Welcome to your new favorite way to use zucchini and maybe even your new go-to weeknight dinner. I developed this recipe for #AKZucchiniWeek and it quickly became a staple in our house because of how easy and delicious it was.
So let’s get to it. Onto ze ballz. DEZ BALLS.
Too much? Let’s move on.
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To be honest with you, chicken (or turkey) meatballs or meatloaf is on my menu once a week in our house. WE LOVE IT. It’s an easy dinner; just serve veggies or a salad on the side for a high protein, nutritious meal.
I wanted to give you another easy one pan meal that would be awesome for meal prep, for when you don’t feel like creating a huge mess in your kitchen or have zero time (so this is basically all of you).
And honestly, I’m just gonna say this: I freakin’ nailed it. Yep, tooting my own horn over here. TOOT TOOT.
What’s in these zucchini chicken meatballs?
These lean chicken (or turkey) meatballs are SO juicy and flavorful thanks to:
- shredded zucchini
- curry powder
- cumin
- turmeric
- garlic
- a pinch of cayenne
- an egg
- breadcrumbs
All you’ll do is roll them up into big golf sized balls, place on a baking sheet with the chopped bell peppers and bake away! 20 minutes later you have an absolutely delicious healthy meal to nosh on.
Of course, I can’t forget this coconut curry sauce situation. This may be a little dramatic, but I kind of want to bathe in it (that’s how addicting it is). It’s made with coconut milk, tahini, garlic, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne, ginger and just a touch of maple syrup. If you’re a curry fan, be prepared to fall in love!
How to meal prep the zucchini chicken meatballs:
This recipe makes AMAZING leftovers, is lower in carbs, packs in a ton of protein per serving and is wonderful for meal prep. To do so:
- Make the meatballs ahead of time and bake them
- Allow them to cool and then place three meatballs and peppers in a meal prep container.
- Serve the meatballs with a baked sweet potato, quinoa or rice — you can drizzle the sauce on top of everything!
- Once ready to eat, microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until warm.
I have a feeling this is a recipe you’ll be making again and again. Enjoy — xo!
More zucchini recipes you’ll love
- Buffalo Zucchini Chicken Burgers
- The BEST Zucchini Lasagna Recipe (low carb!)
- The Best Zucchini Brownies You’ll Ever Eat
- 30 Minute Brown Butter Goat Cheese Grilled Veggie Orzo
- One Pan Sazon Skillet Chicken
Get all of my zucchini recipes here!
I hope you love these zucchini chicken meatballs! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked the. Enjoy, xo!
Sheet Pan Zucchini Chicken Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce

Ingredients
- For the peppers:
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
- 1 orange bell pepper, cut into medium chunks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound 94% lean ground chicken or turkey
- 1 cup shredded zucchini that's been squeezed of excess moisture with towel
- 1/4 cup panko or regular breadcrumbs* (see notes section for GF option)
- 1 egg
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For the sauce:
- 1/3 cup light coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup or honey, to sweeten
- 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- 1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
- To garnish:
- Cilantro and diced green onion
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don't have a large baking sheet, you can use two smaller pans.
-
Add chopped bell peppers to a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle on garlic powder and a little salt and pepper. Use a spoon to toss the peppers in the oil to coat them. Set aside.
-
Make the meatballs: Add ground chicken (or turkey), shredded zucchini (make sure you squeezed all the excess moisture out) , breadcrumbs*, egg, minced garlic, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Use clean hands to mix until well combined. Do not over mix.
-
Grab a golf size ball of meat and roll it into a ball. Place each on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Evenly distribute chopped bell peppers in the spaces between the meatballs like the pictures show.
-
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked and a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees. Mine were done at 20 minutes.
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While the meatballs are cooking, make the coconut curry sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, tahini, garlic, maple syrup, curry powder, ginger, turmeric, cayenne and salt and pepper, to taste. Be careful to not over salt the sauce -- taste and adjust as you go.
-
Drizzle sauce over cooked meatballs. Garnish with green onion and cilantro, if desired. Serves 4, 3 meatballs each + roasted peppers + sauce. To make this a full meal, I recommend serving with rice, a baked sweet potato or quinoa.
Recipe Notes
To make meatballs GF or paleo: I recommend using gluten free breadcrumbs or you can sub 1 tablespoon coconut flour (for the 1/4 cup breadcrumbs).
