I was never a fan of meatloaf. The thought of a brick of ground meat didn’t appeal to me.
Then, I realized, if I stuffed it with as many veggies as possible, it would kind of be like a favorite pasta sauce of mine, turkey bolognese.
Alas, here we are, with an easy turkey meatloaf, chock full of veggies – even zucchini noodles!
I topped this meatloaf with a BBQ sauce (because I’ve been having whacky pregnancy cravings for BBQ flavors) and it was amazing, but you could also top with a tomato basil sauce or something less sweet.
The zucchini noodles work their magic here by giving this meatloaf the moisture it needs – the zucchini noodles release their water and make the turkey meat that much more moist. No bricks here!
And actually, the first time I made this, I forgot the almond flour and it broke apart a little, but it was still delicious – so just keep that in mind if a) you don’t have almond flour or b) have a nut allergy!
If you’re looking for a weeknight meal to meal-prep and/or freeze to have on hand for quick meals – this is it! And it’s a great way to use all those zucchinis that pop up in your CSA box or in your garden – they’re about to start growing like weeds! I would serve this meatloaf with a big side salad or some roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes – or even a cauliflower mash. Just prep everything and you’ll have hearty, nutritious meals all week!
I’m now a believer in the meatloaf. And I can’t end this post without sharing this, because I couldn’t stop thinking it as I typed out this post:
Now you can watch a cooking video of this recipe:
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 7 points
*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.
Gluten-Free Turkey Meatloaf with Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 carrots peeled, finely chopped
- 2 celery ribs finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 pound organic ground turkey
- ¼ cup almond flour you can skip this if you’d like, although it won’t be as nicely bound
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium zucchini Blade D, noodles chopped
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Set aside in a large bowl to cool for 5 minutes.
- Once the cooked veggies are cooled, add the turkey, almond flour, tomato paste, basil, oregano, parsley, egg and salt. Mix until well combined. Fold in the zucchini noodles and mix until combined and the noodles are evenly distributed through the meat mixture.
- Form the meat mixture into a 9x5” loaf shape on the baking sheet. Bake for 60 minutes or until the meatloaf is no longer pink on the inside (or registers at 160 degrees in the middle of the loaf.) 10 minutes before the loaf is done, spread out the barbecue sauce over the top.
- Once loaf is done, let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Slice and serve.
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