As long as we are a full six days before fall begins, I am allowed to sneak in one more zucchini recipe. It would be right there in my contract, had I one, above the expectation of ironed shoelaces and below that of a daily slice of chocolate biscuit cake. I’d actually intended this recipe for July (and the eggplant involtini for August). But July was so hot, and August wasn’t much better; I couldn’t bring myself to publish recipes that require oven time, so I waited for a better moment to arrive. Our patience has been rewarded; this brothy, late summer-y bowl of pasta and meatballs is absolutely perfect for right now, with the kind of sunny warm days that require a morning and evening cardigan — i.e. the very best weather on this earth, full stop.
We start with a sheet pan of ground turkey meatballs but we add pesto to them. We’ll roast them on a sheet pan with some vegetables that go well with pesto; I chose zucchini but others will work. While they roast, we’ll boil some orecchiette, whose shape acts like tiny meatball catcher mitts. And then we put everything together in a brothy pesto puddle in a bowl that might be a fork thing, might be a spoon thing, or might be both; I see no reason to choose.
Book tour! I promised you a Smitten Kitchen Keepers book tour announcement this week but something has come up — something good! — we are going to need one more week to get everything in order. I can’t wait to share everything with you; I hope we get to hang out this fall/winter.
Previously
6 months ago: Banana Cream Pie
1 year ago: Baked Farro with Summer Vegetables
2 years ago: Tangy Braised Chickpeas
3 years ago: Crisped Chickpeas with Herbs and Garlic Yogurt
4 years ago: Flapjacks
5 years ago: Tomato Bread
6 years ago: Plum Squares with Marzipan Crumble and Piri Piri Chicken
7 years ago: Caponata
8 years ago: Chocolate and Toasted Hazelnut Milk
9 years ago: Baked Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
10 years ago: Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Mozzarella
11 years ago: Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Mint
12 years ago: Peach Shortbread and Grape Focaccia with Rosemary
13 years ago: Corn Bread Salad and Chocolate Pudding Pie
14 years ago: The Baked Brownie, Spiced Up
15 years ago: Hoisin Barbecue Sauce, Lemon Layer Cake and Tortilla De Patatas
Turkey Pesto Meatballs and Orecchiette
- Olive oil
- 1 pound (455 grams) ground turkey
- 1/2 cup panko, or another plain, dry breadcrumb
- 1 cup basil pesto, homemade or store bought, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan, plus more to serve
- 1 tablespoon water
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 pound (455 grams) zucchini or summer squash, sliced into 1/4″ half-moons
- 1 pound (455 grams) dried orecchiette
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (see Note)
Prepare the meatballs: Combine turkey, panko, 1/4 cup of the pesto, half the minced garlic, 2 tablespoons grated parmesan, water, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, many grinds of black pepper, and the egg in a large bowl with a fork, mixing until just combined. Coat your palms lightly with olive oil and use a heaped tablespoon or 1.5-tablespoon scoop to measure the meatballs, rolling them briefly in palms to smooth them, and space them out on the prepared sheet pan.
Prepare the zucchini: Toss zucchini in a big bowl with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and lots of black pepper. Scatter zucchini around the meatballs on the tray.
Roast meatballs and zucchini: Transfer the tray to the oven and roast for 15 to 18 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through. For better color on top, transfer meatballs and vegetables to your oven’s broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the orecchiette: In a large pot of well-salted water, cook your pasta until 1 minute shy of done, so it still has a little bite left to it. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water [and up to 3 cups, if using the bouillon option, see Note up top].
Make brothy pesto and assemble: Heat empty pasta pot over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 garlic cloves. Cook garlic until just golden at the edges, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of broth and bring it to a simmer. Add 1/2 cup of remaining pesto, stir just until warmed. Transfer meatballs and zucchini to brothy pesto in the pot, and add drained pasta. Cook everything together, tossing to evenly coat, for 1 to 2 minutes.
Distribute meatballs, zucchini, and orecchiette to wide serving bowls, ladling over any pesto broth left in the pot. Finish each bowl with an additional spoonful of remaining pesto, more salt and pepper, and grated parmesan cheese. Eat right away.
Does anyone have a store bought pesto they recommend? I’ve only ever had the kind that comes in a tiny jar from a the grocery store and have never really enjoyed it
Whole Foods sells some fresh pesto over by the cheeses. It’s not as good as making it yourself, but a decent sub.
