Zoodles with turkey meatballs in a creamy roasted red pepper sauce is light, healthy and so delicious! Gluten-free and dairy-free, this meal is even great for a Whole 30 diet! The turkey meatballs are full of garlic and spinach, which is balanced so well by the creamy red pepper sauce.
I’ve hopped aboard the zoodle train! Choo Choo!
These zucchini noodles with turkey meatballs are tossed in a roasted red pepper sauce for an easy gluten-free meal that is perfect for an easy weeknight meal. You can even make the components ahead for meal prep or to serve dinner guests.
What are zoodles?
In case you’ve been living under a rock (who am I kidding.. it took me forever to make zoodles), a zoodle is a zucchini noodle, hence the name zoodle.
The zucchini is cut into long thin strips and then cooked. Looks like pasta, twirls like pasta, and somewhat sort of tastes like pasta…
Let’s be real, are we going to fool anyone into thinking we are actually eating pasta? That’s a big NO.
But! Does it still satisfy a hankering for pasta since we can twirl it around our forks and smother it in delicious roasted red pepper sauce? Yes! Indeed it does!
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How to Make Zoodles
There are a few ways to turn your zucchini into zoodles. You can use a vegetable peeler, a mandolin, or a vegetable spiralizer (my favorite!).
I own three different spiralizers, but my current favorite, the OXO Handheld Spiralizer, is the simplest of them all! It is a little more manual than other spiralizers, but it’s small and fits in your utensil drawer. I’m also a big fan of the Paderno Vegetable Spiralizer and use that one often, too!
From zucchini to beets to sweet potatoes, you can spiralize ANYTHING! If you’re new to spiralizing, zucchini is a great option to start with.
Steps for making zoodles:
- Cut the zucchini in half or thirds to make it more manageable to spiralize. You’ll also want to cut off the ends, too.
- Spiralize the zucchini with your spiralizer of choice.
- Cook the zucchini noodles with a little oil and salt and pepper for just a few minutes.
- Toss the zoodles with a sauce and serve!
This zoodle with turkey meatballs in a roasted red pepper sauce recipe is seriously my new favorite meal. It’s gluten-free and dairy-free, of course, but also great for those following a Whole 30 or paleo diet.
Gluten-Free Turkey Spinach Meatballs
The turkey spinach meatballs are moist, even without the addition of any eggs or breadcrumbs. I literally was eating them off the pan while I was trying to take pictures of them.
If you want more tips and tricks for making them, read all about it at my post for making gluten-free turkey spinach meatballs! They’re baked in the oven and so easy to make!
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
The roasted red pepper sauce is honestly the best part of this meal – it’s simple, light, and indulgent all at the same time if that’s even possible.
All you have to do is roast some red bell peppers in the oven while you prep the meatballs, then throw it in a food processor or blender with some garlic, onions, non-dairy milk, spices and oil.
Easy squeezey, roasted bell pepper peasy. That’s how that saying goes right?
The roasted red pepper sauce is great on so many other meals too. It’s fabulous on some roasted salmon with a side of quinoa, or served in a grain bowl (try it in my Curried Chickpea and Sweet Potato Power Bowl instead of the tahini sauce for a change of pace), or even slathered on my Spinach Garlic Turkey Burgers!
When you combine the zoodles, roasted red bell pepper sauce and turkey meatballs together it’s just pure MAGIC and a pretty healthy gluten-free dinner too! It’s delicious for an easy weeknight meal or to serve guests for a dinner party.
Substitutions
- You can make any part of this meal or just make the zoodles, the turkey meatballs or the roasted red pepper sauce. Mix and match with sauces and proteins for a customizable meal! We also like to use this puttanesca sauce sometimes to change it up!
- Use any unsweetened non-dairy milk for the roasted red pepper sauce. Do make sure it is not sweetened or flavored. Vanilla almond milk does not taste good in this sauce so don’t even try it.
- Yellow squash is another good option if zucchini is not available to you.
Looking for more spiralized recipes? Try these!
- Did you know you can spiralize sweet potatoes? You sure can! Try this comforting Sweet Potato Noodles in a Creamy Cashew Sauce for dinner!
- Cucumbers are so refreshing and they don’t disappoint in this easy Mango and Shrimp Cucumber Noodles recipe! It’s great for entertaining!
- Looking to throw together a quick dinner, look no further than this Pecan Pesto Zoodles with Bacon and Roasted Tomatoes recipe!
- Are you on a keto diet? Try this Keto Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles! You won’t believe it’s low carb!
