One-Pot 30-Minute Zoodles and Meatballs


The magnificence of utilizing spiralized veggies instead for pasta is that they don’t have to be cooked separately. Just throw them proper into the pan and in purely a number of minutes, they’re mushy and equipped to be twirled on a fork. Using spiralized zucchini and frozen, cooked meatballs skill which you simply may make this twist on spaghetti and meatballs in purely 1 pot and in so much now not up to 30 minutes.




INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly flooring black pepper
  • 1 (24- to 26-ounce) jar marinara sauce (about 3 cups)
  • 1 pound precooked meatballs (about 12 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs, meat or vegetarian), thawed if frozen
  • 6 medium zucchini (about 2 1/4 kilos total), ends trimmed
  • Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving


INSTRUCTIONS

  • Heat the oil in a huge pot over medium warmth till shimmering. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, till softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the marinara sauce and meatballs and stir to combine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, till the meatballs are heated by and the sauce is rather thicker, 12 to 15 minutes. While the meatballs are simmering, spiralize the zucchini.
  • Add the spiralized zucchini and cook, tossing the noodles typically within the sauce, till the zucchini simply begins to soften, about 5 minutes. (The zoodles will glance dry within the beginning, but will eventually launch quite a bit of water that thins out the sauce.) Serve immediately, topped with Parmesan cheese.


Homemade or Store-Bought: It’s Up to You
Versatility is the identify of the recreation with this one-pot dinner. I seize my favourite jarred marinara sauce and physician it up with some onion and garlic, but when you've some selfmade sauce stashed within the freezer, by all skill — use it!

The identical is going with the meatballs. Grab a bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs, or make your personal to make use of here. This also skill which you simply may opt for to make use of chicken, gluten-free, vegetarian, or the meatballs your grandmother taught you to make. If you forgot to the thaw the meatballs, no issues — simply prepare dinner them included within the sauce for a number of more minutes to make certain they warmth through.

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When cooking spiralized zucchini straight within the marinara, you run the danger of the water from the zucchini diluting the sauce. (Spaghetti has the reverse impact as it soaks up the sauce.) To make certain you don’t quit up with a skinny sauce, simmer the meatballs exposed within the marinara and permit it thicken up a bit. When you first upload the zucchini, it would possibly appear just like the sauce is nearly too thick, but simply due to the actual fact the zucchini softens, its liquid will dilute the sauce into the excellent consistency.


4 to 6

RECIPE NOTES
Frozen meatballs: Frozen meatballs may be used proper the following straight from the freezer. After they are delivered to the pot, disguise and prepare dinner 5 minutes more earlier than uncovering and continuing with the recipe.

Make ahead: The zucchini may be spiralized and saved within the refrigerator for as so much as 2 days earlier than cooking.

Storage: Leftovers may be saved in an hermetic container within the refrigerator for as so much as four days, however the zucchini noodles will likely be quite a bit softer.