I really like Costco’s pesto in the refrigerator section. Mix that with their frozen spinach ravioli and maybe some frozen peas for a dinner that requires zero effort!
Costco’s pesto is the absolute best store bought one I’ve ever had. All real
Ingredients, great price point, and it truly does last for a long time in the fridge so don’t left the size of it deter you.
It also freezes well!
I was also going to mention Costco’s pesto.
Trader Joe’s is fantastic.
Their vegan pesto is also awesome
Another vote for Costco – best store-bought pesto I’ve ever had! I also use it when I make Deb’s Grilled Zucchini Ribbons with Pesto and White Beans (https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/07/grilled-zucchini-ribbons-with-pesto-and-white-beans/).
Another vote for costco pesto!
THANK YOU FOR THIS. I made it as soon as I saw it and didn’t even bother to go to the store when I realized I only had a quarter pound of zucchini (although I did want more). This was absolutely outstanding and even picky children inhaled it.
Trader Joe’s Genovese pesto in the refrigerated case with the hummuses and other dips. 💚💚💚
Like you, I find the tiny jar ones to be substandard, but like others, agree that the Costco one is really one of the best of all non-homemade varieties. I buy two jars at a time and almost immediately divide them into ice cube trays and stick them in the freezer. When frozen I transfer the little pesto cubes to a freezer bag. They’re the perfect size to throw into soups, stews, pastas, homemade salad dressings and even stirred into mayo for a fabulous sandwich spread. Each little cube is approximately 2 1/2 Tbs.
I used to freeze Costco pesto in cubes but developed an even more minimal effort (aka lazier) approach. I now just freeze the whole container, the oil in the pesto prevents it from freezing solid, and when I need pesto, I just remove the bottle from the freezer and dig out what I need with a spoon.
I really appreciate this minimal effort tip. I’m definitely going to try it. Thank you.
Excellent tip!!
Is it the Kirkland brand one?
This recipe is delicious!! I’ve made it two ways, and both were a bit. As written, of course, and also without cheese by using Trader Joe’s vegan pesto+ Vialife vegan cheese.
We topped each bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. YUM!
I like the vegan kale pesto from TJs! You can find it in the refrigerated section.
Oh this looks perfect for September – not to change a recipe or anything but I might transform this into a warm pasta salad situation for a weekend lunch 🤔
Yes, I actually do. But I’m not sure if it’s just a locally distributed one. I like the one from Gotham Greens. I’ve never liked storebought pestos before but this tastes almost exactly like homemade, and doesn’t seem like it’s mostly oil.
At Whole Foods in No. California they carry the Pasta, Etc Fresh Basil Pesto which is good but pricey. They also have vegan.
Trader Joe’s vegan kale cashew pesto is tremendous. It’s in the refrigerated case near the hummus and other dips.
My family likes Rana brand pesto, it’s refrigerated with minimal ingredients. When you mix it with the pasta it is smooth. It’s a Genovese style of pesto as well (which means it has cheese). In my opinion you should keep trying different brands because the taste and textures of them all are very different.
Costco’s is great – Aldi has a decent non-refrigerated pesto too.
COSTCO has *the* best pesto EVER!
This looks like a super yummie recipe, do you think it could be made with ground chicken
I think so!
Can this be made as a meal prep for the week?
Absolutely.
What steps can I do ahead and the day before? Guessing make & refrigerate the meatballs and chop the veggies a day ahead?
Looks great!
What happened to the 1 cup reserved pasta water? Is that only needed if using bouillon?
Ah, thank you! You’ll add it if you don’t feel that the broth is sufficient to leave a little puddle behind. You might not need it. (I find I do when the pasta is more al dente, but not always.) Will fix.
Thank you for raising this question! As everything was coming together I read, re-read, and then had my husband re-read the recipe to see what to do with the pasta water. Didn’t end up using it, didn’t need it but good to see here it’s only for adding extra soupy-ness if needed!
Hi! I want to make a version of this – I don’t like zucchnini (gasp!) What else could I sub?
Cauliflower goes with pesto and with turkey, though it would need to cook longer. I like zucchini, but live with somebody who doesn’t like any of the summer squashes. I’m not sure if I want to try this with cauliflower or something else.
