Need an allergy friendly meal in a hurry? This one is it! I fell in love with zucchini a few years ago and have found it to be unbelievably versatile. I now have zucchini on hand for nearly everything. For whatever reason, I have been craving meatballs lately. However, I avoid red meat for the most part so that was out. Sure enough, there is a zucchini alternative!

Zucchini meatballs are easy to make with or without sauce and can be tweaked for whatever substitutions are necessary. Plus, you can make these in a hurry, it’s not an all night meal. Now, let’s get to the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs grated zucchini

2 tsp olive oil (divided)

1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tsp crushed garlic

1/4 cup applesauce or other egg replacement

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cup marina sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and wash and grate the zucchini.

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil on a skillet and add in the gluten free breadcrumbs. If you are not using gluten free breadcrumbs you can skip this step. However, gluten free breadcrumbs need a little kick. Toss them in the oil for a few minutes until golden brown.

Once browned, add Italian seasoning and set aside.

Now, add 1 tsp olive oil back to the skillet and throw in the garlic and zucchini. The goal is to cook out some of the water so, cook the zucchini for about 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a colander to drain excess water.

Add the applesauce into the breadcrumb mixture and stir in drained zucchini. Next, form into small zucchini balls and place on baking sheet.

Bake the zucchini balls for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Cover in marinara sauce and shredded cheese. YUM! This will quickly become your favorite meal, I promise!