Chicken Miso Meatballs

By Kay Chun

Updated Dec. 6, 2021

Chicken Miso Meatballs
Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(2,826)
Comments
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Ground chicken breast meat is fairly lean, so milk is added to this recipe to keep them moist and tender. As the meatballs bake, the miso caramelizes into savory bites of sweet-salty umami. Crumbled Ritz crackers add richness and create a more juicy meatball (but plain, dry bread crumbs will also work). To make the Ritz crumbs, place the crackers in a resealable plastic bag and lightly crush them with the back of a wooden spoon or measuring cup. These also make a tasty hors d’oeuvre: Simply roll the mixture into smaller 1-inch balls. For a quick dipping sauce, combine 2 parts soy sauce to 1 part distilled white vinegar, and add sliced scallions, or red-pepper flakes, if you like heat.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ¼cup whole milk
  • 3tablespoons sweet white miso
  • 1tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1teaspoons kosher salt
  • ¾teaspoon black pepper
  • ½cup finely crushed Ritz crackers (12 crackers)
  • 1pound ground chicken
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

250 calories; 13 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 638 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, and use your hands to gently mix. The mixture will be very sticky. Lightly wet your hands to prevent sticking during mixing and shaping meatballs.

  2. Step 2

    Shape the meat into 12 golf-ball-size rounds (about 2 inches in diameter), and arrange on a greased rimmed baking sheet.

  3. Step 3

    Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Tip
  •  Leftover meatballs freeze well; simply reheat in the oven at 375 degrees until warmed through (about 20 minutes).

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,826 user ratings
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Comments

Brian

Try heating the milk and dissolving the miso in it, rather than trying to get it evenly distributed as-is in the meat, which can lead to overworking the meat.

me

added crushed red chili & green onion used panko, not ritz crackers served w/Thai Kitchen sweet red chili sauce

Patty H.

Made these last night...delish! The only changes: I used 1/2 tsp salt as miso is salty enough and 1% milk as it was what I had on hand. The texture was really nice but they might benefit from some chopped scallions or even water chestnuts for crunch. Served them with a mess of steamed broccoli. Next time I need quick and delicious hors d'oeuvres, I'll make them bite sized.

Jackie H.

I really enjoyed this recipe. I thought it would be too salty with the added salt but it wasn’t. Definitely grease the pan, mine got stuck because I didn’t listen to my instincts. I crushed the crackers by hand and my kids didn’t like the texture which is ofd because any larger lumps felt like bread which they like in Italian meatballs. Go figure.

Susan

I heated the milk and combined the miso with it. Thank you, Brian for the tip. I also reduces the salt with better taste for me. I needed to bake 22 minutes at 5,300´ elevation. Delicious with soy sauce (lower sodium) combines with sweet rice vinegar and red pepper flakes. Spicy! I’m thinking about some kind of drizzle instead of dip. Any ideas?

Catherine S

I made this gluten-free using Lance GF “Ritz” crackers. Reading the comments before cooking, I whisked the miso and goat milk into a paste before adding other ingredients and added some chopped fresh ginger. We loved the taste and texture.

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