Zucchini Carrot Meatballs
You know something is really, really tasty when…
Your 1 year old goes to throw the food, then thinks twice and shoves the whole thing in his mouth. Then eats another.
Yea, that’s how good these zucchini carrot meatballs are. So good.
These little guys are sneakily jam packed with nutritious whole food vegetables, hidden by the delicious Italian cheeses, blended so perfectly into the gluten free panko crumbs. Depending on your audience, you can easily up the spice level. For this particular recipe, I chose not to include too much Italian seasoning since these will be reserved for my babe.
I definitely recommend adding a side of dipping sauce for these “meatballs.” If you have the time, definitely go for a homemade marinara. But if you are pinched for time, or just really don’t feel like it, I recommend always having a can or two of Rao’s marinara handy. Warm it up in a saucepan, place in a cute bowl, and sprinkle with some parsley or basil. Looks just as good as homemade :)
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and let me know what you and your little one(s) think!
Makes 15 zucchini carrot meatballs.
Ingredients
2 zucchinis
2 small carrots
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp onion powder
3/4 -1 c gluten free panko crumbs
1/4-1/2 c parmesan cheese ( I used a part blend - left over in the fridge)
1 large egg
Hints
Heat oven to 375* and spray a baking pan with nonstick oil.
Grate zucchini and put into a cheese cloth or thin dish rag. Squeeze all water out, and then squeeze some more (for reference, I squeezed out 1/2 c of water).
Grate carrots into bowl.
Heat oil in a pan, and chop garlic.
Saute garlic in pan until fragrant and then add zucchinis and carrots to pan.
Saute vegetables for 5 minutes or until slightly softened and add spices.
While veggies cook, place gf panko crumbs into a bowl, mix with the cheese.
Make a well in the center of the crumbs and crack one egg.
Scoop contents of pan back into the cheese cloth and squeeze more water out (I managed another 1/4 c of water.
Put vegetables into a bowl and allow to cool a bit before adding it to the crumb mixture.
Once veggies have cooled, add veggies to crumb mixture and stir thoroughly. Now is that time to judge if the mixture is too watery, and to add more crumbs.
Roll into tight balls, between .9-.95 oz, or 1 inch in diameter
Place on baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, flip, and cook an additional 10 minutes.
Xx,
TLBS
