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Mix up your regular chicken piccata with these Chicken Piccata Meatballs. Deliciously made with lemon zest, garlic, and a caper sauce!
The easiest homemade chicken piccata meatball recipe
Chicken piccata is always a good idea. From the lemon juice to the capers, the flavor is always top notch, and the dish always hits the spot! This week, try mixing things up a bit by making chicken piccata meatballs. The simple recipe is made quite similarly to the original dish and makes 20 meatballs. That’s 4-5 large servings!
I love to prepare this dish during the week because the quick cook time makes for an easy meal. The whole dish comes together in under half an hour and can be enjoyed over pasta or rice. If preferred, you can also enjoy the meatballs as is! The caper and garlic sauce makes for a complete flavor.
Ingredients in chicken piccata meatballs
These meatballs made with chicken come together with the help of breadcrumbs and parmesan. They’re flavored with garlic, salt, and lemon zest for the most delicious result!
- Ground chicken: The dish begins with a base of 1 lb of ground chicken. Feel free to substitute with ground turkey!
- Parmesan cheese: From there, we’ll use 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese.
- Panko breadcrumbs: 2/3 cup of panko breadcrumbs are going to help all of the ingredients bind together. They’ll also help thicken up the meatballs.
- Salt: Add flavor with 1/2 tsp of salt.
- Garlic: Follow the salt with 4 cloves of minced garlic.
- Lemon zest: Next, add 1 tbsp of lemon zest to create a nice and subtle zingy flavor.
- Olive oil: 2 tbsp of olive oil will be used to cook the meatballs.
- Butter: 1/2 stick of butter will be mixed with garlic to create the base of the sauce.
- Garlic: You’ll need another 3 cloves of minced garlic here.
- Flour: Next up, use 1 tbsp flour.
- Chicken broth: Thicken up the sauce with 1 cup of chicken broth. Low sodium chicken broth works here, too.
- Capers: Add 1/4 cup of capers and 2 tbsp of caper brine.
- Lemon juice: Last but not least, finish up the recipe with 1/4 cup of lemon juice.
Kitchen tools needed to make this recipe
To make chicken piccata meatballs, you will need a large mixing bowl, large saucepan, spatula, and whisk. You’ll also need a total of 5 measuring cup sizes: 1/2 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/4 cup, 2/3 cup, and 1 cup.
How to make chicken piccata meatballs
Grab the tools listed above, and let’s get started. You can expect this dish to be ready in about 30 minutes.
To begin, add the chicken, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt, garlic, and lemon zest to a large bowl. Combine.
Then, use 2 tbsp of the mixture at a time and roll into balls.
Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the oil.
Once hot, add the meatballs to the pan and turn them every few minutes to ensure even cooking. Cook for 6 minutes and then remove the meatballs from the pan.
Next, add the butter and garlic to the same pan. Once melted, whisk in the flour.
Then, slowly whisk in the chicken broth followed by the capers and lemon juice. Let the sauce simmer for 6-7 minutes. It will thicken as it cooks.
Add the meatballs back to the pan and cook for another 5-6 minutes. The sauce should have thickened by now. Mix it up and spoon the sauce over all of the meatballs.
Serve the meatballs over pasta or rice, or enjoy as-is!
Side dish ideas
Wondering what to serve alongside these meatballs? Here are some ideas!
If you’d like to enjoy a classic side dish, try serving these up with this healthy green bean casserole or thick and creamy mashed potatoes.
For a side salad, shaved brussels sprout salad, fall harvest salad, and cobb salad (with or without the chicken) all make great options!
Storing leftovers
Chicken piccata meatballs store quite well, which makes the recipe even better! Allow the meatballs to cool before placing them in an airtight container or freezer bag. The leftovers can be enjoyed within 2-3 days when refrigerated and within 3 months when frozen. For best results, reheat on the stove.
If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!
Meatballs are surprisingly versatile and can be made in a bunch of different ways! Try one of these ideas for your next meatball dinner. The Thai turkey variation is one of my favorites!
- Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Healthier Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Thai Turkey Meatballs with Peanut Sauce
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
All recipes by Erin Morrissey and Photos by Sierra Inn
Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Mix up your regular chicken piccata with these Chicken Piccata Meatballs. Deliciously made with lemon zest, garlic, and a caper sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2/3 cup panko breadcumbs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 stick butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup capers + 2 tbsp caper brine
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together chicken, parmesan, panko, salt, garlic, and lemon zest.
