Zombie Zucchini Meatball Sliders

So I really tried to get all these blogs out last night but I had been typing so long my fingers and wrists started getting sore and my eye lids began to droop so I gave up and went to sleep. So I'm finishing off the blog-marathon today!


My final recipe I needed to catch up on was something that frankly I was skeptical about but I'm happy to report it worked out well! A few weeks ago for a catered lunch at work, I had ordered BBQ for the office. I was the unofficial office hero. I ordered Carolina pulled pork, BBQ chicken, macaroni and cheese, hush puppies, coleslaw and banana pudding. In addition to all this food, the caterers also gave us 36 potato rolls. After the lunch was over and all the little scavenger people who weren't in the meeting filled up their plates and to-go containers I was left with an unopened bag of potato rolls. While I could've used these rolls to make some duck friends outside, I decided to instead be selfish and use them for my own enjoyment in the form of slider rolls!


I have always loved sliders, they are perfect for tricking your body into thinking you're eating more than you actually are. You wouldn't eat 3 whole burgers (well, maybe you would but I wouldn't) but 3 sliders I don't give a second thought to! Plus who doesn't think little food is just adorable?


Since beginning my pescatarian lifestyle, I have scoured Pinterest for recreations of my favorite non-vegetarian recipes. I happened to come upon a recipe for zucchini meatballs and immediately wondered how these two things could possibly be similar at all but I'm happy to report that zucchini are an excellent meatball-maker.


Zombie Zucchini Meatball Sliders

3 medium zucchinis, grated and dried
Salt, to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 C seasoned breadcrumbs
3/4 C shredded parmesan cheese, divided
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 potato rolls, cut in half
1 C marinara sauce
Giardinera, for serving


Using a medium grater, grate zucchini into a kitchen towel-lined bowl. Season zucchini with salt and toss with your hands. Pull the sides of the towel over the zucchini and squeeze out any excess moisture, this will help the balls stick together.


Transfer the dried zucchini into a clean bowl and add in garlic, basil, egg, breadcrumbs and 1/4 C of the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 1/4 C patties and set aside. I ended up with exactly 12 patties.


Spray a skillet over medium-high heat with cooking spray and cook patties until they are golden brown on both sides. I let mine go roughly 5 minutes per side.


While your patties are cooking, line a 9X13 casserole dish with the bottom halves of your potato rolls. Put about 1 Tbsp of marinara sauce on the bottom of each roll. Place cooked patties on top of the marinara and top with another 1 Tbsp of marinara and a sprinkling of cheese (I had some pepper jack in the fridge that was on the verge of turning so I cut it into quarters and used it on some of the sliders as well). Repeat with remaining patties.


Broil your assembled sliders on high for 2-3 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from the oven and top with the top half of the roll and broil for another 2 minutes (as you can see from my picture, I let mine go a little too long).

If you're like me and can't imagine eating food without some sort of pepper on it, before devouring your little sandwiches, remove the top bun and put on some giardinera or pickled jalapeno for a spicy and briny bite.


I was feeling lazy so we ate these sandwiches with some salt and vinegar potato chips. They did however go exceptionally well with the homemade hopped hard cider Nate made and we broke into!


Enjoy your Tuesday, readers! Stay tuned for more great recipes to come!