Baked Chicken Meatballs and Orzo

close up shot of black serving spoon scooping two meatballs out of dish of orzo

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5 from 2 votes

Soft chicken meatballs and orzo in a thick, rich tomato sauce. This is what comfort food is all about!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £3 / $4

Equipment

Food Processor & Spatula (for making ground chicken)
Large Mixing Bowl (for mixing meatballs)
8x12" Baking Dish (for baking orzo)
Wire Rack (for baking meatballs)
Jug (for stock)
Box Grater (for onion)
Fine Cheese Grater (for parmesan)
Paper Towels (for oiling wire rack)

Ingredients

Meatballs

1lb / 500g boneless skinless Chicken Thighs (see notes)
2/3 cup / 40g Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2 cup / 40g freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup finely diced Fresh Parsley
1/2 medium Onion, grated on a box grated (save other half for sauce below)
1 clove of Garlic, finely grated/diced
1 Egg
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Oil Spray, as needed

Orzo

2 cups / 400g Uncooked Orzo
1x 700g/25oz jar of Tomato Passata (strained/pureed tomatoes in US)
3 cups / 750ml hot Chicken Stock
2 tbsp Tomato Puree (tomato paste in US)
1 small bunch Fresh Basil, finely diced (1oz/30g)
1/2 medium Onion, finely diced
2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp EACH: Sugar, Salt (or salt to taste)
1/8 tsp Black Pepper, or to taste
pinch of Chilli Flakes (optional)
drizzle of Olive Oil
freshly grated Parmesan, to serve

Instructions

Add chicken thighs to a food processor and pulse in short bursts until it resembles ground meat, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Scoop out into a large mixing bowl and add breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, egg, salt & pepper. Use your hands to combine until everything is evenly distributed (don't mix it into oblivion or it'll come out tough/dry).
Oil a wire rack. I find this easiest with paper towels. Use a 1 tbsp measuring spoon to scoop out 20 chunks of meat and place them on the wire rack. One by one roll the chunks into meatballs. Liberally spray all over with oil.
Add finely diced onion to an 8x12" baking dish and combine with a drizzle of oil. Place in the oven at 200C/390F for 8-10mins, or until soft & lightly golden. Add in garlic and allow it to sizzle for a minute or so, then pour in passata. Swill out the jar with ~1/4cup water and add that in too, then pour in chicken stock. Add tomato puree (paste), oregano, sugar, salt, pepper & chilli flakes if you're using them. Whisk to combine then stir in orzo.
Add the meatballs & wire rack on top, then carefully transfer everything to the oven. Bake for 20-25mins, or until the meatballs are golden brown and piping hot through the centre. Remove the meatballs and cover to one side, then give the orzo a good stir, scraping up any orzo stuck to the dish as needed.
Place back in the oven for another 5-10mins, or until the orzo is al dente. It should still be fairly saucy, with the orzo 90% cooked through. Stir through basil and check for seasoning, then toss in the meatballs.
Serve up with plenty of parmesan and any leftover parsley/basil you've got!

Video

Notes

a) Chicken - I highly recommend using thighs, because they're more fatty and flavoursome than breast. You can get a butcher to grind up chicken thighs if you'd prefer. You'll find chicken mince/ground chicken at most shops, but it's usually low in fat and/or breast meat. You'll also notice it's sometimes more watery, so if you're using store-bought you may need to add in more breadcrumbs to form the meatballs.

b) Consistency - It's unlikely the orzo will need more liquid to cook through the orzo, but if for whatever reason you notice after baking that the orzo is still quite hard and there's not too much liquid left, just add in some more hot water or stock as needed until the orzo is al dente. It's usually pretty saucy by the time the orzo is almost cooked, but it thickens up more as it rests, so by the time you've stirred through the basil and meatballs it's good to go.

c) Prep Ahead - If you want to get ahead of time I'd probably prep the meatballs and get them out of the way. Just roll them out and place them in the baking dish with cling film over the top. You can then keep them in the fridge for a day or so before using them, or freeze them for a few hours until firm, then transfer them to zip-lock bags. You can then thaw them in the fridge and use them as needed. In both cases, I'd get them out of the fridge 30mins or so before needed, just so they cook through evenly.

d) Serving/Calories - This will offer 4 large portions (5 meatballs each) or 5 smaller portions with 4 meatballs each. Calories assuming 1 tbsp olive oil used to bake onion, then no parmesan to serve. Based on whole recipe divided by 4.

Nutrition