Our Chicken Zucchini Poppers are one of my My MOST POPULAR RECIPES EVER! These chicken zucchini meatballs are squeaky clean, but not short on flavor! Gluten-free, Paleo, and Whole30 friendly!
Have you heard of Whole30? I first heard about it a few years ago when the book It Starts With Food came out. In essence, Whole30 is a chance to reset your body by eating squeaky clean for 30 days, giving you a chance to see if you have any latent food sensitivities, break any unhealthy patterns you may have, clear up any food-related inflammation and start fresh.
Well, it’s making a comeback. Several great bloggers are in the middle of theirs, so I’ve seen a huge resurgence of healthy recipes floating about the web. We aren’t on a Whole30, but we eat pretty darn clean most of the time. I’ve loved the huge variety of inspiration out there lately! These Chicken Zucchini Poppers are delicious, and while they may be squeaky clean, they don’t skimp on flavor.
We LOVE them. They’d make great game-day food for something lighter or a great addition to a buffet table. We love them for dinner with some veggies and a little dish of guacamole or Citrus Avocado Sauce for dipping and some sweet potatoes or salad and fruit on the side. Not a guacamole fan? No problem. They’d be great with salsa or paleo ranch. If you’re not gluten free, they’d be awesome in a pita. (p.s. anyone have a good GF pita recipe?
Gather Your Ingredients
How To Make Chicken Zucchini Poppers, Step By Step
As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below!
- Prep Zucchini. If you haven’t already, place grated zucchini in paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze all the excess moisture out of the zucchini. (You don’t want it wet!)
- Combine. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, zucchini, green onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin (if using). Mixture will be quite wet.
- Scoop & Shape Meatballs. Next, scoop meatballs with a small scoop or heaped tablespoon and gently smooth with your hands. I can usually get around 20-24 poppers. You may be able to get more or less, depending on how large you size them.
- To Cook On The Stovetop: Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Cook 4-5 at a time for about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook an additional 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown and the centers are cooked through.
- To Bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle a bit of olive or avocado oil onto a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. If desired, place under the broiler for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned on top.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy warm with guacamole, salsa, ranch, or your favorite dip! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge 3-4 days.
The Best Dipping Sauces For Chicken Zucchini Poppers
One of the best parts about these chicken zucchini poppers is dipping them! There are SO MANY delicious dips and sauces to serve with these chicken zucchini meatballs, but here are some of our all-time favorites:
- Citrus Avocado Sauce (Pictured in the photos!)
- Tomatillo Ranch (Paleo & Whole30-Friendly)
- Classic Guacamole
- The BEST Paleo Ranch Dressing
- Chipotle Ranch
- Pineapple Guacamole
- Smoky Chipotle Salsa
FAQ + Tips For The Best Chicken Zucchini Poppers
DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! Squeezing the liquid out of your zucchini is *really* important here. Why? Well, zucchini has a lot of moisture (which is one of the reason these poppers are so great), but if you don’t squeeze out some of that liquid, your meatballs/poppers will have a harder time sticking together and if you pan-fry them, you run the risk of them scorching and falling apart.
PAN-FRYING VS. BAKING. My favorite way to make these is to pan-fry them. I’m not using a ton of oil here–just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. I use my cast-iron skillet for a really nice browning effect and keep the heat on the low end. That will allow the poppers to brown while still allowing enough time for the centers to cook. Baking is *really* convenient and fast, so I do that plenty as well. Do whichever works for you!
TRY ONE OF THESE VARIATIONS! This recipe is an awesome base recipe. Over the years, people have made it with pork, beef, turkey…even venison! Use your favorite. I also list the cumin here as optional. It gives these a tex-mex flavor that’s great with salsa, ranch, and guacamole. BUT. You can also easily swap the flavors by switching the cilantro for basil to give these a Mediterranean vibe. They’re great with my favorite pasta sauce and noodles, or you can use parsley or dill for other flavor combinations!
CAN’T FIND GROUND CHICKEN? TRY THIS! I get ground chicken breast at Sprouts, but when it’s not in stock, I make my own by buying boneless skinless chicken breast (or thighs) and pulsing them in a food processor until it’s ground and no large pieces remain. It’s one extra step, but it works great!
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Chicken Zucchini Poppers recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Chicken Zucchini Poppers
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken breast (raw)
- 2 cups grated zucchini (leave peel on and squeeze out some of the liquid with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel)
- 2-3 green onions sliced
- 3-4 Tablespoons cilantro minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin optional
- Optional if pan-frying: avocado oil, for cooking (or coconut oil, or ghee)
Instructions
- Prep Zucchini. If you haven’t already, place grated zucchini in paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze all the excess moisture out of the zucchini. (You don’t want it wet!)