Broccoli rabe or broccolini, perhaps?
Carrots? They have a similar sweetness level in my mind, should roast in the same time, slice well into half moons, etc.
Green beans are ready good with pesto!
I’m going to try it with cauliflower. I also think some chopped up delicata or acorn squash would be good, especially once we get more into fall/winter. I think all of these options would need more cooking time though.
Asparagus is fantastic with pesto.
Deb! WHAT is this chocolate biscuit cake you speak of?!?
I also really NEED to know this! :)
Suspect that the chocolate biscuit cake is a reference to Queen Elizabeth’s favorite cake (and the ironed shoelaces refer to King Charles). You’ll find multitudes of recipes and commentaries online.
Okay, hear me out. Meatballs in the air fryer are life changing. No heating up the kitchen, no mess, just hit ’em with some olive oil spray and hit it. I bet the zucchini would work too. You know, in case It ever gets hot again.
Zucchini in the air fryer is amazing. I get them crispy like chips 🤤🤤🤤
i saw this and immediately sent my spouse to the store for orecchiette. i made a zillion little mistakes and it still turned out spectacular! going on repeat for sure.
We’re in New England and buy a delicious local-ish pesto (Vegetaballs brand) in the refrigerated section of the store – it’s with the plastic tubs of pre-packed olives, fresh pasta, etc. Maybe other regions have similar?
Costco pesto is definitely worth a try. I freeze it in smaller containers and it is great to have it on hand. I wish I could eat this right now! It looks devine.
This might be gilding the lily, but I couldn’t help thinking that using tortellini instead of orecchiette wouldn’t be a bad riff…
Anna, I like the way you think. I love orecchiette, but was wondering how gnocchi would work in this recipe.
Pesto meatballs! I don’t know why this has never occurred to me, but it sounds like something my toddler would love.
I have a bunch of shredded zucchini in the freezer that I intended for your ultimate zucchini bread or your chicken zucchini meatballs. I’m wondering if I could add them to these meatballs? Or would it be better to mix them in with the pasta? Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
Sounds wonderful, reminds me of Julia Collin Davidson’s everyday turkey pesto meatballs and spaghetti, going to make yours tonight! I heard that your new cookbook is now coming to my doorstep a whole week early!!!
About how many meatballs does the recipe make if using the measure you suggested?
I got 20! It divided perfectly for the suggested 4 servings (although I did 5).
I made this and it was delicious. I’m just wondering what I was supposed to do with the water from the pasta. Did I miss something?
Made a vegetarian version using chickpeas instead of meatballs, extra zucchini, and whole wheat gemelli. Super easy and delicious. We had 2/3 of a zucchini per serving and could easily have used more given how much it cooks down.
Oops, didn’t mean to post this as a reply!
Made it for dinner tonight and it was delicious, but maybe the broth should have been cut in half, as it was very soupy. As for the pesto, wouldn’t it be adding the remaining 3/4 cup of it, and not 1/2 cup? Since the recipe calls for 1 cup of pesto and you only added 1/4 cup of it to the meatballs. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow.
She says to add additional pesto directly to the plates as a topping. (I was also confused until I got to the plating.)
Literally sitting here wondering what to sub to make vegetarian. Wonderful suggestion, thank you!! I was more thinking along the lines of a meatless protein sub to still make the meatballs with but in the meantime I’ll try w chickpeas!
This was amazing. My only change was to cut the broth by half as my husband isn’t fond of having soup for dinner (?!?). We both loved the flavours and I’ll make it again.
Way too much broth…and would have rather used the salty pasta water. Lesson learned. Good flavors, ratios a bit off.
My husband is Filipino, so in our household, it’s always spoon-and-fork!
Oh this looks great. And I still have basil in the garden!
Hello Deb — it’s Sunday morning in Istanbul, and I just put some black lentils on to soak to make your dal recipe. Sat down with some coffee to read Smitten Kitchen, and could not resist writing you a little note: you’ve brought so much pleasure and joy to my life with your generosity of food knowledge! I’ve been following SK for more than a decade, and I love your chatty posts, the research you invest and time you spend in creating recipes, and the original twists that you give them. It’s always an adventure. I feel happy and expectant every time I open your website. I feel gratitude every time I feed my family and friends delicious and healthy food. That’s a lot of joy you’re putting into the world! I felt that I needed to tell you that, and to say thank you. May it be paid back to you and yours a thousand-fold…. :)
Has anyone tried freezing this? I am solo and this made a BIG pot!
