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!
How to make zucchini turkey meatballs:
These 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!
One thing that’s important to know before making this skillet is that you must use white rice in order for the rice to cook in time. Unfortunately brown rice will take too long to cook in the skillet.
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!
I hope you all love this easy weeknight dinner recipe. 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.
See how to make the one pan zucchini turkey meatballs:
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
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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.
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Place a large deep 10 inch skillet (or largeover 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.
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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.
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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!
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
26 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!