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Experience the melt-in-your-mouth magic of these ricotta zucchini meatballs, expertly made with a combo of cheeses and deliciously topped with warm tomato sauce. This easy zucchini recipe is the perfect solution for utilizing your summer zucchini harvest!
For even more zucchini goodness, you can also try my zucchini casserole or a light zucchini salad—both make great side dishes to complement these meatballs.
Also known as Polpette di zucchine e ricotta, these vegetarian zucchini meatballs pack a punch of flavor that’s so good and irresistible. Prepared with zucchini and ricotta, they are a light treat that combines nutrition and indulgence. Made from freshly grated zucchini, these “meatballs” offer a delicious way to incorporate more vegetables into your meals. The zucchini lends a light, delicate flavor to the meatballs while ensuring they remain moist and tender. Adding ricotta cheese provides the meatballs with a richer, smoother consistency and adds a delicious creaminess.
Why I Love This Zucchini Meatballs Recipe
- Vegetarian-Friendly: This recipe offers a fantastic vegetarian alternative to traditional meatballs, making it a great choice for those who are vegetarians or simply looking to reduce their meat consumption.
- Nutritious: Zucchini is low in calories but high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, making these meatballs a nutritious choice. (Source)
- Versatile: They can be served in various ways – over pasta, on a sub for a vegetarian meatball sandwich, or even by themselves as a hearty appetizer or snack.
Ingredients For Zucchini Meatballs
- Zucchini: I used 3 zucchini and grated them with a cheese grater.
- Yellow onion: You’ll want to grate the onion.
- Garlic: Minced garlic adds a savory punch to the meatball mixture.
- Ricotta Cheese: Ricotta keeps the zucchini meatballs moist and light.
- Freshly Grated Parmesan: Parmesan brings a salty, nutty flavor.
- Egg: Helps bind the ingredients together so the meatballs hold their shape.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: The crumbs give the meatballs structure and a crispy texture.
- Seasoned Salt & Black Pepper: Simple but essential for enhancing all the flavors.
- Italian Seasoning: Adds a blend of herbs for that classic Italian flair.
- Chopped Fresh Basil: Fresh basil brightens up the flavors and adds a pop of color.
- Coconut Oil for Frying: Gives the meatballs a golden, crispy exterior—you can sub in vegetable oil if needed.
- Tomato Sauce or Pasta Sauce: The perfect finishing touch! Simmer the meatballs in the sauce to absorb all the rich flavors.
How To Make Zucchini Meatballs
- Grate zucchini and onions using a box grater or food processor. Mix in garlic.
- Bundle grated veggies in a cheesecloth or paper towel, twist and squeeze to remove excess water, then set aside.
- In a bowl, mix ricotta, parmesan, egg, panko crumbs, seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian Seasoning, and basil. Add the drained zucchini mixture, mix well.
- Form the mix into 12 golf-ball sized meatballs.
- Preheat the broiler. Heat an inch of oil in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat.
- Cook the “meatballs” in batches in the skillet for about 5 minutes, until browned on all sides. Transfer them to a paper towel lined plate.
- Once all the meatballs are cooked, place them back in the skillet, pour tomato sauce over, and broil for 4-5 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and meatballs are fully cooked.
- Serve the zucchini meatballs over pasta, garnished with freshly grated parmesan and chopped basil.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Drain the Zucchini: Zucchini has a high water content. To ensure your meatballs don’t become soggy, drain the zucchini well after grating. Use a clean dish towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
- Cheese Swap: If you can’t find ricotta or prefer a different cheese, you can substitute with cottage cheese. It has a similar texture and will still lend a nice creaminess to the meatballs.
- Bread Crumbs: The recipe calls for panko breadcrumbs, but you can also use regular breadcrumbs if that’s what you have on hand. If you’re looking for a gluten-free option, almond meal could work as well.
- Frying Oil: If you’re not a fan of coconut oil, you can use other high-heat oils such as canola oil or avocado oil.
Serving Suggestions
While these cheesy zucchini meatballs are delicious with pasta, they’re also great with my recipe for spaghetti squash for a low-carb option, or you could serve them with a side of polenta, risotto, steamed vegetables, or a fresh green salad.
Proper Storage
If you have leftovers, transfer the zucchini meatballs to an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for 1 to 2 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. They can be reheated in the oven or microwave when ready to serve them again.
More Zucchini Recipes
- Creamy Ricotta Zucchini Noodles
- Zucchini Fritters
- Cheesy Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
- Apple Zucchini Bread
- Cheesy Bacon and Corn Stuffed Zucchini
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Zucchini Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 zucchini, grated
- 1 small yellow onion, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ cup fat free ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for garnish
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
- coconut oil for frying, you can also use vegetable oil
- 2 to 3 cups tomato/pasta sauce
Instructions
- Grate the zucchini and onions on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor.