- Combine. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, zucchini, green onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin (if using). Mixture will be quite wet.
- Scoop & Shape Meatballs. Next, scoop meatballs with a small scoop or heaped tablespoon and gently smooth with your hands. I can usually get around 20-24 poppers. You may be able to get more or less, depending on how large you size them.
- To Cook On The Stovetop: Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Cook 4-5 at a time for about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook an additional 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown and the centers are cooked through.
- To Bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle a bit of olive or avocado oil onto a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. If desired, place under the broiler for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned on top.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy warm with guacamole, salsa, ranch, or your favorite dip! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge 3-4 days.
Notes
- CHICKEN: If you can’t find ground chicken breast, you can grind your own. Simply weigh out 1 lb. chicken breast and pulse it in your food processor to “grind” until no large pieces remain. You can also easily substitute ground chicken thighs, ground turkey, ground pork, etc. Use what you like and what you can find!
- ZUCCHINI: Don’t be tempted to skip drying out your zucchini a bit with a paper/kitchen towel. Zucchini has a lot of moisture, and if you don’t squeeze it out beforehand, your meatballs may stick more to the pan if you’re pan-frying and have a bit more trouble holding together during baking.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.
Find it Online:
https://www.onelovelylife.com/chicken-zucchini-poppers-gf-df/
Made these tonight. Super easy and tasty! I just served them with a side of veggies, but kept thinking how good they’d be with a marinara or in a lettuce wrap. Even passed the recipe along to my sister
I totally tuck them into marinara sometimes or with teriyaki sauce. They’re SO good!
I Made these today for my family and they were amazing ! looking forward to more recipes I will try from this site ! thank you .
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Anja! I hope you find many more recipes here that work for your family!
I’m doing a Whole30 and made these Sunday and LOVE them! So do my family – they ate all of the ones I had in the refrigerator so I had to pull out some of the ones I had frozen to take for dinner yesterday to work. I doubled the recipe and did 3 cups of shredded zucchini and one cup of shredded carrot. I didn’t have to squeeze out the liquid from the zucchini doing it that way – the carrot seemed to help soak it up! I also used regular yellow onion that I sauteed for a little while in olive oil first (my husband hates raw onion). Last night I ate them with some homemade marinara sauce and they were AMAZING! I will definitely be making these again!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them Melody! You made my day!
I love these! Have made them several times and my toddler likes them too. I’m having baby#2 soon and wanting to make some freezer meals and think these would be great to have on hand. Any recommendations for freezing? Bake then freeze (microwave to heat up), or freeze as patties and then bake from frozen?
Thanks!
Congratulations on Baby #2! These are a great freezer meal. I cook them completely then freeze them for 30-45 minutes on a baking sheet (or plate) lined with parchment paper. This will allow them to harden without sticking to each other. Then, transfer them to a freezer bag or airtight container, and you can pull out as many or as few as you like!
Can straight neck yellow squash be substituted for zucchini?
Yes! So long as it’s thin-skinned and you follow the steps of getting out as much moisture as possible.
Can straight neck yellow squash be substituted for zucchini?
These sound amazing and I will definitely be making these as soon as I can get to the market! My question is: how do they not fall apart without the use of binding agents such as bread crumbs and egg?
Thanks again! I love your site and have subscribed!
Loreen – Great question! It’s the zucchini! Be sure to squeeze out any extra liquid and then it helps bind everything together. We’ve made these loads of times and love them!
Great alternative to standard meatballs. I have lots of patients who don’t like ground beef for a number of reasons, I bet they would love this!
I bet they would too! These are THE most popular recipe on my blog!
I love love love these !! They are so good I can eat a whole batch by myself! So easy and healthy!!
You had me at cilantro and cumin! BTW, my family is gluten free, and I have been making my own pita flatbreads for about a year using an all purpose flour mixture that I got from the cookbook Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone. She was editor in chief for Every Day with Rachael Ray, and it doesn’t hurt that she owned an Italian bakery in Brooklyn. I’ve used this flour mixture for about 3 years now in everything from pitas to carrotcake cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, and homemade noodles. No one can tell the difference. My daughter took carrotcake cupcakes to work for a potluck,knowing that one of her coworkers was newly diagnosed with celiacs. No one believed her either. Namaste makes a pizza crust that is GF, and the moment you open the package, you smell the herbs.. it’s like a Tuscan crust that even our non gluten free friends devour! Looking forward to making these with guacamole, marinara, may be tzatziki?
I just left the info on the GF flour mixture and pitas, and GF pizza crust as your original post asked for a GF pita, we’ve been on the GF quest for five years now, and can’t imagine going back. I guess we’re clean eaters, but all of us have decided if we can’t pronounce it, it doesn’t go in our bodies. It has served us well.
That sounds amazing! I can’t wait to look up the flour mixture!