Easy Broccoli Chicken Meatballs. Healthy, nutritious, and packed with hidden veggies.
Summer, please don’t go.
Here we are at the end of summer once again. A new school year. A more regular schedule. Back to making school lunches. Regular early dinners. And cooler weather. And I don’t feel ready yet.
But here we go. Time to get myself organized a bit more in the kitchen – which means more meal planning and prepping for me. I like to have some quick and easy recipes on hand to make meal times simple and stress-free.
That’s where meatballs come in. They are one of my go-to protein staples that I keep in the freezer for when life gets busy and everyone is hungry.
I’ve shared a few meatball recipes in the past. Some of our family favs are my Spinach and Cilantro Meatballs, my Pesto Meatballs, and my Asian-Style Meatballs. Today I’m sharing a lighter chicken meatball recipe that’s loaded with chopped broccoli.
They’re moist and tender. Flavor neutral, so they go with just about any meal. And they are super easy to throw together. We usually make beef meatballs so these chicken meatballs are a nice change of pace.
A few things about chicken meatballs:
….dry meatballs suck. I like to add an egg and a bit of extra fat (butter or ghee) to keep them juicy and moist.
…do not over cook. Because dry meatballs suck.
…slow your roll. Gently roll out your meatballs because tightly packed meatballs can wind up tough and chewy.
…use an ice cream scooper. Keeping all of your meatballs uniform means that they cook evenly and you won’t overcook some while you wait for others to finish cooking.
Need some recipe ideas for these little Broccoli Chicken Meatballs? Here’s some of ideas:
- simmer in bone broth with your favorite veggies for an easy soup
- pop in your lunch box (still frozen) for an easy lunch/snack
- add to a frittata
- add as protein to your favorite salad
- simmer in some tomato sauce and serve over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash noodles or butternut squash noodles
This is definitely a keeper recipe in our family. I usually make a double batch and stash them in the freezer for later. Little One says that they are “perfect for people who don’t love broccoli because you still have to eat your veggies.” I guess I’m winning at meatballs today.
Happy end of summer, beautiful people!
xo,
Katja
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400′ F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper OR place a cooling rack on top of baking sheet.
- Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl until well incorporated.
- Roll into about 28 small meatballs ( I use a small cookie scoop to get uniform balls) and place onto prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until baked through and slightly golden.
Notes
- I prefer to steam the broccoli before adding it to the recipe. I’ve tried grated raw broccoli and don’t love the texture. Simply steam broccoli in a steamer basket for 3-4 minutes until slightly soft and still bright green. Be sure to finely chop for best texture.
- Most people bake meatballs right on the baking sheet (lined with parchment paper), which works fine. I find that my meatballs cook a bit more evenly if I place them on a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet.
- I use cassava flour as a binder. You can sub blanched almond flour if that’s what you have.
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Tessa Simpson says
August 20, 2018 at 10:19 amThese look like finger food perfection!! Maybe I can even get my green averse child to dig em!!
★★★★★
Katja Heino says
August 21, 2018 at 7:40 pmThanks, Tessa! 🙂
Renee Kohley says
August 20, 2018 at 2:43 pmI am pretty sure that when I put anything into meatball form my kids think I am just the best thing in the world! Cant’ wait to try this one! Thanks!
★★★★★
Katja Heino says
August 21, 2018 at 7:39 pmHA! Mom life!!
Jean says
August 20, 2018 at 7:06 pmWhat a great way to hide veggies in your meal! Looks so tasty and I love how easy the are!
★★★★★
Katja Heino says
August 21, 2018 at 7:39 pmHidden veggies for the win!
Jessica DeMay says
August 21, 2018 at 5:10 pmI love the idea of adding broccoli to them. They don’t look dry at all and I know I would love them!
★★★★★
Katja Heino says
August 21, 2018 at 7:38 pmYeah, dry meatballs are no good. That’s why I add a bit of extra fat. 🙂
Stacy Cohen says
August 21, 2018 at 5:56 pmReally great! And just as easy as you say. I think this will be a keeper through the Fall! (did I just say Fall?!?) Yikes!
Katja Heino says
August 21, 2018 at 7:38 pmYay! Thanks for the feedback, Stacey.
tina says
August 22, 2018 at 5:52 amThose meatballs look scrumptious! I need to make my meatballs with chicken more often….
Katja Heino says
September 2, 2018 at 7:43 amThanks, Tina! 🙂
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
August 24, 2018 at 8:18 amThat is seriously genius to put the broccoli in the meatballs. I am always trying to find ways to get more veggies in my diet and this is the perfect trick.
Katja Heino says
August 30, 2018 at 8:12 amI’m all about getting MORE VEGGIES in wherever I can. 🙂
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
August 25, 2018 at 4:29 pmI have got to get one of those tiny scoopers! That is the best idea ever. I have one, but it’s the ice cream or biscuit scoop size and that would be too big for these perfect meatballs. LOVE how yummy they are with all that broccoli jam-packed into them.
★★★★★
Katja Heino says
August 30, 2018 at 8:14 amI love my little scooper. Makes making meatballs so easy. I bought a 3 pack of scooper- small, medium, and large. They are so fun to use. I made scones with the biggest one yesterday.
ChihYu Smith says
August 25, 2018 at 7:18 pmYUM! That looks so gorgeous and I can taste the flavor from here!
★★★★★
Cristina Curp says
August 26, 2018 at 4:30 pmMy five year old gobbles these up! Win!
★★★★★
STACEY CRAWFORD says
August 27, 2018 at 8:28 amThese were so good! Even my son liked them, Your daughter could not be any cuter!
★★★★★
Katja Heino says
September 2, 2018 at 7:39 amThanks, Stacey! I’m happy to hear that your son likes them.
Lena says
August 31, 2018 at 12:55 amWhat can I use in place of that flour please as I don’t have it?
Katja Heino says
September 2, 2018 at 7:38 amYou can use almond flour in place of the cassava. If you don’t have either of those, you can use whatever flour that you have (except for coconut flour.) Whatever flour you use will alter the taste and texture slightly so you may want to experiment with what you like the best. Hope that helps. 🙂
Tim Lineberry says
September 3, 2018 at 9:31 amsounds good but cassava flour can is an antinutrient isn’t it. YES.
Katja Heino says
September 6, 2018 at 8:06 pmIf you prefer not to use cassava flour, you can use almond flour instead. Or pretty much any flour that you like, except for coconut flour.
Michelle says
September 12, 2018 at 9:44 amDo you think these would pan fry as I don’t have an oven but they look delicious?
Katja Heino says
September 17, 2018 at 10:28 amYes, you can totally pan fry these. You may need a bit more fat to fry in as chicken meatballs are a bit drier. 🙂
Maegan says
January 31, 2019 at 4:59 pmThese are delicious. The broccoli keeps the meatballs moist. I used a food processor to “chop” and mix everything because I couldn’t see myself chopping broccoli into teenie enough pieces in order to incorporate into the meatballs.
★★★★★
April says
September 19, 2019 at 1:04 pmWe have an egg allergy – what do you suggest as a substitute? Spoonful of Greek yogurt?
Katja Heino says
October 2, 2019 at 2:08 pmI sometimes make meatballs without the egg. I haven’t tried it in this recipe though. Let me know i=f you try it. 🙂
Aileen says
January 1, 2020 at 11:17 amI’ve made these several times and have even made it into burgers, so easy and tasty. I used almond flour and they turned out great.
★★★★★
Katja Heino says
January 15, 2020 at 3:08 pmThat’s such a great idea. I would LOVE a broccoli chicken burger wrapped in lettuce with tons of mayo. Mmmmmmm!