Greek-Inspired Chicken and Zucchini Meatballs with Loaded Rice Salad
This is a combo of one of my favorite recipes and a side dish that works as a perfect compliment. This is such a great idea for a meal prep lunch and dinner for the week, as it doesn’t take much time to come together! Enjoy topped with a squeeze of lemon to bring the freshness out for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Makes 20-25 Meatballs, and 4 servings of loaded rice salad.
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Total Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Meatballs
2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
2 lbs ground chicken
3 tsp salt
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
Zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
For the Rice Salad
1 package of Garlic and Herb Right Rice (This “rice” is made with vegetables and can be found at Kroger, Whole Foods, Wegmans, etc. Read more about the brand here.)
3/4 c cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2-3 mini cucumbers, sliced thin
1 bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Toppings
1 c feta, crumbled
fresh mint
fresh dill
kalamata olives
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400*F.
Using a box grater, grate 2 medium zucchini until you have about 2 cups. Add the grated zucchini to the center of a thin kitchen towel. Wrap the zucchini, and squeeze out all of the liquid that you can. Add zucchini to a large mixing bowl.
In the same large mixing bowl, add all remaining ingredients except the ground chicken. Mix thoroughly with your hands and then add the ground chicken. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until just evenly combined, being careful not to over-mix the ingredients. At this point, you can refrigerate the mixture for up to an hour. This makes the meatballs easier to form, but is optional - I typically skip this step!
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Using your hands or a scoop, form the meatballs, aiming for about 2 Tbsp in each meatball. This will be a sticky mixture, so feel free to put a little oil on your hands to prevent stickage. Add meatballs to the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165*F.
While meatballs are in the oven, cook Right Rice according to package directions.
Meanwhile, cut the veggies for the rice salad and put them in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add dressing ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Allow rice to cool for a few minutes. Add to the mixing bowl with veggies and dressing. Toss to combine.
Serve meatballs and loaded rice salad topped with fresh mint, dill, crumbled feta, and olives, Enjoy!
Did you make this? Tag your pictures with @forlemonsake!
