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These Chicken Piccata Meatballs are made with ground chicken and simmered in a delicious lemon butter sauce. Serve this dish over pasta, quinoa, or with crusty bread on the side. A real family favorite!
Oh sweet golden glory!
Chicken piccata meatballs are a REAL thing.
They’re tender, seared chicken meatballs rolling around in a creamy, buttery lemon caper sauce sprinkled with parsley to finish. The garlic is there. The meatballs are melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
But for real though, that pan sauce. There may have been a moment (or two) of weakness where I slurped it with a spoon – straight from the skillet. Could you blame me? It’s LEMON BUTTER sauce, and it’s so gosh darn good. But then there was also a moment when I went in with a wedge of crusty bread. 🤷🏻♀️
These chicken piccata meatballs are loaded with classic piccata flavors. Bright, beautiful and so comforting.
This was absolutely fabulous! Always looking for a great new recipe! Just had dinner and my husband and I are already arguing over who gets the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Chicken Piccata Meatballs Video:
What do you need to make chicken piccata meatballs?
- Ground chicken: I like to use ground chicken breast for this recipe, but ground chicken thighs would produce juicier results if you’re a ground chicken thigh person. You could also use ground turkey instead.
- Panko breadcrumbs: We’ll use the panic in the meatball portion of this recipe to help bind the ground meat and to absorb any excess moisture from the protein.
- Parmesan cheese: parmesan plays a two-part role, the first is that it flavors the meatballs. The second, it helps absorb any excess moisture.
- Large Egg: Another binding ingredient for the meatballs.
- Garlic Cloves: We’ll use garlic in both the meatballs and the sauce portion of the recipe.
- Seasonings: you’ll need some kosher salt and black pepper to flavor the meatballs. Feel free to make these your own by swapping the salt for seasoning salt, and you can always add a smidge of onion powder or even some Italian seasoning if you’d like.
- Low sodium chicken broth: this makes the base of this piccata sauce.
- All-purpose flour: aids in thickening the sauce.
- Lemons: we’ll need lemon zest for the meatballs and lemon juice to use in the piccata sauce.
- Capers: adds that tart punch that piccata in known for.
- Unsalted Butter: helps thicken and adds richness to the sauce.
How to make chicken piccata meatballs:
- Start with the meatballs. Add the ingredients to a large bowl and fluff the chicken mixture with a fork until the ingredients are evenly combined. Don’t overwork the ground chicken; otherwise, the meatballs will have a tough texture. Roll the meatballs into balls between damp hands.
- Sear them off. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook them in batches. Don’t worry about cooking the meatballs all the way through; we’ll just brown them for now. These will finish cooking in the piccata sauce. Which will allow them to soak up the lemon butter flavor. Once the meatballs are done, remove them to a plate. If you’re worried about the amount of oil in the meatballs, you can remove them to a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Make the sauce. Add a tbsp of butter to the skillet and allow the garlic to cook in the butter. Stir as needed to keep the garlic from burning. Then whisk in the flour. You want the flour to cook in the butter to get rid of the raw taste. Then slowly drizzle in the chicken broth with one hand as you whisk. Add the brine from the capers and lemon juice before you let the sauce gain a simmer. You want the meatballs to cook in the sauce for a few minutes. Lower the heat and add the remaining butter. Add it in slowly. Follow these instructions carefully. Adding in cold butter to the warm sauce allows it to emulsify and thicken the sauce. This is a chef’s secret to getting the best, restaurant-quality sauce. Sprinkle with fresh parsley on top. Serve with angel hair pasta, orzo, mashed potatoes, or some fluffy rice.
Other Meatball Recipes to try:
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
- Greek Chicken Meatballs in Creamy Lemon Sauce
- Salisbury Steak Meatballs
- Cajun Chicken Meatballs
- General Tso’s Chicken Meatballs
Recipe Tips and Tricks:
Combine everything but the meat in a bowl first so you can ensure even mixing without overworking the meat. Once you add the meat, mix until it’s just combined. The texture is so much better when you take an extra minute to do it right.
Once you’ve made the meatball mixture, just divide them into 20-22 portions. I use a medium cookie scoop so that all the meatballs are the same size. This also cuts out the guesswork because they cook in the same amount of time.
Keep any leftover chicken piccata meatballs in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the meatballs in an airtight container for roughly 2 months.
These would be delicious with an orzo risotto or some cheddar mashed potatoes. Roasted garlic mashed potatoes with Asiago are another great options.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Fancy but Easy Salmon Piccata
- Greek Chicken Meatballs in Lemon Cream Sauce
- Comforting French Onion Chicken Meatballs
- Seriously Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Brown Gravy
- Mini Moroccan Meatballs Couscous Soup
Rustic Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley plus more
- 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken or turkey
- 1 teaspoon salt + 1/2 teaspoon pepp
Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons cold butter cubed
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour scant
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup capers plus 2 tsp caper brine
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- MEATBALLS: In a medium bowl, using a fork, mix together all the ingredients except the ground chicken. When the ingredients are combined, add the ground chicken and mix until *just* combined. Just be sure you don’t overwork the meat. Roll into 20-22 meatballs using a cookie scoop (affiliate link) or about 1 1/2 tablespoons each.
