Recipe: Zucchini Spaghetti & Veggie Balls

Zucchini Spaghetti and Veggie Balls is the new Spaghetti and Meatballs. 

I've finally jumped on the Orange is the New Black bandwagon and I am hooked. That's probably where ^that^ tagline came from. Sorry not sorry. I just watched the episode with the legend of The Chickening, giggling in my room by myself like an idiot with Netflix streaming on my laptop.

I'm tempted to get out of bed and wander to the fridge for my leftover spaghetti and veggie balls but I need to go to sleep soon. I've got an early wakeup call for Tough Mudder tomorrow morning so ain't nobody got time for that (sorry, still watching OITNB). So instead I'll share my recipe then try to get some sleep.

I made dinner for two of my closest friends the other night before going for a big walk. It had to be something filling yet healthy and light. So I made a healthy version of spaghetti and meatballs using the veggie balls from IKEA (yes, they're vegan!). Garlic bread was the only special request and I wasn't sure which frozen pack brands were vegan so I grabbed two hotdog rolls from Baker's Delight and made fresh garlic bread. I loved it and it went down well with my non-vegan friends. It was tasty, healthy and filling yet wasn't too heavy for a pre-walk meal.

I'm in love with spiralising zucchinis and see a lot of zucchini noodles in my near future. I served the zucchini spaghetti up raw to hold onto more nutrients and texture but it would work with a quick fry too. The IKEA veggie balls are great for a quick and easy meal and could be used for so many different recipes. This recipe was super easy to throw together and only took about 15-20 minutes including the garlic bread. I've also decided homemade garlic bread is way better than the frozen stuff.



Serves 4

Ingredients
- 4 zucchinis
- 1 bag of IKEA Veggie Balls
- 3 cans of diced tomatoes
- 300g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon of garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
- A handful of fresh basil leaves
- 2 teaspoons of mixed herbs
- Salt, pepper and nutritional yeast to taste

Recipe
1. Spiralise all of the zucchinis and plate them up as you go (one zucchini per serve).
2. On medium heat, heat minced garlic in a large frypan then add diced tomatoes, nutritional yeast and mixed herbs. Stir to combine.
3. Bring to the boil then add veggie balls, mushrooms, basil leaves and a pinch of salt. Fold the ingredients together so the veggie balls and mushrooms are coated. Turn heat to a low setting then allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Serve veggie balls on top of the zucchini spaghetti and season with salt, pepper and nutritional yeast as desired.



What's your favourite 20 minute recipe? Do you have a go-to healthy version of a classic recipe? Are you as hooked on OITNB as I am?

If you tried this recipe I'd love to hear from you. Use the hashtag #chelseycrafts on Instagram or post in the comments form below.