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Meatballs in spaghetti with tomato sauce topped with mozzarella in a large pan on a blue background.
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5 from 9 votes

Meatball Marinara with Spiralized Courgette and Wholewheat Spaghetti

This healthy alternative to a standard meatball marinara is the perfect comforting dinner. Turkey, courgetttie and wholegrain spaghetti add protein, nutrients and fibre.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: mains
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 5
Calories: 591kcal
Author: Mimi Harrison
Cost: £1.19

Ingredients

  • 500 g (less than 7% fat) turkey mince (£2.25)
  • 1 egg (£0.88/6)=(££0.15)
  • 1 white onion, finely diced (£0.09)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (£0.69/3)=(£0.23)
  • 250 g mozzarella, grated (£0.49x2)(£0.98)
  • 2 courgettes, spiralised (£0.90)
  • 1 kg passata (£0.40x2)=(£0.80)
  • 250 g wholegrain spaghetti (£0.55)

Cupboard Essentials

  • 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp honey
  • Salt & pepper
Metric - US Standard

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, start by combining the mince, egg, finely diced onion, 1 clove of minced garlic, 50g of the mozzarella and season with salt and pepper.
  • Coat the base of a non-stick frying pan with rapeseed oil and roll the meatball mix into around 15 meatballs, placing them into the pan as you go (off the heat).
  • When all of the meatballs are added to the pan and evenly distributed, turn on the heat to medium/high. Leave the meatballs for 5 minutes to brown (without stirring) and then rotate and repeat for another 5 minutes.
  • Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining minced garlic into the same pan to gently fry before adding the passata, chicken stock cube, oregano and honey. Season with a pinch of salt and stir to combine.
  • Pop the whole grain spaghetti into salted boiling water and set your timer to 2 minutes minus the packet time. At this stage, also add the meatballs back into the pan with the marinara sauce.
  • Transfer the spaghetti into the sauce along with the courgettie and around 2 ladles of pasta water. Stir to combine and continue to cook until perfectly al dente.

Notes

  • Use low-fat mince to create high protein meatballs of the best quality.
  • Cook spaghetti al dente to prevent it from falling apart.
  • Brown meatballs in a hot pan before adding them to the marinara sauce to create amazing flavour and use the fond to mix in with the sauce. Also, spiralize courgette just before cooking and remove any excess moisture.

Nutrition

Calories: 591kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 22g