Paleo Chicken Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Zoodles and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

On Monday we celebrated Pete’s birthday with our whole huge family, champagne and good red wine plus a massive batch of epic Bolognese. Like I made enough for 30 people, so yeah, that’s a lot of sauce. Every year I want to go hard core healthy come the first of January, but I always know that I can’t really get it going until the 10th- because you have to celebrate a birthday!! But now I am ready to get back to souping and eating healthy, protein rich meals as well, like delicious Chicken Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Zoodles and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.

I love that this is about a 30 minute meal and it’s perfect for weeknights. But I also like to make these chicken meatballs and keep them in the fridge for easy high-protein snacking. I have found that I am not the only one who appreciates this quick on-the-go snack- but Pete loves having them around.

And as a whole dish you have those flavorful mini-meatballs, the super sweet cherry tomatoes that when roasted, actually make up a sauce, and then the zoodles. Zoodles are the best substitute for pasta ever, as you completely get the effect of spaghetti and they are so filling. Enjoy!

Paleo Chicken Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Zoodles and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Author: Heather Christo

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

Chicken Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs
⅓ cup yellow onion, very finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup dehydrated potato flakes
½ cup minced flat leaf parsley
½ cup sun dried tomatoes (the dried variety- not packed in oil), very finely chopped
2 pounds ground chicken
1 pound cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
8 cups Zoodles (zucchini noodles)
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix them together well with clean hands. Form them into small meatballs and line them up on a sheet pan (I usually get well over 40 small meatballs).
When the meatballs are prepared, line another sheetpan with foil, crumpling the edges of the foil up to create a barrier, like a little tray with sides. Add the cherry tomatoes and 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the makeshift tray and toss them to coat the tomatoes. Generously sprinkle them with salt and place in the oven at the same time as the meatballs. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the meatballs are completely cooked through and the cherry tomatoes have turned golden and split their skin, creating a sauce with the olive oil.
While everything is cooking, make the zoodles with a vegetable spiralizer and then quickly sauté them with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and kosher salt in a pot over medium-high heat. You just want them to slightly wilt, so only about 1-2 minutes.
Pile the zoodles into bowls and then top with hot meatballs, some of the cherry tomatoes and drizzle with the liquid from the tomatoes. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil and mix everything together and enjoy!

Print Recipe