilies, but when you don’t have time, nor really care, then I vote for store-bought! Simply slide down the aisle of your local grocery store like you’re Bruno Mars, pick up a can of your favorite enchie sauce (that’s what we call it), plop it in your cart, grab the remaining ingredients in this recipe and be on your way.
Day 5 of #AKZucchiniWeek is about to be REAL DAMN GOOD.
Since my one pan meals are ridiculously popular with you kids, I decided it was time for another one. And what better excuse to use zucchini than in a flavorful little cozy turkey meatball? Even better when they are nestled into a enchilada sauce, fluffy rice and veggies.
What I love about using zucchini in this recipe is that it helps to keep the meatballs extra moist, and also adds a healthy dose of fiber. Meaning that these are once again perfect for both kids and adults!
Ingredients in zucchini turkey meatballs
These easy, one pan zucchini turkey meatballs just use turkey, a bunch of delicious spices & veggies, some yummy sauce and cheese. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Lean ground turkey: I like using about 93% lean so that the meatballs are still nice and juicy. Feel free to use ground chicken if you’d like.
- Zucchini: the secret veggie ingredient to keep these meatballs perfectly moist.
- Egg: to help hold the zucchini turkey meatballs together.
- Panko breadcrumbs: breadcrumbs will further help them stick together, but you can also use a fee tablespoons of coconut flour to keep them gluten free.
- Onion, jalapeño & cilantro: for bites of freshness and a little heat in the meatballs themselves.
- Spices: we’re packing these babies with flavor from garlic, cumin, salt & pepper.
- Olive oil: a little olive oil for browning the meatballs in your pan first.
- Veggies: we’re using poblano pepper, red bell pepper & frozen sweet corn.
- Enchilada sauce: use your favorite brand or my homemade recipe!
- White basmati rice: this rice cooks up nice and fluffy in the pan. Do not use brown rice as it will take too long to cook.
- Cheddar cheese: is there anything better than layers of gooey cheese with enchilada flavors?
I love serving it with creamy avocado slices, cilantro for a burst of fresh flavor, green onion and even sour cream or plain greek yogurt to cool it down. Also, if you LOVE spicy foods, I suggest using a HOT enchilada sauce instead of mild or medium.
How to make zucchini turkey meatballs:
These healthy zucchini turkey meatballs only take about 35-40 minutes from start to finish and are incredibly easy to make, especially since everything is cooked in one pan! Here’s how you’ll do it:
- Step 1: add zucchini, turkey, egg, panko breadcrumbs (or coconut flour), onion, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Mix together with clean hands and form into 16 balls.
- Step 2: place olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add meatballs; brown on all sides, then transfer to a plate.
- Step 3: add veggies like poblano, red bell pepper and corn; saute for a few minutes then pour in the enchilada sauce and stir in the rice. Place meatballs on top and bring sauce to a simmer, then cover the pan, reduce heat to low and cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Step 4: after the meatballs and rice are done cooking, remove lid and sprinkle cheese on top. Cover again and cook for 2-3 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Garnish with cilantro, avocado and green onion. This is also delicious with plain greek yogurt or sour cream on it!
Make a lower carb version
- Instead of white basmati rice you can use 3/4 cup quinoa or even cauliflower rice to keep it low carb. You decide!
- You can also make these zucchini turkey meatballs without breadcrumbs by simply using 2-3 tablespoons of coconut flour.
How to prep meatballs ahead of time
These healthy turkey zucchini meatballs can easily be prepped ahead of time! Simply mix and form the meatballs then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then tightly cover the meatballs with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. You can prep these meatballs up to one, or even two days ahead of time.
You can even shred zucchini and freeze it to make these for later! Follow these simple instructions and make all of the zucchini recipes your heart desires.
How to store and freeze zucchini turkey meatballs
To store: once complete cooled, portion out the meatballs and rice into glass meal prep containers and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Simply reheat them in the microwave.
To freeze: once completely cooled, portion out the meatballs and rice into freezer-friendly containers and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat simply allow the meatballs and rice to thaw in the refrigerator before microwaving them until they’re hot.
See how to make the one pan zucchini turkey meatballs:
I hope you love these healthy one pan enchilada zucchini turkey meatballs! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and rating so I know how you liked them. I greatly appreciate it – xo!
One Pan Enchilada Zucchini Turkey Meatballs and Rice
Ingredients
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey (or lean ground chicken)
- 1 cup shredded zucchini, that’s been squeezed of ALL excess moisture with a paper towel
- 1 egg
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs (or if GF sub 2-3 tablespoons coconut flour)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- ¼ cup finely diced cilantro
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- For the veggies, rice and sauce:
- 1 small poblano pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 3/4 cup frozen sweet corn
- 3 cups red enchilada sauce (mild or medium)
- 1 cup white basmati rice (do not use brown rice as it takes too long)
- For the topping:
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- To garnish:
- Diced green onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Diced or sliced avocado
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, add the ground turkey, shredded zucchini, egg, breadcrumbs, onion, cilantro, diced jalapeno, garlic, cumin and salt and pepper. Use clean hands to mix and form into 16 golf ball sized meatballs.
-
Place a large deep 10 inch skillet (or large pan) over medium heat and add in olive oil. You can also use a large pot, but I prefer a skillet. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, using tongs or a fork to flip. They should cook for about 5-6 minutes total. You may need to do this in batches, depending how many meatballs you can fit in your skillet without overcrowding them. When meatballs are done browning, transfer to a plate and set aside.
