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
Have you tried making these with ground beef? We bought a quarter of a cow this year and I need some great ground beef recipes!
Lots of readers have made them with beef (and pork and turkey) and everyone has reported that it works out great for them! You’ll probably want to be sure to wring out some of the water from the zucchini before you make them since beef is slightly fattier, but it should work great!
10/10 from the family and double batch next time.
I didn’t have green onions and replaced it with leek, the combination with zucchini works a treat.
Thank you for recipe Emily.
So. so glad you liked them! I always have to make a double batch too, now!
Can I cook these on the oven instead of frying ? Thank you!
Katherine – Yep! We do it all the time. You’ll see I’ve written in directions for baking in the post.
These are awesome! I left out the cilantro and served them with spagetti squash and marinara. Husband and son loved them too! Baking method was perfect!
Side note- for some reason it’s not letting me click the stars but 5 Stars for sure!
Oh, I’m so glad you liked them! THANK YOU!
These are so simple yet delicious! So far I’ve mixed chicken and zucchini in salads and it tastes great, so these meatballs must be amazing!!!
Look delicious. Made these with leftover, cooked turkey. Left out onion (hubby is a hater). They were fine
~a bit on the dry side. Hubby totally enjoyed. Nice recipe for leftover turkey.
Esther – Glad your husband enjoyed them! They will be much less dry when made with raw turkey or chicken. Cooked turkey (or chicken) will yield a more dry result since so much of the moisture is already removed. Hope that helps!
Delicious recipe. Added grated carrots and ginger as well and we polished it off in minutes. Thank you for this idea!
Yum! That sounds great!
Emily, these turned out great!! I didn’t use cilantro, not a fan, but I did add cayenne pepper to half of the mixture what a great spin!! Thank you for the recipe.
Oh, I’m so glad! I’ve had lots of readers try other herbs (parsley, basil, etc.) if you ever need to change things up in the future. I know not everyone is a cilantro fan!
These were a hit with the kids, but I had to peel the zucchini first as the youngest is put off by any “green stuff”.
I totally get it! Glad they were a hit!
Made them tonight and think they need more salt and flavor. Kinda bland.
Laura – Sorry they were bland for you! I’ve found the cilantro and cumin keep things flavorful enough for me. Maybe more salt and increased spices for you next time might help.
we had them last night and thought they were very bland also – next time I will put in something more – maybe ancho chilie powder or jalepenos
Sounds like that will be just the ticket for you!
Love these! Do you have any tips for freezing leftovers?
Chelsea – Sure! I lay them flat on a plate or pan in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, then I transfer them to an airtight container or zip-top bag to store in the freezer. The first 10-15 minutes helps them get solid enough not to freeze in one giant blob in the freezer. You can skip that step if you want, but I never do. That way I can pull out just as many as I want instead of the giant block!
I did not have good luck with cooking these on the stove top. I had the burner on medium-high and the first batch burned. With each bunch I lowered the heat but they still burned with even lessening the time on each side. The last bunch I had the temperature on 3 which is just above simmer. What can I do to make them correctly?
Oh, no! I’m so sorry that happened for you. Occasionally, I’ve had a reader say that when this happens for them they’ve found that squeezing out every last bit of moisture they can from the zucchini before putting it into the meat mixture helps solve the problem. Another thing would be to make sure you have enough oil in the pan (though I’m sure you already tried that).
If you want to be sure to avoid the burning altogether, you can bake them. I bake them more often than not these days, since it’s a little more convenient for me. You can pop them under the broiler for the last minute or two to get some of that browning.
I hope that helps! I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out for you!
Just wondering if yellow squash could be substituted for zucchini?
Yes, absolutely! The one caveat would be if the yellow squash has thick skin. If it’s fairly thin, you won’t have any trouble. If the skin is thick, you’ll likely want to peel it to avoid having any unpleasant chewy bits in the poppers. Hope that helps!
I substituted the cilantro (just not a fan) for basil and it was delicious! Thanks!
Ok so after seeing all the attention these little poppers were getting I just HAD to try them! Wow! So good! Needless to say, they disappeared as fast as I could make them! I quickly set aside 6 for my son who comes home from school for lunch. He too is not a zucchini fan but ate these little babies like candy! He came home for lunch just now, finished them and said, “Mom, you have to make these again!” Needless to say, I’m off to the grocery store for more zucchini! Also plan to pick up a can of tomato paste to try butter chicken in the slow cooker tomorrow. Thanks for the great recipes to keep my family well fed and happy! And for finding a way to get my son to eat zucchini! 🙂
Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I love hearing that!
THANK YOU for such a kind, lovely comment. You made my day!