This was FABULOUS! Thank you, Deb. :)
This is a great recipe. I served it on a bed of arugula to amp up the veggie content. I only had 12oz of orecchiette, but that was still more pasta than we prefer, so next time I will only prepare 8oz. Definitely a keeper.
Made this today for Sunday supper. Used Impossible Burger in place of the ground turkey which made a fabulous dish with layers of flavor and the pesto broth is divine. The only thing I would change is to dial back the salt just a bit. Thanks for another amazing recipe, Deb!
Agree.. I would also cut back on the salt
Wondering if those who felt too salty used store-bought pesto. I made my own using Deb’s linked recipe (highly recommend if you have the time and stuff!) and felt saltiness was fine. I loved this; made it for friends – Deb knocks it out of the park again!
I really enjoyed this recipe. I added a little extra pesto (my recipe made too much but not enough to be worth freezing so I added it all in – hard to have too much pesto in a dish). I also subbed out the zucchini for green beans as someone suggested (I’ve just had too much zucchini lately). The meatballs are delicious and so easy to make. Highly recommend.
This was wonderful!! I was skeptical of the broth portion, but loved it in the end. I did not have enough pesto to out in the broth, but it didn’t matter. Still great, and better the next day!
Always wonderful, too, when you just HAVE all the ingredients!
I made a soup out of the roasted meatballs and zucchini and it was delicious! Chicken broth, diced carrots and egg noodles. It was a perfect fall meal. Pesto turkey meatballs are the new avocado toast😊
For those who have made it, I want to make some and bring to a friend for dinner. She lives about 10 minutes away and I will bring over as soon as I finish. Any tips for preparation or transportation?
This was really good – the meatballs are very light and fluffy, which I appreciate in a late summer/early fall dish. We halved the broth so this was definitely more pasta dish than soup (just a personal preference); loved how the zucchini meshed with everything.
My family LOVED this! Made a double batch for 4 adults, and 5 kids. Every bowl was devoured! Definitely going into the dinner rotation.
I wasn’t so sure about the amounts of both broth and squash, but the end result was amazing! Not soupy at all, and the meatballs kept their structure with a great tender texture. I’m sure we’ll be making this one again!
This was tasty and easy. Used broccoli in place of zucchini, because that’s what we had, and it worked great. Ended up wanting some lemon juice at the end, but overall really enjoyed!
Delicious! I will definitely make again, but will cut back on the salt: even a lower sodium broth was a bit too salty
I make Trenette al Pesto (thank you Luca!) for my kids almost once a week. I used the orecchiette from the pantry one night and haven’t turned back since. They’re perfect for pesto. I’m going to have to add some zucchini to the pot next time.
This is delicious, without being too rich or overwhelming. I used shells instead of orecchiette (just what my store had), and they were great to pick up the broth. I used Trader Joe’s Genova Pesto, it was delicious and had great flavor. I would recommend this recipe to anyone! It make a big pot and will feed a family or give you lots of leftovers!
I made this exactly as written other than using ground chicken. I do not care for ground turkey. The meatballs are delicious and the sauce is really nice too. I broiled the meatballs and veggies for some color. The dish was very tasty and pretty too! I recommend for a remarkably easy, but delicious dinner.
The recipe calls for 1 cup of pesto. The directions indicate that 1/4 cup goes into the meatballs and 1/2 cup into the sauce. Where does the remaining 1/4 cup go?
Spooned on at the end, when serving.
The meatballs were tasty, but the rest of the dish didn’t really work for me. I was worried about having too much salt in the dish since I was using a commercial pesto and Better than Bullion. I got that too work out ok but my zucchini basically steamed on the pan instead of roasting. It was fun to try anyway!
So good! I made homemade pesto with a bunch of local basil. My zucchini broke down a little too much so I’d prob change up the veg next time. Pretty simple esp if pesto is pre made. Thanks for the yum!
