Greek Chicken Meatballs

Greek Chicken Meatballs are a nod to all my favorite Mediterranean flavors but in the form of a creamy casserole-style chicken and orzo. It’s light enough for summer but cozy enough for winter. And I can’t get enough of it.

Every time I see a Pinterest or Instagram image of a vat of chicken and orzo I immediately start to materialize my own version. And in my perfect world it’s a version studded with tender feta and sun-dried tomato chicken meatballs. Said meatballs somehow manage to be healthy but moist and delicious at the same time. The warm aldente orzo is swimming in a tangy tzatziki sauce studded with fresh dill, zippy lemon and cucumber. It’s warm and cozy and interesting and gosh, I think I did it.

I think what I love most about this Greek Chicken Meatball recipe is we use tzaztiki sauce in a completely untraditional way. I’ve truly never seen it used in a warm application but it makes sense. For a gyro it’s slathered on hot lamb. In my meatball wraps it’s drizzled over hot meatballs. Warm Greek bowls are drowned in the stuff. Of course I’ll always take it in dip form but there’s something to be said about the cool Greek yogurt sauce hitting something hot that makes it even more alluring and delicious.

Ingredients in our Greek Chicken Meatballs

Chicken. I tried this with ground chicken breast and I have to say, it was a little dry. I much prefer a lean ground chicken or turkey instead. However if you’re really watching your fat and calories you can absolutely use chicken breast, it will still be delicious. Just make sure you don’t over cook them.

Feta. I like to use a block feta so I can control the size of the pieces in each bite plus it tends to retain a little bit more moisture.

Sun-dried tomatoes. I like to use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil for extra moisture.

Onion + garlic. Always grate the onion and garlic when it comes to meatballs. Again for moisture and to evenly distribute the flavor.

Breadcrumbs. Any kind! Plain, panko, Italian. It all works.

Egg. To bind everything together.

The orzo!

Orzo. Whole wheat. Gluten free. Again, it all works. You will likely have to add more liquid for whole-wheat as it takes longer to cook but this is easily remedied but eyeing it and simply….adding more.

Chicken broth. You could use water but chicken broth is so much more flavorful. If you really want to amp up the protein you could use bone broth. It will change the flavor profile a bit but will still be tasty.

Tzatziki. I basically stole the recipe from here. It’s a tried and true I use on everything from chicken to shrimp and more. You’ll need:

Greek yogurt. Typically when you use Greek yogurt in a hot sauce you want to use full-fat but since we stir it in after the cooking process non-fat works great.

Cucumber. Essential in a classic tzatziki sauce. Use must grate the zucchini. Also in a typical tzatziki sauce you will want to squeeze every morsel if excess moisture out but here it doesn’t matter as much as we want our orzo to be super saucy.

Garlic. Give me all the garlic!

Dill. If you can, use fresh dill here.

Lemon juice. My taste buds crave quite a bit of citrus and it’s reflected in the recipe, if that’ not your style I’d cut back a bit as you can always add more but can’t take it away.

Let’s make Greek Chicken Meatballs

Mix the meatballs. Add the ground chicken, feta, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, spices and egg to a large bowl. Use your hands to gently mix. DO NOT overmix!

Form the meatballs. Cover a large plate or pan with parchment paper coated with cooking spray. Use a small cookie scoop to form the meatballs into 2-inch meatballs. I like to use dip the cookie scoop in a cup of water so the chicken mixture easily slides out. Quickly form all the meatballs and place on the greased plate. Wet your hands with cold water roll the meatballs into smooth balls.

Heat a cast iron large skillet to a medium-high heat. Add two tablespoon olive oil to the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs. Throw away the parchment paper. Brown the meatballs on all sides and remove from the skillet and set on the same plate you had the meatballs on earlier.

Deglaze the pan. When you remove the meatballs, add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock to the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour everything over the top of the meatballs.

Make the orzo. Add a little more olive oil to the pan. Keep the pan over a medium heat. Add the orzo. Coat the orzo in the olive oil. Toast the orzo in the olive oil until it’s golden brown. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Pour in the remaining chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes.

Add the meatballs. After 5-6 minutes, add the meatballs back in the pan with orzo. Nestle them in the orzo. Cover and cook until the orzo is aldente and the meatballs are cooked through.

Make the sauce. While the orzo cooks, make the tztaziki. Add greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill, lemon juice and salt to a small bowl. Mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Finish! Add 3/4 of the sauce to the meatballs and the orzo. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Dollop remaining sauce over the top of the skillet. Sprinkle with feta cheese and chopped dill.

Can I make Greek Chicken Meatballs in Advance?

Yes! I love making the meatballs in advance! My favorite way to make them in advance is to simply prep them and cook later but you of course can make the entire dish ahead of time as well. Simply reheat gently and add more chicken stock to keep the orzo moist. I ate this three days in a row leftover and it was perfect every time.