- SEAR: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a little oil. Add the meatballs to the skillet but do not overcrowd. Cook in batches if they don’t all fit. Sear the meatballs for 4-5 minutes, flipping to brown all sides evenly. We’ll finish cooking the meatballs through in the sauce later. Remove meatballs to a plate.
- SAUCE: Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet along with the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the flour and whisk. Once the flour cooks for 30 seconds, slowly drizzle in the chicken broth with one hand while you continue to whisk with the other hand. Add the caper brine, capers, lemon juice, and allow the sauce to gain a simmer. Then add the meatballs reduce the heat to medium and let thicken, about 5-7 minutes. Lower the heat to low, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and allow them to slowly melt into the sauce as you stir. The butter will help thicken the sauce further. Serve with additional chopped parsley on top if desired.
Notes
- The sauce will thicken as it sits so I’d advise keeping a little additional broth on hand if you don’t plan on serving this right away. Serve over egg noodles, zoodles, quinoa, rice, or with crusty bread!
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I bake the meatballs, and it is wonderful! I also leave out the parm. I bake at 400° for 20 mins , then simmer in a sauce of 2c water, 4tsp chicken better than bullion , 1/4c capers, 1 squeezed lemon, 1tbs corn starch, 1 small bottle of white wine, 1 tea cage of rosemary, 1 bunch green onions, and 1 pack of chopped mushrooms. SO GOOD!!
Made this yesterday
Served over creamy polenta.
Fantastic!
great recipe! Definitely a keeper.
I wish you had put the nutritional content in the recipe. Going to still make it, but disappointed that I don’t have all the info form this recipe.
I made this as directed, opting for 1/2 chicken, 1/2 turkey and it turned out great. I will make it again but will definitely double the sauce. Because it’s so delicious. Loved having the flavour of a nice tangy picatta without the preparation hassle.
Seriously amazing. This is a household favorite among my little girls and my husband! Easy to make too. I serve over wild rice.
These were delicious! The meatballs were so tender and full of flavor. Served over Egg Noodles and Vegetables. Thanks for the tip on mixing up the meatballs!
This was EXCELLENT! I doubled the recipe, and Keto-ized the meatballs (Almond flour, in place of breadcrumbs). The flavor was outstanding! Thank you for a delicious recipe I will definitely be making again!
Yes tonight and it was delicious. I served over noodles with broccoli on the side. Bon appetite.
What a treat. I served these over parmesian grits with a side of steamed baby spinach.
I did double the sauce and it was fantastic with the spinach and the grits.
A flavor packed dinner, and it was easy.
Thanks!!
This is an amazing recipe. Chicken balls are so tender. Love the zesty sauce. I made more sauce just because we like it that way. Added a little milk to the chicken mixture because it adds moisture. Easy delicious recipe
These were amazing! The flavors were exceptional and they were so simple to make. I only had ground turkey so I used that and they were delicious. Had a few left over and they sat in the juices overnight and we steamed them in the Instant Pot for lunch the next day…and they may have tasted even better! Will be making these time and time again. Thank you!
So easy and so good! The whole family approved – including my toddler.
Love hearing that! So glad they were a hit for you, Megan!
I enjoyed this recipe but I wish you had nutritional info and serving sizes on your recipes. I’m on a food plan and it would be great to know! It would also help in planning how to fit these great recipes into my daily totals. Just an idea
Hi Andi! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this recipe! Unfortunately, we no longer provide nutritional info for recipes. We have done so in the past, and readers were quick to point out there are inconsistencies from what we displayed and what they calculated. For this reason, I suggest popping in the URL of this page into a nutrition calculator such as this one and then customizing it with the brand(s) of ingredients you’ve used to prepare the recipe. That way, you’ll get the most accurate info! Hope that helps 🙂
Any recommendations on a cheese substitute. Went dairy free a little Iver a year ago
Hi Nicole! You could try using dairy-free parmesan cheese that will give you the same flavor for these meatballs. It’s available at stores such as Whole Foods and Sprouts.
I know this is kind of a late comment, but my daughter is lactose intolerant and I just left the cheese out entirely. I honestly didn’t miss it at all! These meatballs were absolutely delicious!
Sooo good and very easy,thank you!!!
Happy to hear it was enjoyed 🙂
SO DELICIOUS!! I am NOT a good cook, and they still came out amazing. Thank you for this great recipe! Did everything as shared except added chopped sundried tomatoes and fresh thyme to the meatballs. Soooo yummy!!! My hubby was impressed (he is definitely the chef so thats a big deal!).
Your additions sound delicious, Terri-lyn! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Absolutely delicious! I served with some asparagus which pairs perfectly with the sauce. I did add a few extra herbs to the meatballs (thyme, oregano, marjoram) but otherwise followed the recipe as written.
Hi Rachel! So glad you enjoyed the meatballs. Bet the sauce was delicious over asparagus! Appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment!
Can I bake the meatballs and finish in the sauce? How long and what temp?
Thank you
Hi there! I’m so glad you wanted to give this recipe a try. Unfortunately, I’ve never tried baking the meatballs for this recipe so I’m not entirely sure if they’ll bake properly. If you’d like to try anyway, I’d suggest following the baking instructions here. You’ll have to check for doneness since these meatballs are a smaller size. Hope you enjoy the chicken piccata meatballs!
Can I substitute gluten free flour?