I made the meatball and zucchini part of the recipe (leaving out the pasta and broth additions) and loved it! The meatballs are delicious and cook in exactly the time Deb specifies. I doubled the quantity of zucchini because zucchini loves to be roasted and served the dish with pesto from the very end of our summer basil plant. Delicious dinner!
This looks so good! But, what is a different vegetable (besides squash) that I could use?
Green beans, cauliflower, perhaps broccoli?
I made this last night and it was delicious. I added peas, but otherwise followed recipe to a T. Will definitely make again!
i don’t think i’ve ever seen an SK recipe i didn’t want to make, but sometimes there’s one you have to make RIGHT NOW. and this was one of them. it was so good! i used ground turkey thighs which i got from whole foods. i made my own usual nut-free pesto (pulverize pecorino, garlic, s&p, and the juice of half a juicy lemon in the food processor, then blitz in a 4oz container of basil, then remove to a bowl and stir in olive oil until desired consistency forms) and i used homemade chicken stock.
i made some small adjustments out of laziness/preference – i used 1t garlic powder (and 1t onion powder) in the meatballs instead of minced garlic and upped the salt to 2t (diamond crystal kosher). i seeded the zucchini and cut it into bigger sort of abstract bias-cut pieces, and only added it to my portion at the end because my partner doesn’t care for it. i cut the chicken stock to 1c since we aren’t much for soups, and let it simmer with a couple smashed garlic cloves and s&p while the pasta cooked and then fished them out before dumping in the pasta. (i didn’t want to mince garlic today okay? lol) i added in all of the remaining pesto at this point, along with some of the pasta water and some pecorino. topped with crushed red pepper. clean plates all around, will absolutely make again.
This turned out great! Easy enough for a weekday meal, but also great for a dinner party!
Very flavourful! I was a bit skeptical about how much liquid there was, but once you add the pasta back in, it soaked up pretty quick and turned out just like Deb’s photos!
Will make again!
Yummy! My kids and I both liked it! I added a dash of red pepper flakes, which was a nice touch. My store-bought pesto likely pushed the salt too far, so I’ll reduce the added salt next time. I’ll also add kale or chard to the broth process to sneak-in more veggies.
These meatballs looks yummy, and mouthwatering! I’ve tried with different types of meats for meatballs like Elk, WildBoar, Bison, etc…. these seems interesting, I will definitely try this time! Thanks for sharing wonderful recipe tips here! Keep it up!
If I know that this will leave me with leftovers for multiple days, should I keep the pasta separate from the broth until reheating? Or does the pasta hold up ok with all of the liquid? Thanks!
Keep separate otherwise the pasta will soak up all the liquid and become yucky.
We got a very late start to summer here in CA so our garden zucchini/summer squash bounty is still in full swing. This is a fantastic dish for using some of that up. I’m not a big meat eater, so next time I would use a larger sheet pan and add more zucchini or squash to increase veggie to meat ratio. Super delicious and will definitely make again. Thanks Deb!
I *had* to make this right away and it was a perfect cozy meal for a rainy early fall day, and really streamlined to put together on a busy day. I *might* experiment with making the meatballs with chicken or pork in the future because I don’t love the flavour of ground turkey, but I did love the herbal broth and zucchini and the way the pasta and vegetables contrasted with the crispy meatballs, and there will definitely be a next time. I only used 8 oz of orecchiette and about 2 cups of broth because my kids refuse to eat pasta of any kind (weird, I know!) but that made at least 4 generous adult servings.
There’s a lot of steps and a lot of dishes used in this dish but deeded to try it after my brother in law said it was a 10/10! He was correct; 10/10! I made nut free pesto because of nut allergies but followed the directions exactly, using 2 cups of vegetable broth because that’s what I had and zero pasta water. Everyone loved it! Can’t wait for your new cookbook!
“But July was so hot, and August wasn’t much better; I couldn’t bring myself to publish recipes that require oven time, so I waited for a better moment to arrive.”
Thank you for acknowledging this! I know not everyone lives in a climate where summers are an actual firey hellpit, but I’m always beside myself when summer recipes featuring lovely seasonal produce ask me to pre-heat my oven to 425. I’m not trying to cook myself, here!
I’m always looking for recipes to use up my zucchini, yet my kids are not a fan if I sneak it in. Does broiling the zucchini with the meatballs help give them a crunch? I ask because my kids eat most veggies cooked, but they keep telling me they don’t like zucchini. I think it’s because of the soft texture. I wonder if broiling after roasting is the key.