Recipe
Zoodles with Turkey Meatballs in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
For the Zoodles
- 4 zucchini
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
For the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
- 2 red bell peppers - cut into 4 pieces (seeds removed)
- 4 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil - divided
- 1/4 cup diced onion - about 1/2 medium onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
For the Meatballs
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/2 cup packed fresh spinach - chopped
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
**Use the toggle button above to turn the instruction photos on and off!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- On a baking sheet, toss red bell peppers and 1 tablespoon of oil together and lay in a single layer. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until the bell peppers are tender and there are some black char marks.
- In the meantime, start making your turkey meatballs. In a large bowl combine ground turkey, spinach, coconut flour, salt, thyme, oregano, garlic, 1 tablespoon of oil and black pepper. Mix until combined well. Roll into small meatballs – you’ll get about 15 out of a batch. Line a baking sheet with foil and place meatballs on the sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until baked through.
- While the meatballs are cooking, in a small skillet, combine 1/4 cup diced onion and 1 clove of garlic in 1 tbsp of oil. Saute for 5 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add to a food processor with the bell pepper when it’s ready. Then also add almond milk, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt, black pepper, 2 tbsp of avocado oil or olive oil. Process until combined and smooth.
- Use a vegetable spiralizer to turn the zucchini into noodles. In a skillet (can be the same one we used before), add the zucchini with the oil and saute for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- To assemble, top the zucchini with the roasted red pepper sauce and 3-4 meatballs.
Notes
Nutrition
This sounds yummy I totally need to give Zoodles a try!
Yum! I need to buy a spiralizer, that’s it!
This looks delicious! And I love that little gif at the end!
xo
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Omg this was AMAZING!!! The sauce alone is incredible.
Thanks so much Amanda!!
Delicious dinner! I could eat this sauce like soup! (and might actually do that :))
This meal was awesome! I’m having a hard time getting my husband to do Whole 30 with me, but this was a hit. I did add an egg to the meatballs (simply to use it up) and I stick blended the roasted red pepper sauce, because digging my food processor out of my cabinet is a pain. 🙂
I’ve made this a handful of times and it gets better and better! I add a few extra spices I love and it always comes out amazing. I mix it all together with the sauce with a side salad and a piece of garlic toast, voila! Wish I had the nutrition info 🙁
Love that you add more spices to make it your own Samantha! I don’t put the nutritional info on any of my recipes.. but you can use a site like My Fitness Pal and add the link to this recipe on the site and it will give you all the nutritional info! Hope this helps!
How can I make the sauce a tad sweeter? Tastes a little bland to me.
Hi Katie, I find that the garlic and spices in the recipe should add enough flavor, as does roasting the peppers. I would first try adding more garlic if you would like even more flavor in the sauce. However, if you would like to make a sweeter sauce, you can always add sugar, honey or brown sugar to the recipe. Hope this helps!
Is the packed spinach the defrosted frozen kind? Or is it fresh chopped? Also, are the spices fresh or dried? Thanks!!
Hi Kristina! Thanks for asking – the spinach is fresh chopped and the spices are dried. I’ve updated the recipe to clarify 🙂
Will the meatballs hold up if made in advance the day before the were cooked/ate? I would like to be able to prep them the night before, after the kids are in bed.
Thanks!
Tara
Hi Tara! Yes! You can definitely prep them the night before and just keep them covered in the refrigerator. We also tend to cook a bunch on Sundays and eat them throughout the week for lunch and dinner – so that’s another option Enjoy!
Awesome! Thanks Megan! 🙂
Do you happen to know about how many calories/nutritional info for one serving?
Thanks!
Hi Robin! I just updated the recipe to include nutritional information. It may vary a little depending on the brands of products you use. Hope this helps!
Hi – would it be OK to use almond flour instead of coconut? Would the amount of oil need to be adjusted? Thanks!
Hi Ashleigh! Almond flour will work just fine. You shouldn’t need to adjust the amount of oil in the meatball but if for some reason it isn’t moist enough, just add about 1/2 tbsp. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for the fast reply! I read online that coconut flour absorbs more moisture, so almond flour requires less – but that was specifically for baked goods, so I had a feeling it wouldn’t apply here 🙂 I can’t wait to make this. Thanks again!
wow!!! this turned out amazing!!! definitely adding it to my list! i added a jalepeno as well with the peppers and added some hot paprika so it got a bit spicier!
LOVE IT!
YESSS! I absolutely LOVE your additions to make it spicier! I’m admittedly a huge spice wimp 🙂
Can you use frozen zoddles?
Hi Pat, Yes you can use frozen zoodles. You may want to cook them a little longer to make sure all the water gets cooked out since they’re frozen. But otherwise, just proceed with the recipe as written.