Rustic Chicken Meatballs With Tomato Sauce
Perfect for a hearty and satisfying weeknight dinner.
Nothing says comfort food quite like a homemade meatball. The tender juicy meat that’s been seasoned with all kinds of savory spices and slowly cooked to deliciousness is pretty much irresistible. A meatball makes for a great meal at any time, and if you’re into meal prep, a double batch of meatballs can be frozen and stored away to be served at a later date. A moist and savory meatball goes well with just about any sauce, from teriyaki to tomato, cheesy or spicy. We love a protein that is this versatile!
We’re always on the hunt for weeknight dinners that are simple and delicious, and this meatball recipe really fits the bill. Ground chicken, onions, some seasoning and a couple of cans of chunky tomato sauce and we’re eating something amazing that’s little on effort and long on goodness.
Meatballs are always a crowd pleaser in our house, but when we’re trying to lighten things up a bit, we turn our attention away from ground beef and the perfect substitute is poultry. Chicken meatballs covered in a tasty tomato sauce are just what we’re looking for. They can be served on their own or over noodles, and, in the spirit of keeping things on the lighter side, we’ve even served these up with a great carb-free alternative: zucchini noodles.
We love the kind of poached effect that happens with these meatballs; they’re cooked in a chunky tomato sauce bath that helps to keep each meatball super moist (we all know there’s nothing worse than a dry meatball!). To make the canned sauce a little more flavorful, we’ve taken a minute to sauté some onions and we love adding a little red pepper flake for a little extra kick to the sauce and to the meat. This is a meal that everyone will enjoy, and if you’ve ever found yourself in a dinner rut, then a meatball might be just the answer you’re looking for. A batch of these babies goes a long way in terms of filling the hungry bellies around our dinner table.
Chicken Meatballs With Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 2 eggs
- 1 yellow onion, diced and divided
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 (28 oz) cans chunky tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Preparation
- Cut onion in half. Dice half of the onion and slice other half.
- Add chicken, eggs, parmesan cheese, flour, Italian seasoning, garlic, 1/2 diced onion, vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated, with clean hands or a fork.
- Roll meat into balls, using approximately 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture per meatball. Set meatballs on a separate plate or sheet of parchment paper until all meat has been used.
- Add oil to pan on medium heat. Sauté reserved onions until just softened. Place meatballs in pan and pour tomato sauce over top of meatballs. Bring to a simmer. Maintain simmer and cover for 20 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked.
- Serve meatballs with sauce. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Recipe adapted from Breaking Muscle.