Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Meatballs

Name: Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Meatballs
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups plain whole-milk yogurt; 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic (about 4 cloves); 2 teaspoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon); Kosher salt and black pepper; 1 pound ground chicken (not 100 percent breast meat); 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs; 1 large egg, lightly beaten; 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus more for serving; 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for frying; 1 teaspoon light brown or granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)

By Lidey Heuck

Updated Nov. 4, 2021

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Meatballs — Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 5(3,142)
Comments: Read comments

Chicken meatballs may not be a traditionally Moroccan dish, but they work beautifully when spiced with paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and garlic, which are commonly found in the country’s cuisine. Whole-milk yogurt does double duty here: It’s used to make the meatballs moist and tender, and makes for a speedy sauce to serve with them. Don’t use ground chicken made with ultralean breasts; look for labels that show a mix of white and dark meat. (Or if you’re feeling ambitious, grind your own boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the food processor.) Serve the meatballs with couscous and a green vegetable for a flavorful weeknight dinner that’s well worth the effort.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1⅓cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic (about 4 cloves)
2teaspoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1pound ground chicken (not 100 percent breast meat)
½cup panko bread crumbs
1large egg, lightly beaten
3tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus more for serving
1tablespoon olive oil, plus more for frying
1teaspoon light brown or granulated sugar
1teaspoon sweet paprika
½teaspoon ground cumin
½teaspoon ground ginger
¼teaspoon ground cinnamon
3tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
First, make the yogurt sauce: Combine 1 cup of the yogurt, 1 teaspoon of the garlic, the lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste in a small bowl. Mix well, and chill until ready to use.
Step 2
Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the remaining ⅓ cup yogurt, remaining 1 tablespoon garlic, chicken, panko, egg, parsley, olive oil, sugar, paprika, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, 1½ teaspoons salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly, until incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, form meatballs about 1½-inches in diameter, then place them on a plate or sheet pan until ready to use.
Step 3
In a large skillet, heat ⅛-inch olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the meatballs in batches, flipping occasionally, until browned all over and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. (If the meatballs begin browning too quickly or the oil begins smoking, lower the heat.) Transfer the cooked meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate.
Step 4
To serve, spread the yogurt sauce in an even layer on a flat platter. Arrange the meatballs on top, and top with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and the pine nuts, if using. Serve hot.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

3,142 user ratings

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Comments

RPR3 years ago

Delicious and easy recipe! Instead of frying I baked for 20 min. at 400 and they came out perfectly (and minimized the kitchen mess!). Tossed some zucchini on the same baking sheet and it was an easy side. Flavors are wonderful and this will definitely be a weeknight staple. For those asking about a nondairy alternative to the sauce - I’ve made a coconut yogurt tzatziki before with great success; this is a very similar sauce so it will probably be an easy swap.

modificatioms3 years ago

Recipe came out great as is. A few possible modifications for next time: Omit the garlic from the yogurt sauce, it’s really strong. Bake the meatballs in the oven after browning them or make them into little patties instead of balls because they took a long time in the pan and got a little too dark. Serve with lots of fresh mint.

Kevin S3 years ago

Delicious weeknight meal! We used ground turkey instead of chicken because that’s what we had on hand. Also opted to bake for 20 minutes @ 400° like some others suggested and they turned out great.

CAKate9 hours ago

Big hit in my family - scaled up to 1.5lbs chicken, baked at 400 for 20 minutes as others suggested (cooktop was newly deep cleaned so I realllly didn’t want frying splatter). Served with a simple cucumber salad and the yogurt sauce. Would be great with couscous but I didn’t have any. My daughter (10) ate probably 1/3 of the recipe after soccer practice - would probably 2x recipe next time so leftovers could get packed into lunch.

Joe M Sunapee NH1 day ago

WOW, EZ, delicious. Just follow the recipe. I baked mine in an egg carton (yes an egg carton) at 400 for 22 minutes. I bake all my meatballs that way. No clean up. Next time I will brown them up in the pan first.

MoeInSydney2 days ago

excellent family fodder. huge hit with the 2-6 year crowd. look forward to making a batch for the freezer for a quick meal for the kids when it's I've of those days.

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