Air Fryer Zoodles and Meatballs? Yes, it can be done. And yes, deliciously!
This all started on my ongoing quest to figure out more food I can make in the appliances I got for Christmas: oh-my-gosh Instant Pot and utterly-amazing Air Fryer. See, I love my gadgets and I’m kind of a lazy cook. Which is good news for you–anything I come up with is both easy and hard to mess up!
The air fryer is ridiculously convenient. I’ve employed it making meatballs repeatedly. Since I don’t cook my zoodles a whole lot anyway, I thought to myself, “Why not just dump the zoodles on top of the meatballs here and see what happens?”
I can tell you what happens, friends: dinner. Air Fryer Zoodles and Meatballs for dinner happens! And the whole thing went down in less than the time it takes to watch a Roseanne rerun.
And before anybody asks me, no, you don’t have to use the flaxseed meal. The food police ’round here don’t care.
I added the flax because: 1. It’s already in my freezer; 2. I like the extra fiber; and 3. It seems to absorb some of the fat and help bind the meatball together. At least, that’s what I think it does. I’m not JuliaChild’s long lost protege, y’all. 😛
In many meatball recipes, people use breadcrumbs similarly to how I’m using flax here, sometimes soaked in milk. I understand it’s supposed to make sure the meatballs are moist, tender and still hold together. I may try adding a little cream to the flax next time and see if it warrants an update here.
But either way, these were SUPER easy and SUPER fast and SUPER tasty. A trifecta of dining delights, right there.
Update: Soaking the flax in a couple tablespoons heavy cream DID make for a more tender, more juicy meatball. They’re good either way but it was definitely an upgrade.
What a fantastic recipe, Dixie! Thanks for sharing it, recently I bought an air fryer and I`m obsessed with trying recipes with it!
Thank you, Tammy! I am really loving this air fryer. I use it all the time!