A lighter alternative to regular meatballs, these One-Pot Turkey Meatballs With Courgetti are tender and delicious! 
One-pot meatballs are a complete revelation to me. I'm very fussy when it comes to meatballs. Not only have they got to be juicy and flavourful, they've also got to be perfectly browned, with a light crust on the outside.
I thought the only way to do this was to either fry them separately, or cook them in the oven.
When I finally realised (with this meatballs recipe) that I could save myself a ton of washing up by cooking them in the same pan as the sauce AND the pasta, I was delighted! Anything to save time at the dreaded sink.
I'm now upgrading further to a lighter version, made with turkey mince and courgetti!
If you're not a fan of courgetti (or zoodles I think they're called in the US), you can replace with 600ml (2 1/2 cups) just boiled water and 200g (7oz) dried spaghetti (all added to the pan with the meatballs), then simmer with the lid on for 10-12 minutes to cook the pasta.
I sometimes do a mixture of half and half - cooking the spaghetti in the meatball pan and adding the courgetti at the end.
I was hoping to get another pasta recipe out this week too - a cheesy, veggie one-pot pasta that I posted on Instagram last week.
It's been one of those crazy weeks though!
We finally completed the kitchen and office YAY!!!
So we've been filming some footage for the kitchen reveal video, and I've also been doing some work with the Neff team in my own kitchen.
I can't tell you how nice it feels to invite people into the kitchen and feel proud of how it looks. The first time in my life I've had a kitchen that I absolutely love!
Hopefully I'll get that pasta recipe post next week. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the turkey meatballs 🙂
If you like my One-Pot Turkey Meatballs With Courgetti, the why not try my lighter hidden veg meatballs too:
I first made this One-Pot Turkey Meatballs With Courgetti for Superfood magazine.
The One-Pot Turkey Meatballs Recipe:
One-Pot Turkey Meatballs With Courgetti
Ingredients
- 1.1 lb (500g) turkey thigh mince
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 1 medium egg
- 1 large onion - peeled and finely chopped
- ½ slice of wholemeal bread - grated
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 celery stalks - thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 14 oz (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 cup (120ml) chicken or vegetable stock - water plus half a stock cube is fine
- 2 medium-sized courgettes (zucchini) - spiralized
To Serve:
- Freshly grated parmesan
- Black pepper
- Small bunch flat leaf parsley - roughly chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, place the turkey mince, 1 tbsp of olive oil, parmesan, egg, half of the chopped onion, the grated bread, salt and pepper.
- Mix together with your hands and form into meatballs – about the size of a walnut. You should get around 20-24 meatballs.
- Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a very large, non-stick frying pan.
- Add the meatballs and lightly brown on all sides. This should take around 6-8 minutes. Be careful when turning the meatballs over, as they’re quite delicate.
- Move the meatballs to one side of the pan, then in the space, add the remaining onion, celery and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, thyme, honey and stock. Stir everything together, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add the spiralized courgetti (I like to add this to one side of the pan). Gently stir into the sauce and place a lid or some foil on the pan. Cook for a further 3 minutes until the courgette has softened.
- Serve the courgetti and meatballs topped with freshly grated parmesan, black pepper and chopped parsley.
✎ Notes
Reheat with a lid or foil on the pan (add the courgetti at this point) on a low-medium heat until piping hot throughout - this will likely take 12-15 minutes. Can I freeze it? Yes, but I would recemmend leaving out the courgetti until you come to reheat it.
Make the meatballs and tomato sauce, then cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat with a lid or foil on the pan (add the courgetti at this point) on a low-medium heat until piping hot throughout - this will likely take 12-15 minutes. How to scale up or scale down this recipe You can halve this recipe (to serve 2 people) using the same ratio of ingredients. Just halve all of the ingredients and cook in the same way.
It would be difficult to double the recipe, as it's unlikely you'll have a frying pan (skillet) big enough for all of the meatballs. So you make have to make in two pans. Therefore you would double all of the recipe ingredients, but make it in two pan. Can I make it in the slow cooker? Yes. Make as per the recipe, then at the end of step 6 - just as it comes to the boil, transfer to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Add the courgetti for the last 15 minutes of cooking. Nutritional Information is per serving, excluding toppings.
Nutrition
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Jessica says
Delicious! My boyfriend is a spice lover so substituted the parmesan for habanero flakes and he scraped the bowl clean. (So did I). Definitely one I'll be adding to the regular rotation.
Rosa says
Lovely recipe but not gluten-free with that slice of bread x
Kathryn says
I've been looking for lower carb and fat meals. This has been added to our weekday meal list (we try to be good during the week). This is definitely a keeper.
athleticavocado says
with the one-pan craze upon, these meatballs are seriously the next best recipe! They look so moist and flavorful!