Chicken Meatballs in a Garlic Cream Sauce


Juicy, tender and bubbling over with Italian flavors.

By Mary Ann Dwyer, The Beach House Kitchen

Ingredients

Chicken Meatballs

  • 2 lbs. ground chicken
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 cup seasoned panko crumbs
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika

Sauce

  • 5 Tbsp. butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1/41/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, add to your liking
  • 1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup white cooking wine
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 810 fresh basil leaves, julienned, if desired for garnish

Instructions

Chicken Meatballs

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lined an extra large baking sheet or two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for meatballs and gently mix together. Do not over mix. Use a 1 1/2-inch scooper and scoop meatballs onto trays. Bake for 18 minutes until lightly browned and no longer pink inside. Remove from oven and set aside while you make the sauce.

Sauce

  • In a large oven-proof deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
  • Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and sundried tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring often for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 2-3 minutes until mostly cooked down. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream and Parmesan and whisk until well combined. Continue to cook until sauce starts to thicken slightly, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the meatballs to the sauce and mix until the meatballs are well coated. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes until the meatballs are heated through and the sauce is bubbly. Serve immediately.

Notes

As mentioned above, you can add as many of the meatballs to the recipe and freeze the remainder. The recipe will make roughly 38 smaller meatballs and for a group of four to six they almost always disappear.

If you decide to freeze, just add them to a freezer Ziploc bag and enjoy later. They’re delicious added to some marinara sauce with a side of pasta or for chicken Parmesan meatball subs.

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