Chicken Meatballs 3 Ways

We’ve been eating a lot of meatballs at our house lately! Our idea was to take traditional dishes and turn them into meatballs. The idea is you get the same great taste but in bite-sized morsels. The recipes I’m going to share with you today are easy to assemble, wonderful weeknight dinner options, crowd pleasers, and make great leftovers! The fight at our house is no longer “what’s for dinner” but “which are we going to make first” 🙂

Orange Chicken Meatballs are everything you love about a classic takeout meal! The flavor is incredible – you will think you are eating orange chicken from your favorite Chinese restaurant but with fewer calories and fat. I like to serve the Orange Chicken Meatballs on top of Cilantro Lime Rice. You could serve these with rice, noodles, or as is.

The recipe can be found here.

Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees and lining 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, breadcrumbs, ground chicken, egg, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, ginger, salt, and pepper. I like to use my hands to blend the mixture together, but a spoon works well too!

Shape the mixture into meatballs using your hands or a cookie scoop, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Make sure to leave a little space in between each meatball to allow for even cooking. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Add this mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. This will help the sauce thicken. Continue to cook the sauce for about 5-10 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the oven and place in a large bowl. Pour the orange sauce mixture over the top and toss to combine. Serve warm on top of Cilantro Lime Rice.

The recipe can be found here.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Meatballs mimic the flavors found in traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu; they are stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese and are topped with a wonderfully tangy Dijon Mustard sauce. These are definitely a crowd pleaser! The meatballs are moist, the ham is juicy and the Swiss cheese melts perfectly inside the meatball giving you a burst of flavor in each bite. I like to serve the meatballs with mashed potato on the side.

The recipe can be found here.

Add the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, and McCormick seasoning to a medium bowl. I like to use my hands to blend the mixture together, but a spoon works well too!

Divide the mixture into 16 evenly sized pieces. This will help ensure the meatballs are roughly the same size. You also don’t want to make the meatballs too large or the ration of ground chicken to ham and Swiss cheese will be off.

Slice the Swiss cheese and deli ham into 16 pieces and chop the parsley.

Flatten one ball of the meatball mixture into a patty in your hand. Add one piece of Swiss cheese and one piece of ham to the center. Fold the chicken mixture to form a ball, making sure to seal tightly so you don’t have any ham or cheese sticking out. Repeat this until you have 16 meatballs.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook for about 8-10 minutes, turning frequently. You want all sides to be cooked and the internal temperature to be 165 degrees. Transfer the cooked meatballs to a plate and wipe clean the inside of the skillet (this is a one pot meal, which is a plus for cleanup).

Use the same skillet and keep the heat at medium. Add butter to the skillet and let it melt. Add the flour and stir to combine. Whisk in the milk, Dijon, and McCormick seasoning. Bring to a simmer.

Add the meatballs and continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes. You want the sauce to thicken and coat the meatballs. This is the lovely Dijon sauce I mentioned earlier.

Once the sauce has warmed through and thickened slightly, it’s time to eat! Place a few meatballs on each plate, top with additional sauce, and sprinkle with parsley. Serve warm with the side of your choice!

The recipe can be found here.

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and incredibly flavorful! I was very impressed by how easy these meatballs are to make and how flavorful the whole dish is. The sauce has a bit of a kick so if you don’t like a lot of spice, make sure to hold back on the red pepper flakes. This is a great spin on a traditional dish.

The recipe can be found here.

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, ½ the garlic, and egg. Season with salt and pepper and mix well to combine. I like to use my hands to blend the mixture together, but a spoon works well too! Form the mixture into meatballs (you should have 12-14 meatballs, depending on the size).

In a large oven proof skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs and brown on each side, about 7-8 minutes total, or until the meatballs are cooked through and an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and set aside.

**Make sure you are using an oven proof skillet as you will be placing the skillet directly in the oven during a later step. You can also transfer the meatballs and sauce to an oven safe baking dish if you don’t have an oven safe skillet. I don’t want you to ruin a perfectly good pan 🙂 **

Heat additional oil in the same skillet and add the other ½ of the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.

Bring to a simmer, then add the meatballs back to the skillet.

Top the skillet completely with mozzarella cheese and place in the preheated oven. Heat for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

**If you don’t have an oven proof skillet, transfer the meatballs and sauce into an oven safe baking dish, then top with the mozzarella cheese and bake. **

While the meatballs are baking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions.