Butter Chicken Meatballs

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, 1/4 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, 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs will help thicken up the meatballs.
• Salt & pepper: Add flavor with 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper.
• Olive oil: Last but not least, 2 tbsp of olive oil will be needed to cook the meatballs.

Sauce

• Butter: The sauce kicks off with 4 tbsp of butter, divided.
• Onion: From there, dice up 1/2 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 tbsp of fresh grated ginger, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tbsp of garam masala, 2 tbsp of curry powder, 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp 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 1/2 cup of chicken stock or water.

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

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: 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/2 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 tbsp 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 tbsp 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!

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 mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, cornbread sausage stuffing, or brussels sprout salad!

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!

• Healthier Sweet and Sour Meatballs
• Healthy Greek Turkey Meatballs with Tzatziki
• Chicken Piccata Meatballs
• Healthy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa