Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Meatballs

By Lidey Heuck

Updated November 3, 2021

  • Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(3,880)
Comments
Read comments

Chicken meatballs may not be a traditionally Moroccan dish, but they work beautifully when spiced with paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and garlic, which are commonly found in the country’s cuisine. Whole-milk yogurt does double duty here: It’s used to make the meatballs moist and tender, and makes for a speedy sauce to serve with them. Don’t use ground chicken made with ultralean breasts; look for labels that show a mix of white and dark meat. (Or if you’re feeling ambitious, grind your own boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the food processor.) Serve the meatballs with couscous and a green vegetable for a flavorful weeknight dinner that’s well worth the effort.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings 

  • 1 ⅓ cups plain whole-milk yogurt

  • 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon minced or grated garlic (about 4 cloves) 

  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

  • Kosher salt and black pepper

  • 1 pound ground chicken (not 100 percent breast meat) 

  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten

  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus more for serving

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for frying 

  • 1 teaspoon light brown or granulated sugar 

  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika

  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin 

  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger 

  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional) 

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

14 grams carbs; 155 milligrams cholesterol; 344 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 21 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 549 milligrams sodium; 26 grams protein; 6 grams sugar

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.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    First, make the yogurt sauce: Combine 1 cup of the yogurt, 1 teaspoon of the garlic, the lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste in a small bowl. Mix well, and chill until ready to use.

  2. Step 2

    Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the remaining ⅓ cup yogurt, remaining 1 tablespoon garlic, chicken, panko, egg, parsley, olive oil, sugar, paprika, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly, until incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, form meatballs about 1 ½-inches in diameter, then place them on a plate or sheet pan until ready to use.

  3. Step 3

    In a large skillet, heat ⅛-inch olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the meatballs in batches, flipping occasionally, until browned all over and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. (If the meatballs begin browning too quickly or the oil begins smoking, lower the heat.) Transfer the cooked meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate.

  4. Step 4

    To serve, spread the yogurt sauce in an even layer on a flat platter. Arrange the meatballs on top, and top with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and the pine nuts, if using. Serve hot.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
3,880 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

RPR

Delicious and easy recipe! Instead of frying I baked for 20 min. at 400 and they came out perfectly (and minimized the kitchen mess!). Tossed some zucchini on the same baking sheet and it was an easy side. Flavors are wonderful and this will definitely be a weeknight staple. For those asking about a nondairy alternative to the sauce - I’ve made a coconut yogurt tzatziki before with great success; this is a very similar sauce so it will probably be an easy swap.

modificatioms

Recipe came out great as is. A few possible modifications for next time: Omit the garlic from the yogurt sauce, it’s really strong. Bake the meatballs in the oven after browning them or make them into little patties instead of balls because they took a long time in the pan and got a little too dark. Serve with lots of fresh mint.

Holly W.

@modificatioms to tame the strength of the garlic, let the garlic sit in the lemon juice and salt for about ten minutes before mixing in the yogurt and pepper. This is a trick I use anytime I’m using raw garlic (especially great when making guacamole)

Nicole

These are delicious. However, I made the mistake of taking reader advice to bake instead of sear. My test meatball was seared and got a nice crispy exterior- next I put in the air fryer for about 6 minutes and it came out so juicy yet firm and wonderful complementary flavors. But for the rest i was serving a lot and thought it would be fine to bake and be easier on me for serving dinner. My meatballs came out less flavorful, rubbery and dense.

Barbars H

Can I make them and freeze any leftovers to reheat later?

Amy

Very flavorful meatballs. As many suggested, I baked these at 400 degrees in the oven for 20 minutes on the lowest rack - flipping after 10 minutes to achieve browning on both sides. Wen doubling the recipe, I used one egg and one flax seed egg to lighten it up. I used Perdue Ground Chicken and it came out well. The yogurt sauce was great too, however I did use no fat plain Greek yogurt for a healthier option while in the meatballs themselves I used whole milk regular yogurt.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.