- Place in a large bowl and stir in the garlic; mix until everything is well combined.
- Transfer the zucchini mixture to a large sheet of paper towel or cheesecloth; wrap up the zucchini mixture and twist it tightly into a ball. Squeeze the ball over the sink or a bowl to catch all the water.
- Unravel the cheesecloth and set the zucchini mixture aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parmesan, egg, panko crumbs, seasoned salt, black pepper, Italian Seasoning, and basil; stir until everything is well combined.
- Add the zucchini mixture to the ricotta mixture and continue to mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Shape the mixture into 12 golf-ball sized meatballs.
- Preheat the broiler.
- Add an inch of oil to a cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
- In batches, add the "meatballs" to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, occasionally turning until browned on all sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Once all the meatballs are done, add them back to the skillet and pour tomato sauce over them.
- Broil for 4 to 5 minutes or until the sauce is warm and bubbly and the meatballs are completely cooked through.
- Remove from oven and let stand a couple of minutes.
- Garnish with freshly grated parmesan and chopped fresh basil, and serve.
Notes
- Thoroughly drain zucchini after grating to prevent soggy meatballs.
- Cottage cheese can be used if ricotta is unavailable.
- Breadcrumbs: Regular breadcrumbs or almond meal (for a gluten-free option) can replace panko breadcrumbs.
- Oil Choice: Canola or avocado oil can be alternatives to coconut oil.
- Freezing: Leftovers can be frozen and reheated in the oven or microwave.
- To lower the sodium content, use part-skim ricotta, half the seasoned salt, low-sodium panko crumbs, and no-salt tomato sauce.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Mine completely fell apart. Has anyone tried baking the grated items to get more water out first?
OMG, I made these meatballs today and love them! Your recipe worked out perfectly. Thanks!
Love your recipes. It would be helpful, however, if you also posted the amount of servings for each.
I made these and they were delicious! I used the liquid run off from the zucchini and added it to my tomato sauce and reduced it – it worked great!
Just curious if you can make and freeze these?!?! My thought was to go as far as cooking them in the skillet and then letting them cool and packaging them up to go into the freezer in small batches for future use. I have a million zucchini right now but am unsure how previously shredded and frozen zucchini would work with this recipe after it’s been thawed and drained.
Hi Gail! I have never tried freezing the meatballs so I don’t know for sure if it will work, but I do have a couple bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer and intend to use it to make these meatballs again. 🙂
Hi Katerina – did you determine that shredded zucchini that has been frozen will work in this recipe?
Hi 👋
Yes! As long as it’s thawed and well drained. You can place the zucchini in paper towels or a kitchen towel; wrap it around the zucchini and wring out as much water as you possibly can.
Gail I have baked these in the oven and froze them and they have worked out great, family really liked them.
I also added some red crushed peppers as well, as the family likes things with some kick.
Could you please give a measurable amount of grated Zucchini? I am guessing about 3 cups? I have tons (literally) of Pattypan Squash, I am also going to assume I could substitute that for the Zucchini? Thanks.
Hi!! Can’t go wrong with squash around this time of year! 🙂
I didn’t weigh the zucchini – it was just normal sized 10-ish inch zucchini. But here’s what I found: 1 medium sized zucchini is about 8 inches long, 2 inches in diameter and weighing about 5 ounces. When grated, you end up with about 2/3 cup of zucchini. Does that help at all? I hope! 😀
I too would like more clarification about the amount of zucchini. Are you saying 2/3 cup for the whole recipe? – or 2/3 cup per zucchini, for a total of 3 cups? Most helpful would be the weight of the zucchini, before trimming or grating. My ‘meatballs’ didn’t stick together well at all, though they tasted delicious anyway.
Hi Eileen! Sorry you had issues with them sticking together! It’s the water in the zucchini – I lost all feeling in my arms using all my strength just trying to squeeze out that water! 😀
But, yes, I’m saying 3 cups grated zucchini.
For 3 zucchini at 2/3 cups each, that would be 2 cups. Best idea? Go by consistency.
I’m wondering, could you bake these instead of frying?
Hi Christie!! I tried that twice, but they fell apart both times. If you have any luck with it, plllleeeease let me know! 😀
You can absolutely bake these. Here’s what I did:
1. Make smaller balls (I made 27)
2. Put them in the fridge for 30-60 mins to firm up.
3. Put them in a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes on a greased baking sheet.
4. Halfway through the cooking time, flip them with a THIN spatula as they will stick but you can pry them off as long as it is thin.
I would recommend halving the salt in the main recipe. I wish I had seen the note at the bottom before I made them as they came out salty.
Great meatless recipe!
This is brilliant! And a great way to use up more of that mountain of zucchini waiting in my kitchen.
I just made meatballs out of eggplant and loved them–great idea to use zucchini