Chicken Zucchini Poppers

These chicken zucchini poppers make for an incredibly delicious healthy meal, appetizer or snack with a ton of flavor. They’re packed with protein and veggies (especially great for kids who hate eating their vegetables) and are super easy to make!

What kind of chicken meat should I use for these poppers?

You can choose white meat or dark meat for these poppers, either will work great and depends on your preference. I like using dark ground chicken because it doesn’t dry out as easily when cooked.

How do you know when the poppers are done cooking?

Any time that I am cooking with chicken, be it ground or whole, I always use a digital thermometer to check the meat to make sure it is cooked through and safe to eat. To safely consume chicken, the internal temperature should read 160 degrees farenheit.

Top tips for making these zucchini chicken poppers:

• After you grate the zucchini, make sure you squeeze out as much liquid as possible to keep the balls from becoming too soggy. This will make them easier to work with.
• My favorite oil for high temperature cooking is grapeseed oil. It’s a neutral oil that holds up better at higher temperatures than olive oil.

Recipe Video

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Chicken Zucchini Poppers

These chicken zucchini poppers make for an incredibly delicious healthy meal, appetizer or snack with a ton of flavor. They’re packed with protein and veggies (especially great for kids who hate eating their vegetables) and are super easy to make!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chicken Balls, Finger food, Gucamole

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 249kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chicken breast or ground chicken thigh.
• 2 c. grated zucchini
• 2-3 green onions sliced
• 3-4 Tbsp cilantro minced
• 2 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil

Super Fast Guacamole

• 1 avocado
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp water or more depending on how you like your guac
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

• In a large bowl, mix together chicken, zucchini, green onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper. The mixture will be quite wet. Form chicken balls with your hands. It’s ok if the mixture feels a bit sticky, that’s usually how ground chicken feels.
• Heat the grapeseed oil in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Cook 4-5 at a time for about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook an additional 4-5 minutes, or until the outside of the balls are a nice golden brown. I like to cover the pan a little in between turning the balls over because it creates an oven effect and allows you to cook the inside of the meat without burning the outside.

For the super fast guacamole…

• Remove the skin of the avocado and smash it with a fork in a small bowl.
• Combine with garlic powder, onion powder, water, and salt. Mix around with a fork until you have achieved your desired amount of smooth vs chunky. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 6poppers | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 660mg | Potassium: 917mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Vitamin C: 22.8mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1.5mg