Made this as written tonight; it was delicious. Next time, I’ll use 1.5-2x the zucchini. To save a bowl, just toss the zucchini on a sheet pan first, then nestle the meatballs in. No need to dirty another bowl for the zucchini.
Made this for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious. My zucchini-hating 9 year old asked for seconds, and was specifically hunting out pieces of zucchini to eat. High praise indeed! Adding this to our frequent rotation. Lots of room to play with other seasonings!
This was delightful. A perfect way to use up more of my zucchini abundance. I followed the recipe, with the substitution of ground pork for the turkey because I had it in the freezer. I threw in some brocolli rabe greens from the garden and (sadly!) had to use store-bought pesto instead of fresh because my basil gave up weeks ago. I cut back slightly on the pesto because I was wary of the amount of garlic in there! In conclusion, the perfect late-summer main.
could you sub turkey for ground chicken or beef?
I made this pasta dish and it was delicious. How many meatballs should we make? I made 12 but it looks like Deb made more than that. Also, I didn’t have zucchini but I did have some fresh Brussels sprouts that I sliced and roasted with the meatballs. That was a fantastic substitution. The roasted slices hold up well. I think there is too much pasta in this dish — not quite enough liquid, either. Finally, I could not find orecchiette and used bow tie (farfalle) pasta instead. I think the orecchiette would have worked better.
This meal was truly delicious, thank you! Made it exactly as written and loved it. I’ll make other versions of it when local zukes disappear! The meatballs were so good!
Do not sleep on this recipe, people; it is fantastic!
Ingredient-wise, I made it as directed. My only material change was to roast the meatballs and zucchini on separate pans, swapping top-to-bottom halfway through (the one pan I started with ended up looking a little crowded but the time everything was on there, and I was afraid everything would just steam instead of browning). I used cavatappi, because I had it already, but I highly recommend using a flatter pasta, like orechiette or farfalle instead for pan volume reasons (cavatappi takes up a lot of space). Next time I might make smaller meatballs, up the zucchini by half, and drop the pasta to 12 ounces, but that’s just to suit my family’s preferences.
It’s definitely best the first day, but leftovers were still good with a bit of broth added just before reheating, and the whole office was asking me what smelled so good, so it definitely gets the desk lunch stamp of approval.
Oh, and I ate it with a big ol’ soup spoon!
This was very tasty indeed! I upped the quantity of zucchini a bit and I would add still more. Next time I would use two baking sheets. Because it was all crammed in, the zucchini mostly steamed and I wasn’t able to get any nice colour on it, even by broiling. It just wants a little more space on the pan. Will definitely be making again!
Very delicious! Something a little different and was able to roast the vegetables and meatballs earlier in the day, then add the pasta/broth once ready.
I recall a few years ago Deb saying she had an aversion to pasta and chicken combo dishes-and that was when I realized I did too!! I like this recipe because the turkey meatballs were so flavorful and there wasn’t a weird texture issue like I find with chicken/pasta!
So delicious and fun to make! No orecchiette at the grocery store so I used farfelle instead. Thanks! (I used store bought pesto.)
The meatballs in this were the bomb! The only other time I made turkey meatballs (not a Smitten Kitchen recipe) they were just ok, so I was skeptical, but the pesto in these made them oh so delicious. I had planned to do the broiler but they had enough crisp on them it wasn’t necessary. I only had bouillon cubes and wished the broth was a little more flavourful, so next time I’ll use a homemade stock or Better Than Bouillon. I also wondered what to do with the 1 cup of reserved water (saw another commenters’ question) – it didn’t seem like I needed it so I just left it out. Delicious!
This was really excellent! My husband prepped the meatballs in advance then put them in the fridge, which made the remainder of dinner super quick and easy to make after work. We used about 1/2C of the reserved pasta water in addition to the broth, and I added extra pesto on top of my bowl because I love pesto. Will happily make this again and again. FYI the directions still do not say what to do with the reserved pasta water, but I was able to find your instruction in the comments. Figured you’d want to know.
Forgot to add – I made as is, but next time I think I’d make smaller meatballs (or increase to 1.5 lbs meat) and add more zucchini; or maybe reduce the pasta a bit. We did use 2 different pans for the zucchini and meatballs and appreciated very much the recommendation to broil after baking to get them a little browned.
