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Dairy Free
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Gluten Free
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Nut Free
Simple Chicken Meatballs with an Easy Tomato Sauce
These chicken meatballs are flavorful, tender, and easy to make. Pair them with your favorite side dishes or have a bowl all by itself. This recipe is definitely worth saving.
I love one-pot meals. I will go out of my way to create recipes that will allow me to use only one pot. It just makes everything so much easier. I know it’s not possible for many recipes, but it certainly is for these chicken meatballs.
Everything from the meatballs to the gravy is cooked together in ONE POT. Oh, you’re welcome.
Tips on how to make these chicken meatballs:
Use ground chicken thighs. Whenever you make meatballs, whether they’re turkey, beef, or chicken, you want meat that has some fat. Chicken thighs have a good amount of fat so they’ll hold up together. Also, they tend to be more flavorful.
Add a tablespoon of boiled rice. The stickiness of the rice helps keep the meatballs from falling apart.
Season the meatballs. You could totally add in your own favorite spices and herbs. I chose to add in store-bought seasoning. Specifically, Trader Joe’s “seasoning” blend.
Fry your meatballs. I know some people like adding their formed meatballs directly into liquid and “boil” them. I prefer to shallow fry them first to get a beautiful golden-brown color all around. You can’t get that browning color if the meat just boils.
Use boiled water. When you add water to your pot, you want to use boiling water. Otherwise, the meatballs can fall apart.
This one-pot meal is absolutely delicious. But the best part? There’s not much cleaning up to do afterward. Enjoy!
What do I need to make this recipe?
- chicken thighs
- onion
- salt
- black pepper
- chicken seasoning
- rice
What do I need to make the sauce?
- onion
- carrots
- tomato paste
- water
- salt
- black pepper
Enjoyed this meal? Here are some more favorites:
This Crispy Tofu Salad has a Creamy Tahini Dressing that can be added to so many salads!
A Simple Seared Avocado-Stuffed Chicken Meal is loaded with healthy fats and protein!
Simple Chicken Meatballs with an Easy Tomato Sauce
Equipment
- grater
- Meat grinder
- Pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken thighs, grated
- 1 onion, grated
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- chicken seasoning, to taste
- 1 Tbsp rice, cooked
- 1 onion, diced
- 1-2 carrots, grated
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- water
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Meatballs:
- Boil 1 tablespoon of white rice.
- In a bowl mix together grind onion, 1 pound of ground chicken thighs, boiled rice, 1 teaspoon of chicken seasoning (any seasoning you like will work, I use the one from Trader Joe’s “Seasonings”), salt, and pepper (about 1 teaspoon of each, more or less depending on your preferences).
- On a heated pan, add one Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
- Shape meat mix into balls and fry each side quickly, this is just to get that beautiful color around the meatballs.
- Put them into a pot.
For the Sauce:
- In the same pan from meatballs, sauté grated onions, carrots
- Add in 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, stir and turn off heat.
- Boil up some water in a kettle. It’s important the water is boiled and hot so the meatballs don’t fall apart.
- Add water to the pot, just until it covers all the meatballs.
- Add the onion and carrots that you have sautéed.
- salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn heat on the lowest, cover with a lid and let it cook for 40 minutes.