Chicken Piccata Meatballs

Learn how to make juicy chicken piccata meatballs! A fun twist on an Italian classic. These meatballs are filled with flavor from lemon, tangy capers, and fresh basil. It's a restaurant-worthy dish that you can make quickly at home!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword chicken piccata meatballs, easy chicken piccata

Freezer Friendly Yes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings meatballs

Calories 135kcal

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 healthy pinch red pepper flakes
2 Tablespoons capers, rinsed & drained then roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Sauce

2 Tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon white or white whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat pastry flour)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoon capers, rinsed & drained
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Make the meatballs: First, in a large bowl use your hands or a utensil to mix together the meatball ingredients (not including the butter and olive oil).
Form the meatballs: Next, line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Then use a cookie scoop or measure enough for a 2-inch sized meatball and use your hands to roll it into a ball. Place the meatballs on the sheet pan and repeat until finished.
Brown the meatballs: Then heat a saucepan with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil + 1 Tablespoon of butter. Place the meatballs in the pan and brown for about 3 minutes, then flip and brown for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Once the meatballs are browned, transfer them onto a plate. Note: the meatballs will not be fully cooked yet, they will finish cooking with the sauce.
Make the sauce: Without cleaning the pan use the same pan you cooked the meatballs in to make the sauce. Add 2 Tablespoons of butter and minced garlic. Saute for about 30 seconds, then add the flour and whisk the broth in with the flour, whisk constantly to smooth out the sauce. Then add the lemon juice, capers, and salt. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for about 5 minutes.
Add the meatballs: When the sauce has thickened, stir in the fresh basil and meatballs. Cover and let simmer on low with the sauce for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve when the meatballs are fully cooked through and no longer pink (the internal temperature should be 165F).
Serve: When the meatballs are done, serve with fresh parmesan cheese over top and additional basil if desired. Cheers!

Notes

Make it gluten-free. To make this recipe gluten-free friendly, use gluten-free breadcrumbs or my homemade breadcrumbs with your favorite GF bread. For the flour, you can either swap for a 1 to 1 gluten-free flour blend or leave out the flour completely and simmer the sauce a little longer to naturally thicken it.

Nutrition