I’m in the minority but I didn’t care for this. The meatballs were delicious but there was way too much pasta and the orrechiette nested together in big clumps. I would add the zucchini when the meatballs are halfway done. It was just mush. Also, all of that broth was soaked up by the pasta and leftovers were too soft. The flavors were nice but the textures didn’t work for me.
this was realllyyy good but also very rich and heavy. I suppose that depends on the pesto you use. I don’t think it needed a full two tablespoons of more olive oil at the brothy pesto step – there’s more oil coming when you add the pesto. It was so good I wanted to lick the bowl but I could only eat it with a green salad to go with it. It could also easily take more zucchini/vegetables — usually Deb’s recipes are vegetable-forward so that was surprising.
In order to brown the meatballs, should I place them under the broiler for 3-4 minutes after they have fully cooked? Or 3-4 minutes before cooking time is up? Thanks!
This is fantastic. Whole fam loved it including grandkids!
Made this tonight and it is so good!! My family loved it!! Thanks for the delicious and easy recipe!
Made this last night, to use up zucchini in the frig. So delicious. Added to my “5 star” file. I used Aldi pesto.
Made this tonight using Beyond Beef to make the meatballs (one of my 15 year olds is trying out vegetarian days 3x/ week for a school project), and 1.5lb sliced Brussels sprouts instead of zucchini. 100% approval rate in our household – thank you for another go-to dinner recipe!!
I made this soup tonight and while I found the flavors to be very good, I found the entire dish to be extremely salty. Against my better judgment, I added the full tsp. of kosher salt to both the meatballs and the zucchini as mentioned in the recipe. I then used bouillon and the pasta water to make the broth, both of which contain salt. If you add up the amount of salt added to this, the meatballs, zucchini, pasta cooking water and bouillon, plus the cheese, it must be over 6 teaspoons of salt, if not much more. I’m a salt lover, and found the amount of salt made this dish almost inedible. If I make it again, I would cut the salt for the meatballs down to 1/2 teaspoon, no salt at all on the zucchini, and not use the salted pasta water. It’s just all too much.
I made this pretty much as written, but omitted the broth. Instead of using the broiler I pull the pan out of the oven after 15 minutes or so and use a fork to flip the zucchini and meatballs over before returning to the oven briefly. They end up nicely browned that way. My husband requested that we have this again soon!
Looks delish, but how would you make this non dairy?
A massive hit at my house! The 16 year old approves- hot or cold, plain or with pasta. He ate them all! That being said, I used chicken instead of turkey because that’s what I like. I also made the pesto pasta in my usual way with about 1 cup of pasta water and the pesto simmered down a bit before adding the pasta in. This will be going into regular rotation!
Entire Family loved it, including picky 11 yo. Subbed roasted broccoli because she doesn’t like squash. Highly recommend.
This was fabulous! Both husband and daughter approved!
Made this once with pesto genovese and once with pesto rosso (both jarred from Aldi!) and both versions were delicious. Fall is meatball season! I stand by it!
Just made this last night, and it was a huge hit. My garden basil had just frozen, and fresh basil at the market was expensive and didn’t look the greatest, so subbed cilantro pistachio pesto (a bunch of cilantro, maybe half as much parsley, as many pistachios as you can convince your partner to shell and not eat, garlic and olive oil). Very yummy and satisfying on a chilly fall evening. Used the full two cups of broth and found this sauces wonderfully, not soupy.
We made this and loved it! The turkey meatballs were delicious and light, great texture and taste. Next time I would add even more zucchini and make do a second sheet pan. I broiled at the end which was good to brown. I did not know what to do with reserved pasta water, did not use it. I used 2 cups homemade chicken stock. I used pesto from Costco. This dish was rich and flavorful, especially with extra pesto on top.
Mostly loved it. For me, the use of chicken broth (used a Knorr stock pot + 2 cups water), made it a little too savoury when combined with the saltiness of the Parmesan.
Next time, I’ll add a bunch of cherry tomatoes to the garlic + olive oil, then just use 2 cups of water for the sauce.
I’m also really tempted to try this with a pistachio pesto and feta combo.
