One of the things I love most about blogging is the community of bloggers.
Maybe it’s just food blogging specifically, but for the most part, every single food blogger I’ve ever met has been so sincerely nice, supportive, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know so many food bloggers over my 3+ years of blogging.
I still consider myself a newbie at this, especially because some food bloggersstarted back in 2003 (holla, Elise from Simply Recipes!)
I’ve been to food blogger retreats, meetups, sponsored events, and I’ve always been excited for these “get togethers” because I get to spend some IRL face time with my “cyber friends” (that sounded way creepier than I intended it to, but what else would you call them?)
When people e-mail me and ask, “What’s your biggest piece of advice for me? I want to start a blog!”, my answer is this: e-mail the food bloggers you look up to the most and ask them something specific. Ask them something like, “I love the filter you have on your photos! How do you do that?” instead of, “So, how do you start a blog?” The Internet is amazing, because those easy questions (how do you start?) are answered in thorough tutorials with a simple Google search. However, what makes everyone specific are the “little things” (like photo filters), so when you’re looking to go off on your own, pinpoint what you love, find the bloggers that do it, and ask said bloggers how they do it.
Anyway, this blog post isn’t meant to be about how to start a food blog. Today’s post is a recipe from my friend Serena’s (yes, a food blogger!) new cookbook (THAT’S OFFICIALLY OUT TODAY!!), The Dude Diet.Serena blogs over at Domesticate-Me.com and is coming out with her debut cookbook, based on a fun series she runs on her blog, The Dude Diet – basically, healthified recipes for dudes. Her fiancé (she got engaged a few weeks ago!) basically stepped on a scale, screamed, “I’m going on a diet!” and the series began.
There’s more about that in her cookbook, which I really recommend you get – it’s full of amazing recipes that are lightened up.For instance, she makes impeccable nachos that are simply vegetarian, to lighten things up. She makes salads that are dude-friendly (ie giant, over-packed salads), but honestly, all of the recipes in this book are ones that I’d personally make myself – so dude or dudette, there’s something in here for you!
I chose to make her Thai Chicken Meatballs, because the photo drew me in and of course, they looked like they’d go perfectly with some zucchini noodles. So, here we are. The flavor in these ‘balls are on point, Thai-style. Most importantly, she uses chia seeds to gel everything together, instead of breadcrumbs and eggs, so they’re lightened up and packed with even more nutrients (and protein!)
I’ve never cooked meatballs with chia seeds, so it was fun to make these– and I LOVED them. They’d go well with some carrot rice or pretty much any spiralized veggie noodle.
I made this recipe to serve (so you and your roomie can enjoy them and then you’d have leftovers for lunch the next day!), but the serving size of the meatballs serves 6. SO, if you want to serve 6, just double the amount of zucchinis in the recipe and the glaze ingredients and cook the noodles in batches. Simple as that.
Congratulations to Serena on your new cookbook! I know I’ll be cooking out of it more this fall!
Watch our video to learn how to spiralize a zucchini using the Inspiralizer and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 7points
*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.
Thai Chicken Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles
Prep Time 45 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Servings 3
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- 3 garlic cloves grated or finely minced
- 11/2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 3 scallions whites and light green parts only, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves finely chopped
- 11/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 3 medium zucchinis this makes 3 servings with 3 meatballs per serving - the extra meatballs should be frozen for future use. If you want to make all 6 servings, use 3 more zucchinis and double the glaze.
- For the glaze:
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
Instructions
Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in a medium bowl. Using your hands, mix all the ingredients until well combined. (This is a little gross, but also kinda fun.) Cover and refrigerate the meatball mixture for 30 minutes to allow the chia seeds to work their gelling magic.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
With damp hands, very gently roll heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture into balls. (Try not to squeeze the meat too much, dudes. It will make the meatballs tough.) Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, making sure they’re not touching. You should have approximately 18 balls.
Transfer the meatballs to the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and bake for another 10 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.
While meatballs cook, spiralize the zucchinis with Blade D and trim the noodles.
In a large skillet, whisk together the ingredients for the glaze. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for about 1 minute until it thickens slightly. Add the meatballs to the pan and shake gently to coat them with the glaze. Set the meatballs aside and add in the zucchini noodles. Cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Divide the zucchini into three plates and top with 3 meatballs per plate. Freeze the rest of the meatballs for future use.
with love, Ali
comments
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Beks Do you need the chia seeds in there? I'd love to make this for my mom, my WW buddy (thanks for adding the sp, btw!), but she can't do seeds. They're not like a binder, right?
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Ali Maffucci
They do act as a binder, yes! You can try without, but the seeds help with texture!
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Ryen Brumbeloe How about flax meal instead of chia? I can't do chia and am DF and EF as well.
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Heather I'm looking forward to trying chia but dried potato flakes are another good binder.
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Anonymous How many calories
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Serena Wolf AHHH! Thank you so much for this amazing post, Ali!! You made these meatballs look BOMB, and I obviously love the zucchini noodle factor. So grateful for your support and friendship (online and IRL!), and I can't wait to celebrate with you on Thursday! xoxox
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Marsha All recipes look great, I really need some dinner recipes I can make ahead, either day before or in the morning, help please :D
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Gail H. I just got Serena's book in the mail! With her book and your 2 I'm set :)
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lisa Ali, this looks delicious! But I'm confused about the number of servings, serving sizes, how many meatballs, etc. There seems to be a number missing in the directions. Can you clarify? If I use one pound of chicken, should I get 18 meatballs or 9? So confused.... Thanks!! :-) And thanks for all the great game-changing recipes! :-)
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Ali Maffucci You will get 18 meatballs! I wrote the recipe for 18 meatballs but 3 servings, so there are leftover meatballs. Just follow the instructions! If you want to serve 6, then adjust the amount of glaze and zucchini noodles (per the recipe instructions!)
