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Zucchini Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Pasta Carbonara…classic creamy Italian carbonara sauce, updated with crisp chicken zucchini 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!
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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.
Start with the meatballs.
They’re a simple mix of ground chicken (or ground turkey), 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.
Mix the ingredients in a large bowl. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 zucchini, grated
- 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 lemon, sliced and seeds removed
- 2 tablespoon drained capers
- 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
Lemon Pasta Carbonaro
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 3/4 pound spaghetti or bucatini pasta
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
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
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Made these meatballs with boxed Parmesan risotto and it came out amazing! The breadcrumbs, capers and crushed red pepper from the pan worked perfectly on top.
Hey Ben,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
Wondering in measurements how much grated zucchini ?
Hi Keely,
I would say about 1 cup. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Great recipe. I had ground chicken on hand so this was great. The meat balls did not dry out and were perfect. Next time I will only make half of the bread crumb mixture and lemon basil mixture. It went to waste. I did finish cooking the rest of the spaghetti and added it to the sauce and pasta. I put it in a 13×9 pan topped left over meatballs crumbled, and bread crumbs. Tomorrow I will put it in the oven to heat up.
Hey Carole!
Happy Monday!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out and sharing your review:)
This was fabulous! My somewhat picky husband and kiddo happily ate everything. I live for anything with capers, so I was excited to give this a go. Overall this was easy and quick, with a big hit of flavor! Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Jamie,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and sharing your feedback!! 🙂
My family of 8 loves meatballs, but several people (husband and kids) are particular to beef, so I was pleasantly surprised when I made this with a mixture of turkey and chicken and no one noticed! They also never noticed the zucchini, and we all loved it, so it’s a definite winner!
Hey Christy,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for sharing your review and making the recipe!! xTieghan
These meatballs were sooo good. Even better with the carbonara and lemons agh. All the flavors came together so well! Adding to my regular rotation 🙂
Hey Rachel,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xxT
Hi Tieghan:
I am used to adding bacon/pancetta to my carbonara. Would this be over powering?
Thanks,
Fran
Hey Fran,
You could totally do that! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
A new favorite! The meatballs are the best part of this recipe, I plan to make them on their own for lighter dinners.
Hey Chantel,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xx
Chop the lemon WITH the rinds?
Hi there,
Yes, that is correct:) I hope you love the recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx
great recipe! probably a good meal for someone who has an extra person to help them in the kitchen but managed alone! Zucchini kept the chicken extra moist and bread crumbs add great texture
Hi Anna,
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
Flavors are wonderful. It was a little dry once you add the breadcrumbs. Not sure how you might fix that. I will likely make this again and the whole family liked it.
Hi Kirsten,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit. Have the best week:) xx
One of my ALL time favorite HBH recipes!!!!!
Hi Maddy,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xxT
I really enjoyed these meatballs. And so did my children. I like how there is so much zucchini in the meatballs. I also used about a teaspoon of salt. I did, however, pan fry the meatballs (with lemon zest) because my experience with cooking meatballs in the oven usually end up too dry for my taste. And I also served it with pesto spaghetti…using your kale pesto recipe ?. Mainly because I didn’t have any fresh basil on hand, but I did have a batch of kale pesto in the freezer which used a bunch of fresh basil. I didn’t want to use dry basil. It was a great meal. Thanks again for all your wonderful and tasty recipes.
Hey Kristin,
Happy Sunday!! Love hearing that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it!! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. xxT
This was so good! Loved, loved, loved it! Took more than 20 min to prepare, but totally worth it.
Hey Chris,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xxTieghan
Loved the meatballs! Great dinner, but takes a lot of prep time. Will definitely make again.
Hey Christine,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xxTieghan