- Using 2 tbsp of meat, roll into balls.
- Heat a large sautepan over medium-high heat and add oil.
- Once hot, add meatballs, turning every few minutes to ensure even cooking. Cook for 6 minutes and then remove meatballs from pan.
- In the same pan, add butter and garlic. Once melted, whisk in flour.
- Slowly whisk in chicken broth, then capers, brine, and lemon juice. Simmer sauce for 6-7 minutes, it will thicken as it cooks.
- Add meatballs back to pan and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Sauce should have thickened by now. Mix up and spoon sauce all over meatballs.
- Serve meatballs over pasta, rice, or enjoy as is.
There may be affiliate links in this post!ย By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Erin Lives Whole, it helps keep this blog afloat ๐
Jackie says
This recipe was sooo good! Will definitely be making again; it was full of flavor and super easy to make!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jackie, so happy you loved them!!
Jessica says
These are soooooo good! My husband took one bite and said he was getting seconds ๐ will be adding to our regular menu for sure!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jessica, so happy you both loved them!
Jess says
Can you make the balls a day ahead of time and keep in fridge?
Erin says
Hi Jess, yes of course. Let me know how they come out!
Jess says
These were so good! My husband took one bite and said he was getting seconds ๐ will be adding to our regular menu for sure!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jess, so happy they were a hit!!
Kim says
Excellent, quick and easy! Served with mashed potatoes and squash
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kim, so happy you loved them and great sides!!
Jac says
Made these tonight – dynamite.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jac, so happy you loved them! ๐
Michele says
YUM! These will definitely be in the meal rotation. Veary easy and tasty weeknight meal!
Erin says
Hi Michele, so glad you loved them!!
Pam says
Sauce is perfect! Cozy, delicious meal
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Pam, so glad you loved them! ๐
Amanda says
I used this recipe as a starting point and adapted it to the ingredients I had. Since I changed so much, I won’t rate the recipe, but I suspect it would be excellent/5 stars as written.
I didn’t have any lemons, but I did have lime juice and some fresh herbs left over from cooking thai food (thai basil, mint, and cilantro). So I made a thai lime picatta version of this dish. It was delicious.
I swapped in lime juice for both the lemon zest in the meatballs and the lemon juice in the sauce. I added a handful of chopped thai basil, mint, and cilantro to the meatballs. I had a cup of beef broth in the fridge so I used that instead of chicken broth.
I otherwise followed the recipe, and it came out great.
Erin says
Hi Amanda, so happy you liked it and made it your own! ๐
Beckie says
This one is amazing! Super easy, so delicious and a really tangy sauce that is truly great on its own. Big fan and will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Beckie, so happy you loved them!!
Julianne Garrity says
So so good!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Julianne, so glad you love them!
Sarah says
These are amazing! Iโve already made them twice in two weeks. Always looking for non chicken recipes to switch things up and this was perfect
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Sarah, so glad you love them so much! ๐
Kayla says
The flavor of these was amazing! Super easy to make and were a big hit with my husband!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kayla, so happy you both loved them!
Lauren says
Amazing!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Lauren, so happy you loved them!
Kailey says
This was amazing and came together in 25-30 minutes.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kailey, so glad you loved them! ๐
Jeness says
One of the best meatball dishes Iโve EVER made!!! Wish I could rate it higher than 5 stars. Going to double the sauce next time because it was so incredible.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jeness, so happy you loved them so much! Thanks for sharing!
Jess says
Delicious. Super moist meatballs and the perfect sauce to put on top of pasta!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jess, so happy you loved them! ๐
Erin says
If I could give this recipe more than 5 stars, I would. It was SO GOOD!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Erin, so happy you loved them so much!!
Tricia says
Chicken piccata is one of my favorite dishes so I knew I had to try these. They are AMAZING! Put them over angel hair pasta and it was delicious.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Tricia, so glad you loved them and great pairing!
Casey says
These are INSANE! I have shared with everyone I know. Theyโre amazing and great for meal prep – they reheat nicely. I threw some red Chile flakes for some heat in the meatballs and sauce. So so so good
Erin says
Hi Casey, so happy you loved them so much and great addition!! ๐
Courtney Hoppe says
This recipe was delicious! I used almond flour instead of bread crumbs and it still tasted great!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Courtney, so glad you loved them and made them your own!!