115 comments
This recipe sounds SO tasty! I am all over that sauce! Adding shredded zucchini to meatballs, taquitos, etc is my jam as well!
This recipe sounds SO tasty! I am all over that sauce! Adding shredded zucchini to meatballs, taquitos, etc is my jam as well!
Could I use peanut butter instead of tahini? I have everything besides tahini! And these look scrumptious!
I’d recommend cashew butter if you have it! The peanut butter will just add a peanut buttery flavor (if you don’t mind that, then it will work too!)
Could I use peanut butter instead of tahini? I have everything besides tahini! And these look scrumptious!
Will be happy to receive your recipes & thanks.
Will be happy to receive your recipes & thanks.
Such a brilliant idea to add zucchini to meatballs…can’t wait to try that! 🙂
It makes them super juicy! Hope you love these 🙂
Such a brilliant idea to add zucchini to meatballs…can’t wait to try that! 🙂
It makes them super juicy! Hope you love these 🙂
YUM! Just had a taste. Lunches for the week solved once again by Monique!
Perfect weekday lunch!! Love it.
This is an amazing recipe. I was trying it out for myself and ate the entire pan. Meatballs are really moist and the garlic and spices are wonderful. Pairing this with roasted bell pepper is a clever taste combo. I love the heat from the cayenne, but I think for most of my friends I’d have to leave that out. Next time I’ll probably make the meatballs a little smaller. For the sauce I didn’t have ginger and didn’t feel like dealing with more garlic, so I left those out. For company I’d consider individual bowls of rice and serving this on top. Wish I could think of something to do with the leftover coconut milk. This does involve some focused kitchen prep time, so if I was fixing this as an after work dinner with friends I think one could get everything ready the night before and pop into the oven while you get the rice cooking.
I’m so glad you liked this one! It’s perfect for customizing for friends + family, too. These would be delicious with rice!
This recipe is amazing!!! Followed it exactly but doubled the sauce. Such an easy week night dinner!
Love it! That sauce is the BEST.
Made these last night. Major yum!! Served over cauliflower rice, added a bit more salt. Will definitely make again!
Perfect!! Love the idea of cauliflower rice with this.
Yum! My two and a half year old daughter helped me prep the meal (tossing peppers into bowl, dumping spices, placing meatballs on pan). Delicious and fun activity for us 😁 this recipe is a keeper!
Aww I’m so glad you guys made it together! Lots of love in this recipe 🙂
Yum! My two and a half year old daughter helped me prep the meal (tossing peppers into bowl, dumping spices, placing meatballs on pan). Delicious and fun activity for us 😁 this recipe is a keeper!
Aww I’m so glad you guys made it together! Lots of love in this recipe 🙂
Love the addition of a curry sauce – such a creative spin on meatballs and so much color/flavor!
Curry in everyyything YES!
Love the addition of a curry sauce – such a creative spin on meatballs and so much color/flavor!
Curry in everyyything YES!
I made this last night for dinner and my boyfriend LOVED it. I haven’t seen him grab seconds in a LONG time, so I thought I would pop back in and say, thank you! We enjoyed it immensely!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that 🙂 My husband loves this one too!
Those meatballs look amazing and I’m LOVING the sound of that sauce!! I am totally going to make these!
Those meatballs look amazing and I’m LOVING the sound of that sauce!! I am totally going to make these!
How do you shred the zuchinni for this recipe?
I use a hand grater like this one!
Actually sheet pan zucchini chicken is wonderful.
Agreed!!
So good! Made these with turkey and they came out amazing! made them like 3 times already!
So happy to hear that! Such a great go-to for weeknight dinners 🙂
I made these tonight and they are amazing! No lack of flavor here and so moist. Absolutely making them again!
So happy to hear that! Perfect weeknight dinner.
I made these tonight and they are amazing! No lack of flavor here and so moist. Absolutely making them again!
So happy to hear that! Perfect weeknight dinner.
Wow, this was incredible! Probably the first recipe I’ve found in several months that truly left me wowed. I never realized how much I liked peppers until stirring them into basmati rice with this delicious sauce, which I’m glad I doubled. I used 85% lean turkey for the meatballs and they turned out so moist thanks to the zucchini. I would love to know if you’ve tried that meatball recipe for Italian style dishes and swapped out the spices or if you have any suggestions for doing so? Husband was begging to have them with spaghetti in the near future!
So happy to hear that Taylor! Love that sauce. I love this meatball recipe with Italian flavors! enjoy 🙂
This is such a delicious recipe and came together quickly. Love the flavors and the colors. Thanks for the recipe!
Sheet pan meals are the best! Glad you enjoyed, Ana 🙂
This was my first attempt at making meatballs, and they turned out great – a fabulous recipe! I doubled the sauce recipe, because I love me some sauce!
Perfect! Love me some sauce, too 🙂
OMG made these tonight and it is now one of my favorite recipes ever. I love Whole Foods chicken and quinoa meatballs from the hot bar but these are BETTER. Absolutely delicious. My boyfriend actually asked to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow…Lol. You hit it out of the park with this meal!
OMG made these tonight and it is now one of my favorite recipes ever. I love Whole Foods chicken and quinoa meatballs from the hot bar but these are BETTER. Absolutely delicious. My boyfriend actually asked to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow…Lol. You hit it out of the park with this meal!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that Morgan!
Just made this tonight and my kids and I loved it! I used a whole can of coconut milk and adjusted the other sauce ingredients accordingly. We loved the sauce so it worked out well! My toddler kept spooning it into her mouth as “soup!” Amazing meal. We will definitely make this one again!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
I love this recipe and have added it to my usual dinner rotation. The combination of the meatballs + sauce is so delicious! I usually have a baked sweet potato on the side.
Perfect for meal prep! Love the idea of serving these with sweet potato.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! Can’t wait for lunch this week!!
Absolutely! Hope you love this one 🙂
I love this recipe! It makes such a quick week night dinner with minimal clean up and the leftovers are the best. I didn’t have coconut milk and the sauce was still delicious using refrigerated cashew milk. I also bought the Soom tahini based on your recommendation and love it! Thank you!!
I love these leftovers, too! Great tip on the cashew milk, and glad you’re loving Soom! Try these recipes with it 🙂
We had these for dinner last night. I made them GF with the coconut flour option. Very good flavors, so reminiscent of Indian food. I would make again and try with the Panko breadcrumbs and roast zucchini or sweet potatoes in place of the peppers. I do recommend this recipe!
Perfect! Roasted zucchini and sweet potatoes would be delicious with these, too. Glad you enjoyed!
Made this last night for me and my boyfriend and it was a winner! Loved the combination of flavors and the quantity it makes so we have leftovers for the next few days. Next time, I would use less red chili powder or leave it out of the sauce as the heat gave my boyfriend really bad hiccups haha. Monique, I know you like it spicy!
Love this one for weekday meal prep! You’re right that I do like things spicy 🙂 but absolutely feel free to leave out the cayenne in the sauce. Glad you two enjoyed even with the side of hiccups!
Meat balls perfect, used 99 percent fat free ground chicken. I did a different topping for them, as I wanted more of a sauce this time, but will make this one too next time. Really great meatball recipe.
Fav for meal prep!
Monique!!!! Another EXCELLENT recipe.
Thanks Lisa, happy you enjoyed the meatballs!
This sounded yummy, but I’ve never actually had chicken meatballs before. The spices and smells were good but I realized I am just not a fan of ground chicken. I liked the idea of adding zucchini into the meatballs and might just try it with other forms of ground beef.
Feel free to make the meatballs with ground beef instead! Let me know how it goes 🙂
This will be my third time making this recipe! So easy and amazing flavours. I like to make coconut rice with the extra coconut milk from the can to put the meatballs on. Sooooo yum!
Amazing! Love the idea of serving with coconut rice – delicious!
This is so good! I usually roast a sweet potato and a cauliflower to serve with it. My husband is not usually a fan of tahini in sauces, but this is one of his favourite meals!
This meatball recipe was such a delicious departure from more classic meatball recipes (which are also delicious, but it’s nice to change it up once in a while). The recipe came together quickly and was the perfect effortless weeknight meal!
Amazing! So glad you loved this one!
