Spinach & Feta Chicken Meatballs
Wed, Sep 8, 2010
Appetizers, Chicken & Turkey, Disguising Healthy Foods, Foodgawker, Itsy Bitsy Foodies Sightings, Main Dishes, Search by Course
(+38 rating, 25 votes)
Loading...
Print This Recipe
I’ve received such good reviews about my homemade chicken sausage that I decided to transform it into meatballs. Spinach is the star ingredient that earned these meatballs a spot on my Tapas For a Cure menu, but I also love the fact that they are made with chicken. And the feta cheese helps keep them extremely moist.
My family grinds our own meat and we use lean chicken thighs or a combination of thighs and breast meat to help keep the meatballs tender. We mix all of the spices and dredge the meat in the spice mixture prior to grinding it. After grinding the meat, we mix in the leftover spices, chopped spinach, chopped parsley and feta cheese crumbles.
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 3 Tbsp finely chopped spinach
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¾ tsp fennel seeds
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles
- Mix all of the ingredients together and form the meat into balls.
- Lightly coat a pan with olive oil and heat it over medium heat.
- Cook the meatballs for several minutes on each side until they are nicely browned.
- Then turn the heat to low and cover the pan to allow the meatballs to cook all the way through.
Tags: chicken, chicken meatballs, feta, paprika, spinach, turkey meatballs
Ooh Yum! I can’t wait to try these! I am such a huge fan of your chicken sausage. Now that I am thinking of it, I might have to make some tonight!
Darn! I wish I had seen this sooner. I just got back from grocery shopping. Adding ground chicken to my next list.
I wonder how I could make this vegetarian….would they work replacing the chicken with tofu? Or seitan? Do you think?!
How did you serve? As an appetizer? Otherwise, what would you recommend pairing it with? Sounds delish!
Jennifer, I have served these with toothpicks as appetizers, as spaghetti with meatballs and meatball sandwiches. There are probably other ways that I’m forgetting, too, because my family has made these a lot!! I hope that you like them!
Can you bake these instead of fry them?
Yes, Sharon. You can bake these instead of pan-frying them.
Hi! Any way this might work with chicken that isn’t ground?
Hi Valene, I don’t think you’d have much luck forming chicken into meatballs if it’s not ground but you could try cooking the chicken thighs in the same seasonings and then eat as is or chop/shred them to put them in a dish.
I’m def doing this tonight.. I would like to bake them instead. Do you know long I would bake them? Thanks!
This would be so good with Taziki (spelling?), greek yogurt dipping sauce. Going on my list of summer party recipes.
Could you recommend a dipping sauce?
Kristen, I would probably use a marinara dipping sauce because I’ve loved how these meatballs taste with spaghetti and in meatball sandwiches (both with tomato-based pasta sauce).
I made these tonight! Only difference, I baked them on some parchment turning them once. They are AMAZING! Delicious with a little kick. I absolutely loved them, my boyfriend was very impressed and he’s a great cook
April, thank you for your comment. I’m glad you liked them!