I made this last night. I made the recipe through cooking the meatballs and zucchini. I served the meatballs and veggies as a snack to serve with drinks. It was delicious and everyone loved it!
This was SO good. We made this for my mom’s birthday, and doubled the meatball recipe to have extras for our 15-month old. The pesto made the meatballs juicy and flavorful, and the whole thing was perfect for an easy fall dinner meal.
Tasted delicious! I must’ve roasted my zucchini too long in an effort to brown them because they virtually dissolved once added to the pasta & meatballs. Next time I will increase the amount of zucchini and also shorten the roasting time so that they show up better.
Loved this recipe! Used half the pasta and added vegetables. Delicious!!!
This was delicious! I cut it in half since I’m cooking for one and it worked out fine. (Tip – slightly whisk the egg in a dish and put 2 tablespoons of it in the meatballs and freeze the other half for the next time you make meatballs).
I’m sad to say this is the first SK recipe I’ve made that I definitely will NOT make again. First, the sauce was so watery (I only used the chicken broth and not the pasta water) that I basically had to add another jar of pesto and kind of made me wish I’d just heated up some pesto in microwave and poured it on top of some pasta and not bothered with those other steps. Second, while the meatballs and zucchini were okay, the dish was really missing some brightness.
Making meatballs in the air fryer can change your life. You won’t have to heat up the kitchen or deal with any mess. Just spray them with some olive oil and cook them. I’m willing to bet that zucchini would work too. Just in case it gets hot again.
Just made the meatballs. Very, Very good
This recipe turned out great! I took someone else’s recommendation to only use 12 ounces of pasta instead of the full 16. Also I happened to have Stonewall Kitchen Artichoke Pesto in the pantry and it worked really well with meatballs and zucchini.
My kids prefer Rana brand pesto, which is chilled and has few ingredients. It is smooth when combined with pasta. It’s also a Genovese-style pesto (which means it has cheese). You should keep trying new kinds, in my view, because their tastes and textures are all extremely distinct.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Didn’t have zucchini but subbed broccoli and shiitake mushrooms and it still turned out perfectly!
I love this recipe. It is flavorful, easy to make, and comforting. Yum!
Made as written using homemade chicken broth. Did not need the extra pasta water. Absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Child who’s allergic to pine nuts was out of town so decided to make this! It was delicious! I would add 2 pounds of half moon zucchini instead of 1 pound. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly!
Made this tonight with chickpea pasta, and it turned out incredible! I’ve been trying to figure out how I can use chickpea pasta so that eating it doesn’t feel like a chore, and this was a total game changer. The rigatoni noodles fell apart a little, but I didn’t mind. Thank you!!
Delicious! I used some kind of swirly pasta I’d never seen before and can’t remember the name of now. I added mushrooms and I think I always will.
This was sooooo goood! Thank you!
Way too soupy!! Meatballs didn’t have enough flavor.
This was just as good as I expected it to be! I forgot to save the pasta water and it still came together beautifully (I used chicken stock, not bouillon). Adding this to the rotation immediately
I’ve made this twice for an elderly neighbor who has a heart condition so I didn’t salt the pasta water and omitted the salt for the zucchini and meatballs but doubled the black pepper. She loved the dish, we were able to freeze portions for future meals. Thank you Deb!!
I normally love your recipes, but this one was really disappointing. Made as written, the ratio of veg to pasta was way off, and the “soupy” consistency was really unappealing.
Had this tonight with a few adjustments- used 12 oz of pasta and only 1 cup of broth. I would honestly add another zucchini next time! Used Trader Joe pesto. My son asked is there was enough for leftovers for lunch. :). I will definitely make again!
Oh and also went with less salt!
Hi. I’m confused about the reserved cup of pasta water. Where does that go? You say to add the two cups of broth and the pesto to the pot, but what do you do with the cup of pasta water? Thanks!
This was delicious! Highly recommend. Made it with ground chicken and shells, added some red pepper flakes at the end, and served with a baguette. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but found this to be a lovely late Fall meal.
This is such a great recipe — it’s a staple in our house! Has anyone ever tried this as a meatloaf?? Trying to do foods that my toddler can put shapes in lol
This was easy and delicious. Next time, less orecchiette. Zucchini was perfect. I think some shitakes would work really well with this
What do you do with the reserved pasta water?