Chicken Zucchini Poppers (Paleo & Whole30 Approved!)
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Chicken Zucchini Poppers – My MOST POPULAR RECIPE 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.
First off: Michael H-A-T-E-S zucchini. Hates the texture, doesn’t like the flavor. BUT he loves these. Really loves them. Enough that he always asks when we can make them again. If you’re a zucchini hater, you should still give these a try! Grated, you don’t really get much of the squash texture, and they keep the meatballs nice and tender and juicy. So if you’re a zucchini hater, don’t hesitate to give these a try!
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?
The Best Dipping Sauces For Chicken Zucchini Poppers:
TIPS & TRICKS 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!
LOVE THESE CHICKEN POPPERS? YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…
- Citrus Avocado Sauce (Paleo, Whole30)
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers (Paleo, Whole30)
- Healthy Beef & Broccoli (Paleo, Whole30)
- Paleo Slow Cooker Butter Chicken (Paleo, Whole30)
- Slow Cooker Paleo Beef Stew (Paleo, Whole30)
- The Perfect Paleo Meatballs (Paleo, Whole30)
- Paleo Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Paleo, Whole30)
Chicken Zucchini Poppers
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4–5 servings 1x
Description
My MOST POPULAR RECIPE EVER! These chicken meatballs are squeaky clean, but not short on flavor! Gluten free, Paleo, and Whole30 friendly!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken breast (raw)
- 2 c. 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 Tbsp cilantro, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3/4 tsp cumin (optional)
- Optional (if pan-frying): avocado oil, for cooking (or coconut oil, or ghee)
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix together chicken, zucchini, green onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin (if using). Mixture will be quite wet. 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 with guacamole, salsa, or your favorite dip.
Notes
CHICKEN: If you can’t find ground chicken breast, you can grind your own. Simply weight 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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: main dish, appetizer, chicken
- Method: stovetop, oven
- Cuisine: American
Can you make ahead and freeze?
Should you make and freeze prior to cooking or after cooking.
I would like to prep them today, because will be working the rest of the week.
So try to get things prepared when have a minute to spare and not at 8 when I get home from work and kids activities.
Thanks
Dana – I’d fully cook them and then freeze them. That way, you just need to thaw them, heat and eat! I hope you like them!
I doubled the recipe, made them into burger sized patties, pan fried each side, then baked to finish. They were delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Hello, I started AIP this week after a diagnosis of RA. I’ve been paleo for awhile so it wasn’t a huge transition, but making meals for myself and separate meals for my family is getting tedious! We made an agreement that we would start this week with everyone joining me in one AIP meal a week with the hopes of gradually increase my “kid friendly” recipe stash. This was the recipe I chose for our first family meal. What a hit. My junk food junky teenager said they were awesome. I just wanted to say thanks and I look forward to introducing more of your recipes to my kids. DeeDee
Oh, I’m SO SO GLAD! That’s great! I wish you many more happy successes in the future!
These are delicious! This is the second time I have made them using ground turkey and this time I made a double batch so that I can freeze a few (that is if I don’t eat them all first). The first time I made these I served them to my non Paleo family and they loved them. I topped them with quacamole but I also love to eat them cold and plain. Thank you for this recipe, it is a keeper!!
Baked mine in convection oven @ 350 for 30min, perfect! Yummy of course!
Oh yay! I’m glad they worked out for you!
Dinner was a big hit tonight! I substituted ground turkey for the ground chicken and served these with salsa and guacamole. The kids said that we need to have this every week. I told them if they were really good to me maybe these would show up in their lunch boxes. We’ll see!
Kelly – Yay! That’s so great to hear! They would make SUCH great lunches!
I made these and they were great! I do have one suggestion though. I think you should add that the zucchini should be squeezed in a cloth after grating it to remove some of the excess moisture. Mine were so wet that I had to add bread crumbs. Luckily I’m not on paleo yet, so it was fine, but next time that’s what I’m going to do. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Cheers!
Christy – Thanks for your feedback, and sorry you had some trouble! In my experience, they’re wet going into the pan, but the excess liquid cooks out while they’re cooking. I never squeeze out my zucchini. Maybe anyone that has the same problem will find some help in your solution, though. Thank you for sharing!
Wanted to send along a quick thank you for this recipe. Just made these and was very pleased with how moist they are! The zucchini addition is genius (I did squeeze out just a bit of the zucchini moisture with a paper towel, but not much). I served mine with an Asian-style dipping sauce made with tamari, rice vinegar and chili oil, very tasty. Thank you for a helpful addition to my menu rotation. 🙂
Awesome~ I made these this evening for my husband and I with squash and corn on the cob. Great flavor, they really need nothing to dip them in. I thought for sure my husband would wrinkle his nose at the turkey factor (didn’t have ground chicken), but they smelled so good, neither of us could wait to dig in. Bonus there was enough left to add to the left over spaghetti squash for two lunches this week! Lucky me!
I also have a zucchini hating husband who likes these poppers. I have made them several times and love the recipe. Several times I have packed them to take with me when I am out and about and have eaten them cold and love them that way too. Thanks for a great recipe!
Made them tonight with ground turkey served over Fettuccine & Alfredo…DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Made these tonight with turkey mince (since it was what I had in the fridge). Served with home made low carb blue cheese dressing. Was delicious!
We substituted basil instead of cilantro and ground turkey instead of chicken. Yum!! I hit for my family!
Is there any nutritional information on this recipe?
David – Yep! Just click on the “Get Nutritional Info” link right above the recipe.
Wow! Just made these with grass fed ground beef. Spectacular. Thank you for this great recipe