A friend recommended your website and this was my first recipe. At first I laughed when I saw the blog name because I’m not great in the kitchen and I feel like everything I do is overly-ambitious.. haha. This was an excellent dish! I enjoyed it so much I made it a few times already in and it’s only been two weeks! Thanks for this recipe! 🙂
I’m glad you gave this one a try! Hope you keep finding recipes here that you love 🙂
This is hands down one of the best dishes I have every TASTED! My husband and I are huge fans of this recipe and will be adding it to our repertoire. Everything is so delicious! Way better than getting take out!
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
I love the addition of zucchini and curry into the chicken meatballs. They are flavorful and not at all dry. The tahini sauce adds a pleasant nutty creaminess. I will be making this for dinner often — easy, delicious, and nutritious!
Aren’t the flavors amazing? Glad you loved this one!
Super easy recipe! Came together in about 40 minutes, including the time to prep everything and cook some rice noodles to go along with it! The sauce ties everything together… don’t leave it out! I topped mine with some chopped cashews and coconut and it was delicious!
Absolutely! Love the idea of topping with cashew + coconut. YUM.
Can I put together all meatball ingredients and freeze as formed balls to bake at a later time for a “fresher” taste on the day I actually want to eat them?
Yes that will work!
This one is perfect!
Glad you love it!
Delicious recipe!! The meatballs were tender and the sauce paired beautifully with everything. Thank you for the recipe, will definitely make it again!
So glad you loved this one! One of our favorite dinners, too 🙂
Absolutely delicious! The whole family loved them, I will be making them again soon.
The flavor on these is ::chef’s kiss::
Really great for meal prep too!
A little labor intensive for a weeknight but worth it. Even my picky husband asks for these.
Glad it’s a hit! perfect for meal prep 🙂
These were really great! I made them as is, but used a pre-made yellow curry sauce to save a bit of time. After my meatballs were in the oven I put them in the sauce for about 10-20 minutes to finish cooking. Another amazing recipe!
Perfect! Such a great dinner 🙂
LOVED these meatballs and sauce! The meatballs were perfectly moist and the baking instructions so helpful. The addition of the zucchini is so smart. My husband loved the curry sauce and couldn’t get enough. We had some extra, so ended up dipping oven french fries in it one evening and I even topped an omelette with it – just such a great, versatile sauce!
So happy to hear that! My fav sauce 🙂
I thought the meatballs were really good but the sauce was very bitter. I made it a few times and it never turned out.
It could be the brand of turmeric or curry powder you are using; I’ve had a bitter issue with some brands before. Feel free to add a teaspoon of pure maple syrup or honey to the sauce!
Yet again another AMAZING recipe from you, Monique! Lost track of the number of times my husband said “wow this is so good.” Only change was used almond milk instead of coconut since we didn’t have it on hand. Such a great recipe!!
Love that! So happy you both enjoyed 🙂
Hi! I am wanting to freeze these- should I cook first then freeze? or freeze raw? Thanks!
I think it’ll be easier to cook them before freezing so that you can simply reheat to serve!
I made these for the first time tonight and I completely understand why you want to bathe in that sauce! I also want to take a bath in that sauce! So delicious with such juicy meatballs!
Right?!! So amazing. Glad you agreed!
Made some basmati rice and a bit more coconut milk to the sauce for some extra sauciness. I also threw an onion on the sheet pan for roasting! Was a great dinner and meal prep for the week.
We really enjoyed this – especially the coconut milk curry sauce! I’ll definitely be making the sauce again…and probably making the meatballs again too 🙂
So glad to hear that!! Thanks so much for the review, Melinda 🙂
This was great! I heated the sauce up. I thought cold coconut milk would not be good with hot meatballs. I fixed it with quinoa. It’s a keeper!
Wow! I have made a lot of AK recipes and this one is near the top of my favorites. That sauce is to die for! This dish is so delicious and full of nutrients! I will definitely be making this one again! Used the same seasoning mix on some roasted sweet potatoes to finish off the dish. Excellent!!
Yay!! I’m so happy you loved this one, Liz!
I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to leave a review, but this recipe is delicious and has been a regular in our rotation for a few years. The curry sauce is flavorful without being too spicy for our toddler to enjoy. We love it! I serve with roasted sweet potatoes tossed in garam masala. Yum!
Ahh I’m so happy to hear that, Alli! Sounds like an amazing meal 🙂 Really appreciate the review!
Did you know, you can buy GF Panko breadcrumbs??
Yes there are a bunch of brands online!
This recipe was delicious and will be on my go-tp list when hosting guests. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!