Name: Butter Chicken Meatballs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 lb ground chicken; 1/4 large yellow onion (grated); 1 egg; 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 2 tbsp olive oil for frying; 4 tbsp butter (divided); 1/2 onion (diced); 5 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger; 1/2 tsp turmeric; 1 tbsp garam masala; 2 tbsp curry powder; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 6 oz can tomato paste; 1.5 cups whole milk; 1/2 cup chicken stock (or water); serve with rice and naan and sprinkle cilantro for garnish

Treat your taste buds to Butter Chicken Meatballs served over rice with naan bread. The flavorful recipe infuses ground chicken meatballs with a mouth watering garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, and curry powder sauce.

A Quick Look

Recipe Name: Butter Chicken Meatballs
Ready In: 30 minutes
Serves: 20 meatballs
Main Ingredients: ground chicken, yellow onion, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, olive oil for frying
Why You'll Love It: Treat your taste buds to Butter Chicken Meatballs served over rice with naan bread. The flavorful recipe infuses ground chicken meatballs with a mouth watering garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, and curry powder sauce.

Delicious and easy to make butter chicken meatballs

Are you in the mood for an easy to make but extremely flavorful dinner recipe? Look no further. These butter chicken meatballs could practically be made with your eyes closed! They come together with hardly any effort, but they don't taste like it. Between the onion and chicken base and the 7-spice sauce, these meatballs are definitely not lacking in the flavor department.

This recipe yields 20 meatballs, and I love to enjoy them served over rice with fresh cilantro and a side of naan! Give them a go — you're sure to love this dish!

Ingredients in this butter chicken meatball recipe

This recipe uses two sets of ingredients: those for the meatballs, and those for the sauce. For the meatballs, we'll use a combination of ground chicken, yellow onion, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The sauce comes together with a bunch of spices that create the most delicious meatball finish!

Meatballs

Ground chicken: First up for the meatballs is 1 lb of ground chicken. If preferred, feel free to use ground turkey.
Yellow onion: Next up, ¼ of a large yellow onion will thicken up the meatball mixture while adding great flavor. Use a grater to grate the onion before adding to the mix.
Egg: 1 large egg will help the ingredients bind together properly.
Breadcrumbs: Next, ½ cup of breadcrumbs will help thicken up the meatballs.
Salt & pepper: Add flavor with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
Olive oil: Last but not least, 2 tablespoon of olive oil will be needed to cook the meatballs.

Sauce

Butter: The sauce kicks off with 4 tablespoon of butter, divided.
Onion: From there, dice up ½ of an onion. This will thicken up the sauce while adding tasty flavors.
Spices: Flavor the sauce with the following spices: 5 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger, ½ teaspoon of turmeric, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, 2 tablespoon of curry powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
Tomato paste: Follow the spices with 6 oz of tomato paste.
Milk: Then, thicken up the sauce with 1.5 cups of whole milk. You can also use coconut milk!
Chicken stock: Round out the sauce with ½ cup of chicken stock or water.

When ready to enjoy, serve over rice with naan and sprinkle on fresh cilantro as a garnish. Enjoy!

Photo of ingredients for Butter Chicken Meatballs with labels.

Tools needed to make this butter chicken meatballs recipe

This recipe comes together with the use of about 7 kitchen tools. Below are the items you should grab before you begin:

Cutting board
Cutting knife
Large mixing bowl
Plate or baking sheet
Stirring utensil
Large skillet
Whisk

To measure ingredients, you will need the following sized measuring cups: ½ tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, ½ cup, and 1 cup.

How to make butter chicken meatballs

This recipe yields 20 delicious meatballs. I find that 3-4 makes for a satisfying serving, which means this dish is great for a crowd of 4-5! Prep time is about 30 minutes.

To begin, grab a large mixing bowl and combine the chicken, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. It may be easiest to use your hands to mix.

Then, roll the mixture into 20 meatballs and set them on a plate or baking sheet.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook for about 6-7 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Turn the meatballs every minute or so in order to get all of the sides cooked. Once cooked, set the meatballs aside on a clean plate.

Reduce the heat in the pan to medium and add 2 tablespoon butter. Add the diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, or the onion begins to soften. Then, add the garlic and ginger followed by the turmeric, garam masala, curry powder, salt, and pepper.

Immediately add the tomato paste, and then whisk in the whole milk until totally smooth. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a light simmer. Once lightly simmering, add the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter. Let the sauce thicken and bubble for 5 minutes, stirring throughout.

Add the meatballs back into the sauce and toss to coat. Let the meatballs simmer for 5 more minutes before serving.

Serve over rice (or riced cauliflower) and with naan, and enjoy!

butter chicken meatballs in bowl with naan

Recipe Tips

What is the secret to firm meatballs?

Surprisingly, eggs! We use an egg in this recipe to help the meatballs achieve the right texture and firmness. The egg works to bind together all of the ingredients and create the meatball shape.

What goes well with butter chicken?

You can enjoy butter chicken meatballs with a variety of dishes. Some favorites include rice and naan, but you can also enjoy them with best mashed potatoes recipe, best mac and cheese recipe, glazed sweet potatoes, cornbread sausage stuffing, or brussels sprout salad!

Storing leftovers

Leftover meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy refrigerated meatballs within 2-3 days and frozen meatballs within 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.

If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!

Want to enjoy some more meatball variations this week? Here are some easy recipes to try!

Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa

Erin Antoniak