Vegetarian Zucchini Meatballs

A bowl with red sauce and zucchini meatballs on a bed of spaghetti. There's a fork twisting spaghetti in the bowl and fresh herbs sprinkled over top.

Vegetarian Zucchini Meatballs

Transform your summer zucchini into flavorful zucchini meatballs! Made with homemade breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and lots of herbs for fresh flavor. These vegetarian meatballs are simply delicious and are a great way to sneak some veggies into weeknight meals!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Italian zucchini meatballs, zucchini meatballs

Freezer Friendly Yes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings meatballs

Calories 134kcal

Author Bethany Kramer

Ingredients

1 lb zucchini around 2 1/4 cups when shredded
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs (see below for my homemade breadcrumb recipe)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped small
1 heaping teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 egg
3 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon (each) salt & black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Shred the zucchini: using a cheese grater, grate the zucchini until small pieces.
Cook zucchini: in a skillet pan, add olive oil, and garlic (either shred the garlic or use a garlic press so it's cut really fine). Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked down quite a bit. When finished, add the zucchini to a fine-mesh strainer and lightly press some of the exsess water out.
Mix meatball filling: place the zucchini in a large bowl and add the egg, breadcrumbs, basil, oregano, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Mix together until it resembles a wet filling.
Form the meatballs: Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to measure. Squeeze and roll the filling back and forth with your hands until a circle forms, roll into a ball, then place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all the meatballs are made.
Bake: then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. I bake mine for around 23 minutes (time will depend on the size). They should be golden on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. Serve with marinara, fresh basil, and your favorite pasta!

Notes

Homemade breadcrumb recipe

Toast 4-5 slices of your favorite bread. Make sure the toast is very toasted (just not burnt). Let it cool for 1-2 minutes.
Break up the toast into smaller pieces and add them to a high-powered blender or food processor. Pulse/blend until the toast turns into crumbs. Note: if the toast is too soft, too warm, and not really browned, blending it into crumbs won't work. It needs to be very toasted and completely cooled.

Favorite bread for breadcrumbs - You can use any bread you like for the homemade breadcrumbs. But I personally love the results when using a really grainy, healthy bread (Ezekiel bread is what I typically use) because it ends up being dryer when toasted which makes for extra crispy breadcrumbs!

Nutrition