-
Reduce heat to medium-low and add in the poblano pepper, red bell pepper and frozen sweet corn. Saute for a minute, then add in the enchilada sauce. Bring enchilada sauce to a simmer, then fold in the rice, making sure it is evenly distributed. Add the browned meatballs on top. Cover the pan, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
-
After 20-25 minutes, remove the lid and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Cover, cook for 2 more minutes to melt cheese, then serve immediately with cilantro, green onion and avocado, if desired. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
Make a low carb version: Another option is to use 3/4 cup quinoa or even cauliflower rice to keep it low carb. You decide!
To store: once complete cooled, portion out the meatballs and rice into glass meal prep containers and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Simply reheat them in the microwave.
To freeze: once completely cooled, portion out the meatballs and rice into freezer-friendly containers and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat simply allow the meatballs and rice to thaw in the refrigerator before microwaving them until they're hot.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
More zucchini recipes you’ll love
Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Summer Garden Crustless Zucchini Pie
36 comments
I’m currently trying to use up all of my zucchini so this sounds PERFECT! Love this fun twist on an enchilada!
Perfect way to use up that zucchini! The flavors in here are amazing – let me know if you give it a try!
Made these tonight with cali rice, so easy and so good!! Thank you for another great recipe!
Delicious!! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
How many zucchinis typically will make 1 cup shredded?
It’s usually 1:1!
making these tonight! I always sub GF quick oats for the breadcrumbs….just another option 🙂
love the blog!
Great tip! Hope you love these!
The meatballs were excellent, so flavorful and moist, but the rice came out feeling a bit greasy and heavy to me, I’m guessing because of the enchilada sauce I used. Do you have a go-to enchilada sauce that you would recommend? I always have all your one pan meat and rice recipes on my meal prep rotation, and this one will definitely go on there too once I find the right sauce.
Monique’s enchilada sauce from the “Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas with Avocado Lime Crema” recipe is actually my favorite one to make from scratch. It’s quick and I think makes ~2 cups, so you could just double that recipe. At least that’s what I plan to do when I make this recipe this week!
Hmmm it may be from the sauce you used, as it shouldn’t feel too heavy! As someone mentioned above, I have a great homemade enchilada sauce here that will be perfect. Let me know if you make these again!
I made this for dinner last night and my husband and I both loved it! Ate the rest for lunch today and I can’t wait to make it again! Such a healthy, delicious dinner option that will definitely be added to our rotation.
Can someone tell me how many carbs would be in this without the rice?
Feel free to look up the # of carbs in 1/4 cup of the rice you’re using, and then subtract from the nutrition info 🙂
This recipe turned out so much better than I even hoped for! I didn’t realize how much enchilada sauce this called for so I only had a 12oz bottle from Trader Joe’s. I used about 8oz of water to rinse out the bottle and put that in the recipe to make up for the rest (i didn’t do a full 12oz of water bc I was worried it would thin it out too much). It turned out PERFECT and I would make it the same way again.
I’m glad the additional water helped out! Such a great dinner 🙂
I love this recipe!
YUM! I made this for dinner tonight and I was blown away by how flavorful it was. Unfortunately, I burned the rice, but I will definitely make this recipe again (I’ll keep a closer eye on it next time!). Thanks for another great recipe!
I think this might be the best recipe to ever bless my kitchen!!! I’ve made countless ambitious kitchen recipes and each time I’m blown away by how absolutely perfect they all are. I left out the zucchini in this one because I didn’t have any, and still they were the best meatballs I’ve ever had. I used the enchilada sauce recipe from your vegan butternut squash enchiladas and it was delicious. Thank you for so many amazing recipes and keeping me inspired in the kitchen!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that, Katie 🙂 I hope you keep finding recipes here that you love!
Made this tonight, so so so good! Thank you for yet again an amazing healthy and delicious recipe!
So glad you enjoyed!
Hi,
I have a quick question about the low carb versions. If I make it with quinoa or cauliflower rice is it the same cooking time as the white basmati rice?
Thanks
Hi! Yes, it should be the same time 🙂
These are delicious! For some reason it takes me too long to get the meatballs cooked all the way through so i usually end up just cooking it all in the pan together but it’s still so good!
Hmmm not sure why they don’t cook up all the way through, but glad it works well in the pan together. Such a great dinner!
This was an absolute hit with out entrie family even my other half who is fussy said he wants ir again. This will be going into out monthly rotation of foods.
Amazing! So happy to hear that.
Definitely took me a little longer than 35 mins start to finish but this was SO delicious & fairly simple. Ambitious Kitchen never disappoints 🙂
So happy you loved it! The first time making a recipe can always take a bit longer, but I’m sure it’ll be even faster the next time you try it 🙂
Amazing! Made this for the second time, and was impressed with how much flavor it had. The only suggestion I would have would be to increase the prep time from 10 minutes to 20-25 minutes…. It took a longer time to roll the meatballs and cook them, etc.
So glad you enjoyed! And thanks for the tip 🙂
Yum! This meal felt satiating and healthy (hard combo to find sometimes) due to all the veggies included. Also, who knew $1 cans of enchilada sauce could be made so tasty?! I managed to use brown rice – I cooked 1 cup dry brown rice about halfway (in a separate pot) before adding it to the sauce to simmer. I think it made my end result a bit saucier since the rice needed to absorb less liquid but regardless the dish was still great! Thanks Monique!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
I am going to try this recipe tonight and I was curious if I could make the meatball mixture prior to cooking and just refrigerate or if they need to be made immediately before cooking? I’ll update with how the recipe turns out; I’m excited to try!
That should be just fine! Let me know how it goes 🙂