Spaghetti and meatballs=heavy, comfort food=winter. Am I right? A few changes to one of my favorite meals turns it into a lighter, more summer-appropriate dish. Zucchini noodles+quick tomato sauce+bean balls=an easy, healthy, and light summer meal.
I’m not going to try to pass off zucchini noodles as regular pasta. They are a vegetable, a raw vegetable, so let me state the obvious: they don’t taste like pasta. That’s not the point. The point is that you can use these lovely noodles as a vehicle for traditional pasta sauce and meatless balls and instead of feeling heavy and tired after the meal, you’ll feel energized like you should after dinner.
I don’t have a spiralizer. I made these zucchini noodles with this ten dollar julienne peeler. It works beautifully to create long, thin noodles with all kinds of vegetables and doesn’t take up precious kitchen real estate. It could not be easier to use. Plus, it’s only $10. I highly recommend it.
The tomato sauce is heartier than a regular marinara sauce thanks to the addition of portobello mushrooms, which really give it a meaty texture. Of course the flavors of a tomato sauce will intensify if you let it simmer for hours, but the reality in my kitchen is this sauce is ready in 30 minutes.
The bean balls are also quick and easy to make, also. You simply mash the beans, mix in the rest of the ingredients, and bake them in the oven for 18 minutes. They hold together nicely and are perfect with this chunky tomato sauce. They aren’t the prettiest food on the block, but I’ll show you a picture just so you can see what they look like when they aren’t swimming in a sauce.
We have enjoyed this as a light spring/summer meal twice now and it will definitely make an appearance on my meal plan throughout the warm months. I hope you love it, too!
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Zucchini Noodles with Chunky Tomato Sauce and Bean Balls
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Zucchini noodles, paired with a chunky tomato sauce and bean balls makes for a light, healthy summer-time meal that is vegan and gluten-free. Zucchini noodles (zoodles) are easy to make with an inexpensive julienne slicer.
Ingredients
- 12 small or 6 large zucchinis
For the tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon organic refined coconut oil, or oil of choice
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 portobello mushroom caps, chopped
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
For the bean balls
- 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2/3 cup rolled oats
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (parmesan cheese may be substituted)
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Make zucchini noodles by using a julienne slicer (or a spiralizer if you prefer). Set aside in a large bowl.
- To make your sauce, start by heating the oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven.
- Cook the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped mushroom and allow to cook another 10 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil.
- While your mushrooms are cooking during the sauce-making, start making your bean balls. Put your beans into a large bowl and mash (I use a potato masher for this). It’s okay to have a few beans in tact.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Use your hand to knead the mixture together, making sure the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Roll the bean mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on a baking sheet that is either lightly coated with oil or lined with parchment paper. You will get about 28-30 balls.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking time.
- To serve, place a serving of zucchini noodles on a plate, top with 4-6 meatballs, and finally cover it all with the tomato sauce. If you aren’t vegan and can enjoy dairy, feel free to top it with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: main meal
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 246
- Sugar: 12.1g
- Sodium: 321mg
- Fat: 16.1g
- Carbohydrates: 43.5g
- Protein: 11.1g
wow, the food looks delicious and very attractive, thank you for sharing
Great article but it didn’t have everything-I didn’t find the kitchen sink!
144b3 – dbHello! I’ve been following your blog for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Kingwood Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the great job!ca
tiredlikeabicycleI would give him one for sitting and trying…then the deed may get done. I have had my own trouble with 2 girls and a boy. Only one of the girls was easy. I gave her underwear, she wore it to daycare and a week later had her one and only accident, she woke from a nap and thought she was on the potty. I’m still working on the last. He has problems quitting things to go including sleep.
Of the panoply of website I’ve pored over this has the most vetcriay.
A light meal for the summer leaving you energized. This is great!
Who knew you can create a variety of recipes using zucchinis? I was never particularly fond of it before, but I’m beginning to appreciate it now, what with its many health benefits. Thanks for these recipes that will surely add fun and excitement to my meals.
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy this. 🙂
Love the bean balls… Rock on! Let me know if you would like me to add it to my 101-Meatballs roundup… and yes, there’s a vegan section to that!
Do you think I could mix the beans, perhaps half black beans and half northern beans for a buttery flavor?
I do think that would work! I will check out your round up Yosef. 🙂
Maryea,
You’ve never, ever let me down. This recipe was even better than I could have anticipated. I only had one can of black beans, so I used one can of black beans and one can of chick peas and I whipped them up in my food processor.
Also, I warmed up my zucchini noodles by sauteing with garlic, as I was feeding it to people who aren’t super experimental.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Definitely adding to my regular recipes 🙂
Yay! Thanks for coming back and giving me feedback. That’s funny that you said you heated the noodles as this morning Tim and I were talking about this dish (he reads my blog but usually not the day I post–haha) and he said next time I make it he’d prefer if I heated up the zucchini. 🙂
Pretty much in love with this dish… especially that chunky tomato sauce! YUM!
Thanks, Pamela!
This looks deliciously awesome. I hope mine turns out as eye appealing (and tasty) as yours looks!! Looking forward to trying very soon!!
I hope you love this, Kathy! 🙂
Made the bean balls last night! LOVED them. And family approved. My husband had just made his famous meatless spaghetti sauce so we enjoyed them with his sauce. I plan to try the first half of this recipe very soon. Thanks for the recipe!!!
You’re welcome, Kathy! Glad you enjoyed the bean balls. 🙂
This looks so good! I am totally in zucchini mode right now. I can’t wait until they start popping up in my garden.
This is perfect for garden-fresh zucchini! 🙂
This looks delicious and I would say family approved on this recipe, I would be making carrot, zucchini, asparagus, cucumber, celery, rhubarb, jicama all sorts of “pasta noodles”, I will eat your bean balls next week when I can handle more solid food.
One love…
Holy moly! I’m literally heading over to Amazon to buy that peeler as soon as I finish this comment! I’ve been coveting a spiralizer ever since zoodles became THE THING. As soon as it arrives this will most definitely be the first recipe I make 🙂 Till then…whole wheat pasta may have to suffice!
I put off getting a spiralizer, too, then I saw that you could make noodles with the julienne slicer and I was so excited! You will love it–it works so well and is so easy. Hope you love this recipe. 🙂
Oh yum! These look so good. The funny thing is that I am just getting over the stomach flu and this looks so good to me! Lol!
Stomach flu?! Yuck! I guess it’s a good sign that this is looking good to you?! lol I hope you’re better soon and you give this a try. 🙂
Looks delicious! I love zucchini noodles, this looks like a great way to prepare them. 🙂 Love the bean balls too!