Easy meatballs coated in an Asian sticky glaze and served with zucchini noodles. This recipe is also low carb and gluten free. These meatballs can be made in large batches, perfect for your weekly meal prep.
I’ve been on a meatball kick lately and my most recent creation are these Asian glazed meatballs. The sauce is a mix of Asian inspired ingredients including ginger, soy sauce, and garlic.
The sauce is flavorful enough that you don’t need much on the zucchini noodles. I cooked them with a little salt and garlic.
Meatballs
I made my meatballs with lean ground turkey. However, they can also be made with pork or beef, or a combination.
Usually meatballs use breadcrumbs to keep the meatballs moist. To keep these low carb and gluten free, I used almond flour instead. It works just as well and the meatballs stay very moist.
The meatballs store and reheat well, making this an easy and flavorful meal prep.
More Easy Recipes
Asian Glazed Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles Meal Prep
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 20 oz lean ground turkey
- ½ cup onion minced
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
Glaze
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp honey or sugar substitute see note
- 8 tbsp water
- 2 tsp cornstarch see note
Zucchini Noodles
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- 5 medium zucchini spiralized
- salt to taste
Instructions
- To make the meatballs: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add turkey, onion, egg, almond flour, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir and mix until everything is evenly mixed.
- Scoop 1 ½ tbsp of meatball mixture. Gently roll into ball shape. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat with remaining meat, spacing balls about 1/2 inch apart.
- Bake meatballs for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked.
- To make the glaze: Add all sauce ingredients except cornstarch and water into a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce is slightly reduced. Taste and adjust as needed.
- In a small bowl, completely dissolve 2 tsp of cornstarch into 8 tbsp of water. Add to sauce mixture and stir immediately so that the cornstarch does not cook and clump up. Gradually bring sauce to a simmer again and cook until sauce is thickened.
- Using a pastry brush, brush meatballs with sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds.
- To make zucchini noodles. In a large skillet, add olive oil and garlic. Bring to medium high heat.
- Add in zucchini noodles. Cook until water releases from zucchini and zucchini noodles are just cooked (tender but still crisp). Add salt as needed.
- Divide zucchini noodles into meal prep containers. Add meatballs on top and remaining glaze.
Notes
- You can replace turkey with ground chicken, beef, pork.
- If you do not need to keep recipe low carb or gluten free, you can replace almond flour with breadcrumbs.
- Cornstarch is not always allowed in low carb diets, but this recipe only uses a small amount to thicken sauce. Some low carb diets permit this small amount. If your diet does not permit the use of cornstarch, you can try a low carb thickening agent like xanthan gum.
- I usually use honey for Asian glazes. To keep this low carb, you can replace with a sugar substitute that is equivalent to 1 1/2 tbsp of sugar.
- I use these Meal Prep Containers,* this spiralizer,* and this 1 ½ tbsp cookie scoop.*
- The nutrition estimate includes honey as the sweetener. If you use a sugar substitute the estimate will vary.
- *Some of the product links contained in this post are affiliate links. Much like referral codes, this means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product I referred (at no extra charge to you).
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I have been in such a rut with lunches and dinners so was looking for something new – this one caught my eye since it was different than our normal go-tos and looked amazing. It definitely was quick to make and very yummy! I will say that while the glaze was super flavorful and delicious, the meatballs themselves seemed to be a bit bland – I wonder if order of operations played a role here in that I couldn’t quite get everything blended well enough with the turkey. I might also want to add a few more spices next time. BUT this was relatively easy and we will be trying it again!
We don’t add salt to the meatballs because the sauce has sodium – if you are serving the meatballs without the sauce, you might want to add a little salt to the mixture. We’re glad you enjoyed it!
What do you use for low carb instead of almond flour? We have a nut allergy in the house.
Sorry, we’ve only tried this recipe with almond flour.
How do you keep the zoodles from watering?
They will release moisture when you cook them – it should cook off or you can drain the excess water from the pan before you add the seasoning.
I’m very interested to make these for next week. How many meatballs does this recipe typically make?
If you make meatballs with 1 1/2 tablespoons it should yield between 20 and 25 meatballs. Hope that helps!
Hi can we freeze the meatballs ?
yes
Excellent flavor! Easy to make too.
I made these for my lunches.
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I made this (and the chocolate yogurt loaf cake) as part of a meal delivery for a friend who has a family member recuperating from a serious injury.. Both recipes were simple to follow, and I had enough for my own meal, too. I definitely will be making these again!
I’m so glad both recipes worked out for you!