I prepared the Baked Zucchini and Tuna Meatballs a few days ago using leftovers from the recipe Stuffed Zucchini with Ground Meat in a Pan. As I often say, I hate waste, and I’m always on the lookout for easy, quick, and budget-friendly recipes. This is exactly one of those, a recipe born from recycling ingredients.
I came up with this zucchini tuna meatballs recipe while preparing the previous recipe. In short, while scooping out the zucchini to fill them with ground meat, I thought: “let me put these scraps in a bowl so I can make something out of it!” That single scrap made me think, I wanted to create something so nothing goes to waste, not even in compost. That’s how I thought and eventually found the most obvious solution in the world, what’s better than meatballs?
I needed another ingredient to combine with it. Something to add, that would help bind the mixture, that wouldn’t take too much time, and that I already had in the pantry. Tuna, how did I not think of it sooner. So I already had: zucchini and tuna, then what did I just use to work with the ground meat? Bread crumbs. So with this and a single egg, I created another dish that I will now show you. It’s truly the art of recycling!
Below, I leave you some other zucchini recipes that I have prepared over the years, maybe if you buy enough zucchini you can try others. Every link below is clickable and will take you to the recipe you choose to read. Zucchini are in season from May, June, and July. If you want to respect the seasonality this is the period to remember and mark on your calendar. But if you find them on sale or are a fan and can’t do without them, you can buy them and try these recipes.
I also remind you that you will find all the social channels with clickable links in the box below the recipe, you can choose your favorite social media or follow all the profiles. Every morning in the Group and on the Facebook Fan Page, Le Ricette di Bea I’ll be waiting for you with the Recipe of the Day!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 312.02 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 28.25 (g) of which sugars 1.92 (g)
- Proteins 27.08 (g)
- Fat 11.25 (g) of which saturated 4.39 (g)of which unsaturated 6.33 (g)
- Fibers 3.71 (g)
- Sodium 516.90 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 9 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Baked Zucchini and Tuna Meatballs
- 2.5 cups zucchini (in my case, only the inner part of the zucchini)
- 1 can tuna (about 3.5 oz drained)
- 1 egg
- to taste breadcrumbs (for the coating and two or three tablespoons for the meatball mixture)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- to taste parsley (or dried chives)
If you don’t have the zucchini scraps as I did, you can use two or three medium-large zucchinis, grate or chop them. Tip: drain the tuna well, please.
Tools for Baked Zucchini and Tuna Meatballs Recipe
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Oven
- 1 Small Bowl
- 2 Plates
- 1 Baking Sheet
- 1 Parchment Paper
A small plate will be needed for the breadcrumbs, while the small bowl is for beating the egg. So small plate and small bowl so we don’t dirty too many things. Then a plate to place the zucchini meatballs one by one as we prepare them.
Steps for Zucchini and Tuna Meatballs Recipe
Let’s begin the preparation of this easy and quick recipe. Keep in mind that it will take us a few minutes to prepare the meatballs, so the first thing to do is to preheat the oven. I set the temperature to 356°F with the static mode. I used the small oven, without having to turn on the big one. It takes a few more minutes to cook but is easier to clean and consumes less. If you’re using your kitchen’s classic oven, you can set the temperature between 356°F and 392°F. The baking sheet should be placed in the middle part so the meatballs don’t get too hard on one side, which you can avoid by turning them a couple of times during cooking. I recommend turning them about every 10 minutes. But now let’s prepare the mixture that we will need for the zucchini and tuna meatballs.
Take the zucchini, if they are like mine, leftovers from a previous recipe, break them with your hands and squeeze them well. If they are whole zucchini, chop or grate them finely.
Then pour them into the bowl. Drain the tuna well and add it with the zucchini. Sprinkle with two generous tablespoons of breadcrumbs, add a pinch of salt and pepper and a chopped parsley or chives. Work everything with your hands, try to create the first meatball.
If you see that the mixture holds up, proceed by preparing all the zucchini meatballs placing them on the plate. If not, add another tablespoon of breadcrumbs. After preparing all the zucchini meatballs we can beat the whole egg in a small bowl and pour breadcrumbs into a small plate. Then dip each meatball in the bowl with the egg and then in the breadcrumbs. I made a double coating, even more crunchy. If you have made many small meatballs, two whole eggs may be necessary for this recipe.
Place all the zucchini and tuna meatballs on the baking sheet where we have arranged a parchment paper. Bake for about 40 minutes. As mentioned before, I recommend turning the zucchini and tuna meatballs every 10 minutes or so. This will prevent them from becoming hard and dark on one side only.
I also recommend serving this delight with a side sauce, perhaps a tzatziki sauce which is always perfect with zucchini! Of course, you’ll find the recipe here on my cooking blog!
All that’s left to do is wish you bon appétit and remind you that below are the social links for the blog profiles of Le Ricette di Bea!!! Don’t miss the YouTube Channel with many easy, quick, and economical video recipes like this one! Until the next recipe!!!
Storage
You can store the Zucchini and Tuna Meatballs in a lidded container in the refrigerator for two days, or choose to place everything in the freezer to have them available for the following week. But please, when you go to thaw them, place them first in the refrigerator the night before, then heat them in an already hot oven for about ten minutes. If you place them in the oven frozen, they risk not thawing inside, remaining hard, and therefore inedible.
