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Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Pasta Carbonara…classic creamy Italian carbonara sauce, updated with crisp zucchini parmesan meatballs and tossed with caramelized lemon and fresh basil. Finish the pasta off with fried caper breadcrumbs for a delicious crunch. Perfect easy summer dinner, any night of the week. Everyone in the house will enjoy this dish!

overhead photo of Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Pasta Carbonara

If I had to choose the recipe for you to all be making this week, tonight even, it would be these meatballs. The crazy thing…and I’ve said this before, but for someone who has really avoided making meatballs in the past, I sure have taken a liking to them.

So far I’ve shared butter chicken meatballs, coconut curry chicken meatballs, sticky sesame ginger meatballs, and the very delicious and popular, Greek meatballs. Yep, a lot of meatballs, but you know something? They’re delicious, easy, and always well-loved.

Which brings me to today’s meatballs.

Side note, let’s start keeping track of how many times I say the word meatball throughout this post.

This is my end of summer meatball pasta. In keeping with the unplanned theme of the week, this is the perfect late summer meets early fall dinner. AND it’s a fun, delicious way to sneak zucchini into everyone’s meal.

overhead photo of Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs on baking sheet before baking

Start with the meatballs.

They’re a simple mix of ground chicken, shredded zucchini, and parmesan. Think of the flavors you love in a really good chicken parmesan, but in the form of a cute little meatball, and with the addition of zucchini. The zucchini helps to keep the meatballs moist while baking.

Once the meatballs are formed, arrange them on a baking sheet with lemon slices. Bake until they just begin to crisp. Now add breadcrumbs and capers to the pan. Return everything to the oven and cook until the meatballs are cooked throughout and the breadcrumbs golden.

Keep the crumbs and capers together, these are the crunchy fried caper breadcrumbs I mentioned above.

Next chop the lemon slices and toss with lots and lots of fresh basil. Now toss them with the pasta carbonara.

photo of Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs on baking sheet after baking

There are a few moving steps to this, so to recap you have your meatballs, your breadcrumb topping, and the lemony basil mix to toss with the pasta. It’s all made on one sheet pan to simplify the process and keep the dishes down too.

Tip? Make your own fresh breadcrumbs with a loaf of day-old bread. Simply pulse the torn pieces of bread in a food processor, or simply tear the bread into smaller pieces. It’s so easy to do and really adds a lot of flavor to any recipe calling for bread crumbs.

overhead close up photo of Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Pasta Carbonara

Meanwhile, work on the pasta carbonara.

While the meatballs are cooking, start the pasta.

You’ll need eggs, parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, and either spaghetti or bucatini pasta. The key to a good carbonara is to serve it right after tossing. So having everything prepped and ready to go before cooking is key.

Whisk the eggs with parmesan, garlic, and fresh basil. Boil the pasta and as soon as the pasta has finished cooking, immediately toss it with the eggs. This step is really important…but don’t worry it’s also really easy. Just be sure to toss, toss, toss for a good minute until the sauce thickens. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs and produces the silkiest, smoothest, and creamiest pasta sauce. It’s melt in your mouth good.

At this point, toss in the lemon basil mix to add a touch more flavor.

side angled photo of Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Pasta Carbonara

By the time the meatballs are finished cooking, the pasta should ideally be ready too. So serve everything up immediately.

Twirl the pasta onto your plates, add those parmesan meatballs, and top with the crispy, crunchy golden fried caper breadcrumbs.

And that’s it. Not too tricky, right?

But so very delicious! And the biggest bonus? Your kids will love this too. Perfect back to school dinner…or you know…back to homeschooling dinner.

overhead photo of Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Pasta Carbonara

Looking for other weeknight pasta? Here are a few ideas: 

Roasted Red Pepper Alla Vodka Pasta with Cheesy Oregano Breadcrumbs

Browned Butter Scallops and Burst Tomato Basil Pasta

Bucatini Amatriciana

Lastly, if you make these zucchini parmesan chicken meatballs with lemon pasta carbonara, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Pasta Carbonara

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 649 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

Lemon Pasta Carbonaro

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with oil. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
    2. Add the chicken, grated zucchini, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, the parmesan, and a pinch each of salt and pepper to a bowl. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with olive oil and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (this will make 20-22 meatballs). Place on the prepared baking sheet. Arrange the lemon slices around the meatballs. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
    3. Remove from oven, slide the meatballs to one side of the pan, add the remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs, and the capers. Toss the crumbs and capers with 2 tablespoon olive oil and the red pepper flakes. Return to the oven and cook another 5 minutes, watching closely, until the meatballs are cooked through and the crumbs golden.
    4. Remove the breadcrumbs from the pan. Season with salt. Remove the lemon from the pan. Finely chop the lemon slices and mix with 1/2 cup fresh basil, reserving the mix for tossing with the pasta.
    5. Meanwhile, make the carbonara. Whisk together the eggs, parmesan, garlic, and basil, in a large serving bowl.
    6. Boil the pasta until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1 cup pasta water, then drain. Immediately add the hot pasta to the egg/cheese mixture, tossing quickly (to ensure the eggs do not scramble) until the eggs thicken and create a sauce. Thin the sauce with the reserved pasta water, until it reaches your desired consistency. Add the butter and about a 1/4 of the reserved lemon basil mix, gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
    7. Divide the pasta between plates. Top with meatballs, breadcrumbs, and additional lemon/basil, to taste. Twirl the pasta up...EAT and ENJOY.