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lisa Okay, got it. Thanks! I have my chicken ground and ready; can't wait to make these! :-)
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Cheryl Please forgive me for putting my comment here but I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I love your blog and your cookbooks. You have truly inspired me. I bought a spiralizer and have lost 63 pounds and counting. I appreciate all the recipes you give away and bought your newest cookbook for my daughter in law (I have the earliest one). Thanks for taking the time to give nutritional info, it really helps. Folks if you enjoy this blog and appreciate Allisandra's generosity let's let her know.
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Barbara I want to try this but I'm doing the Whole Life Challenge and cannot have honey - only coconut sugar. I wonder if that will work.....
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Liz Made these today!! So yummy!!! I seriously could do just the noodles and glaze! Also, i added lemongrass and it was outstanding!
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Angela Made this last night, absolutely delicious! I love meatballs, and make them all the time, but these meatballs with fresh ginger, green onions and the sauce...my new favorite. I'm making the meatballs only for an appetizer for a party this weekend, they're that good.
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Susan These meatballs are flavor bombs so a few go a long way. Great if you are trying to cut back on meat as one pound of chicken here stretches for 6 servings. They freeze well, too. Will be making this again.
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Donna I lost 30 lbs in 10 weeks simply by eating these delicious recipes. What a wonderful way to diet. Thank you Ali!! You are a blessing to all of us.
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Meaghan Hi Donna! We're so so happy to hear this! You're so sweet. We love that you shared this with us. Continue to keep us updated on your progress and your beautiful, new Inspiralized life!
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Stephanie Made this last night. It was SO good. Even my picky eater kids loved the meatballs. I served them over brown rice with a little soy sauce for them, kept as is for my husband and me. Thank you!
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Meaghan This is so fabulous to hear! Total mom win! Great job, Stephanie!
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Nancy Geisz Amazing! This is my fav spiralized recipe now. Had no chia seeds so used an egg and it was great.
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Gordon Can't tell you how much I love this website. Between the recipes here and on skinny taste I have lost 20lbs with about 15 more to go. I notice more and more that you put the weight watcher points but no other nutritional values. Just finds it really helpful.
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Stephanie This might be really silly but when you talk about freezing them, do you mean freeze the raw mix in balls? Or freeze them after they are cooked in the oven?
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Melissa I omitted the oil this time and it makes a big difference (in a not so good way). Don't forget it! :)
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Shelly Made this tonight.....It was delicious!!!!! We will definitely make this again. Only thing I would adjust is the sriracha sauce. I doubled the sauce because I cooked all the meatballs. My little one was complaining the whole time his mouth was on fire, but he couldn't stop eating it. I also had to change how I cooked the meatballs. My oven decided to go out when I used the self clean option. So I wound up cooking it in the skillet. Again it was delicious! Thank you so much Ali!!!
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Erika S I made this meal tonight, and I agree. Next time I would cut the siracha in half. Other than that this recipe was PHENOMENAL! My whole family loved it!
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Tania I really wanted to like this recipe, but the meatballs didn't have enough flavor, and the "glaze" gets watered down too much with the zucchini noodles. I double-checked, and I followed the recipe exactly. I'm not giving up; I'll try another recipe on your site. Good luck with the HSN.
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Wanda Ali. Another real winner. The texture of the meatballs was amazing. I love the chia seed trick (great way to get them in your diet too), Has anyone found the sauce too salty? If not, can you recommend a brand of low-sodium soy sauce? Thanks
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Judy I would love to make this for a dinner party. How do I keep the zoodles warm without them getting over cooked?
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Susan Gentile Would you please include the nutritional information? I spiralize to control carb consumption & would love to know the calorie, fat, carb & sugar information. Thank you - these look really yummy!
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Jessica Rios Why would you not use fish sauce in a Thai recipe instead of soy sauce. Seems really silly.
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Valerie Question: Have you ever tried the recipe with chia that was made gelatinous with water before mixing into the meat?? Wondering if the texture is better since chia becomes more egg like whenpre moistened. Thanks looks yummy
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Meaghan We haven't! But give it a try and let us know!
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Monica Made these with franks red hot for a less spicy version and they were still awesome. The chicken meatballs are a great gluten free option with chia seeds instread of breadcrumbs. My family all thought they tased like dumplings dry our fav Thai place ( but without the wrappers). Will make again
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Monica Made these with franks red hot for a less spicy version and they were still awesome. The chicken meatballs are a great gluten free option with chia seeds instread of breadcrumbs. My family all thought they tased like dumplings from our fav Thai place ( but without the wrappers). Will make again
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AprilGirl Do the meatballs keep well in the refrigerator if already coated with the glaze?
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Casey Cutkomp Would this work with ground pork?
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Carly Glazer Hi Casey! It should! We haven't tried it, but give it a try and let us know how they turn out!
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Anonymous We really enjoyed this recipe.I substituted ground turkey, because I had it and also a couple of tablespoons of Mae Ploy sauce, a sweet chili sauce, because I had no sriracha. It was delicious. I plan to prepare these as small, mildly spiced, yummy meatballs on an appetizer table, (if we are ever allowed to entertain again!)
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Meaghan That sounds so lovely!
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