Hidden Veggie Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is one of our family's favorite dinners.  I usually buy frozen meatballs, but I wanted to try making a healthier version from scratch.  I picked this recipe because I have a ton of carrots in the fridge and I happened to have some zucchini, too.  Will these healthier meatballs be our new replacement?

Ingredients (Printable Recipe)

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1/2 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup finely grated carrot

1/2 cup finely grated zucchini

1 egg

1 jar (1 lb. 8 oz.) Ragu® Old World Style® Pasta Sauce

8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti, cooked and drained

Directions

1. Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, carrot, zucchini and egg in medium bowl; shape into 12 meatballs.

2. Bring Pasta Sauce to a boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Gently stir in uncooked meatballs.

3. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until meatballs are done. Serve over hot spaghetti.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Info

Serving Size  3 meatballs with sauce and spaghetti divided

Calories 540

Calories From Fat 110

Total Fat 12g

Saturated Fat 3.5g

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 125mg 

Sodium 1120mg

Total Carbohydrates 70g

Dietary Fiber 6g 

Sugars 14g

Protein 38g

Vitamin A 50%

Vitamin C 35% 

Calcium 10% 

Iron 35%

Source: Slim Fast

 

I doubled this recipe and made 24 meatballs--that's why there are 2 eggs in the bowl (in case you were wondering).

The Results...
We were divided.  My husband, son and oldest daughter didn't care for these meatballs.  I thought these were OK.  Surprisingly the two littlest ones loved these meatballs and ate every last bit that I gave to them.  I'm glad their tummies were full of these healthier meatballs.  It was easier than I thought to make these from scratch instead of buying them.  I'll make meatballs again, but I will keep looking for a healthy recipe that we all agree is delicious.