Healthy Recipes and Entertaining - Mains - Turkey

Spicy Asian Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles

January 30, 2018 (Last updated December 22, 2022) · Nicole Triebe
It’s 2017 and new year’s resolutions are EVERYWHERE! I know I definitely was working on my “winter bod” in the last few months.  Holidays sweets are perfect for that 🙂 But it’s a new year, and it’s time to get back to healthy eating!  It’s so easy when it tastes so good.  These spicy Asian meatballs with zucchini noodles are so tasty, and the zucchini noodles are a perfect compliment, and boost of extra nutrients that you need to keep your day going!
Spicy Asian Meatballs | a tasty way to work on your summer bod!
For this recipe, you’ll need a vegetable spiralizer, or you could cut your zucchini into very thin slices, or “noodles.”  I love this one I got on Amazon.  It comes with a few different blades for all kinds of slices! “Spiralize” your zucchini like above.  Then we can prepare the meatballs!
Zucchini noodles can be a little trick to work with.  Zucchinis are made up of 95 percent water (that’s a LOT!) So when you cook them, you may end up with a soggy, mushy mess of watery noodles – just by cooking one minute too long. So when you’re cooking zoodles, remind yourself that your intention is simply to heat them up and not really to “cook.”

Spicy Asian Meatballs | a tasty way to work on your summer bod!

If your zucchini noodles are room temperature, all you need to do is mix the noodles with your hot sauce from the spicy asian meatballs, and the noodles will cook super quick! So you’ve cooked without cooking! Basically the best thing ever if you’re wanting to make a quick meal.

If you’re using the spiralizer I mentioned earlier to make your zoodles, they’ll end up in really long strands.  You can just snip these in half with kitchen shears or a knife and voila! They’re the perfect size to pair with these Spicy Asian Meatballs.

I didn’t peel my zucchinis before spiralizing them, just because I love the pop of dark green in my dish, and the peel provides extra fiber and other nutrients.  Just something to keep in mind!

Spicy Asian Meatballs | a tasty way to work on your summer bod!
Love this recipe? Be sure to check out my Crockpot Honey and Garlic Meatballs and my spicy cashew chicken recipes.
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Spicy Asian Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Nicole Triebe
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 tbsp ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 small onion, diced

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 jalapeno, diced

For the noodles:

4 medium zucchinis, spiralized

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup peanut oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons chili oil

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

2 scallions, thinly sliced


Instructions

For the Meatballs:

Mix ground turkey, salt, garlic, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, jalapenos and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. I used my little cookie dough scooper (which is about a tablespoon size to shape the turkey mixture into little balls and put them in a shallow pan. Keep doing this with remaining mixture until there is nothing left.  Pan sear each side the meatballs until a little brown on each side and then add a little water and soy sauce to cover the bottom of the pan.  In doing this, we can make sure that the meatballs don’t dry out.  Cook them until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.  Alternatively, you can bake them at 375 F until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.

For the noodles:

While the meatballs are in the oven, whisk together the sesame oil, peanut oil, soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, honey, cayenne, and garlic until smooth.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and once the pan is heated, add in the zucchini noodles and red bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until al dente.  Add the sauce and toss to coat evenly.  Plate and top with meatballs.


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2 Comments

  • Reply Anna Bone February 14, 2018 at 4:10 am

    This was excellent!!! Very quick to put together and easy to prep in advance if need be. Everyone in my family loved the meatballs- even my toddlers! It’s going in the rotation.






  • Reply Renee February 3, 2019 at 4:29 pm

    I love these meatballs. I make a huge batch of them and use them for lots of dishes– Stir fry, curry sauce and vegetables, lettuce wraps with a spicy asian aioli.






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