Notes

To Make Fresh Breadcrumbs: Pulse torn bread in a food processor until roughly the size of peppercorns. I like to use ciabatta or crusty sourdough bread. If using fresh crumbs, toast them 3-4 minutes in the skillet first.
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Comments

  1. 2 stars
    I am a huge fan of HBH and Tieghan. I own all of her cookbooks and make so many of her recipes. So with that being said, constructive criticism is good for all of us, right? I honestly feel terrible not leaving an outstanding review but something was just missing with this recipe. It lacked flavor somehow. I’m not exactly sure how but I barely could taste the lemon (and I even added more lemon juice). I wanted to love it but it just didn’t have a ton of flavor for me.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jennifer! I am really sorry this did not turn out well for you. If there is anything I can help with, please let me know! xTieghan

      Reply

  2. 4 stars
    This was interesting and I think a good concept with a lot of potential. First off, the meatballs were I think my favorite out of the recent chicken meabtall recipes that you have done over the past few months; they had the perfect texture and enough remnant flavor (some of the other ones were dry)…though I can’t tell if they need to be cooked ~5 minutes longer…

    The Carbonara was a lot of fun…though when you do this with bucatini, you do need a big bowl (I was a little nervous as when I poured the pasta, I couldn’t see the sauce…not even when I dumped the pasta water in right away. But things worked out 🙂

    Honestly, Tieghan, what I think the secret to the dish is are the breadcrumbs with the panko flakes. It reminds me of one of my favorite dishes from Masseria in DC. When I do this again, I plan to go 2-3 times heavier on the chili flakes…and am thinking of mixing half of the breadcrumbs when I toss the pasta in the larger bowl so that upon serving, the coating is more consistent and even.

    This was fun, paired with a nice Etna Rosso, and not too hard (though the prep took longer than planned); looking forward to more.

    Reply

    1. Amazing!! I am so happy this turned out so well for you, Bret! Thank you for trying it! Also, love that you are enjoying the chili flakes! My family definitely goes heavy on those as well haha! xTieghan

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    We loved this recipe. The crispy breadcrumbs all around the meatballs really did it for my boyfriend, he said it many times, how much he liked that part.

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    A crowd pleaser! Used the same recipe for the chicken meatballs and put them into a chicken broth soup….must try!

    Reply

  6. Hello,
    I follow you on Instagram and just adore your recipes and photography! It’s such an enjoyable part of my day to see what you have created! I would love to make this recipe, but my family has egg sensitivities. Is there some way to change this around and still use the meatballs, pasta, breadcrumbs, capers and lemon, but not use the eggs? I realize it wouldn’t be a carbonara sauce, but I’d still love to make it with all the other ingredients! Thanks

    Reply

    1. Hey Liz,
      Thanks so much for your kind message! So sorry the eggs are pretty much the key to a carbonara, you could make a creamy cheese sauce though! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Wow! What a funds to prepare and beautiful to look at. I think next time I’ll wring out the grated zucchini as sometimes it can have a bit too much liquid. I got 26 meatballs and they were delicious. Tiegan’s recipes are always and we use a lot of the same ingredients. I posted this in my FB Group Quarantine Meals and got great responses and requests for the recipe. Thanks for another good one!

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    Where do I start? The meatballs are heaven and a meal on their own. The breadcrumbs with capers are genius. It all came together easily and tasted amazing. This recipe makes me happy

    Reply

  10. 5 stars
    The pasta was amazing, the breadcrumbs perfect and the meatballs great. I will definitely make this again with one change. The lemon I used was really bitter and it tainted the rest of this delicioscity. So, I might try using a tiny bit of preserved lemon instead or just leave it out all together.

    Reply

  11. 5 stars
    Another winner! And if I just served my family a bowl of the bread crumbs, they would have been happy! Those were the best! Especially with the basil, roasted lemon tapanade with it.
    A great Monday night meal. Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Beverly! I believe in balance and eating whole foods instead of counting numbers! I hope you understand! xTieghan

      Reply

  13. 5 stars
    Hi Tieghan,
    This was so delicious and a huge hit with my family and friends! I will definitely make again. Also, I used ground turkey instead of chicken and it was great. Everything was so flavorful and I loved the roasted lemon so much. So yummy! Thanks!!

    Reply

  15. 5 stars
    Made this tonight and it was amazing! First time making carbonara and I will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks Tieghan!

    Reply