Sweet and Spicy Chicken Meatballs
Published Feb. 6, 2025
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound ground chicken (or pork)
- 1large egg, beaten
- 1cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and stems, tightly packed
- ½ cup dried bread crumbs
- ½ cup pitted and chopped dates
- 3tablespoons finely grated fresh citrus zest (from limes, lemons or oranges or all three)
- 1tablespoon grated or minced garlic (from 4 to 5 cloves)
- 1½ to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper, to taste
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 2teaspoons kosher salt, such as Diamond Crystal (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
325 calories; 12 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 433 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
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 450 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Step 2
To a large bowl, add all the ingredients. With your hand, a spoon or two forks, gently mix to combine everything very well.
- Step 3
Roll the meatball mixture into 1½- to 2-inch balls and transfer to the prepared sheet pan. Roast the meatballs, turning them with tongs once halfway through, until golden brown and firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
Private Notes
Comments
These were a hit with my wife and 5-year-old. Made it as described with chicken, using deglet noor dates (sold at my local Target in the snack/dried fruit section). I worried it was way too much cilantro but the leaves cooked down in the oven. Served with white rice and steamed broccoli. I made a pomegranate molasses sauce from 2 tbl. each pomegranate syrup, soy sauce, ketchup and honey, 1 tea. yellow mustard, and some garlic powder, salt and pepper (just whisk). I'm very glad I did!
Made it with ground turkey and parsley instead of cilantro which was what was on hand, fantastic! served with a dipping sauce: 1/4 C each low sodium soy sauce and rice vinegar, 2 T sesame oil, big pinch each of red pepper flakes and sugar. It's going in notebook with favorite recipes.
Really liked this dish. If I made it again I would use less dates to make it a little less sweet. Also ended up having to cook it a little longer than suggested.
My dates had bugs so I substituted figlets, subbed spinach for the cilantro as my cilantro had gone bad, cumin was good and I used 1 t. cayenne, nice spice level for me. These will be grab and go from the fridge for lunch on the go. If I make again, I will make sure I have cilantro and will make a sauce maybe a mustard mayo.
The meatballs had a nice flavor but baking in the oven at high heat didn't yield a good texture. I tried one and then returned to the oven for more time, but got the same result. I think I would like them better pan-fried in oil and then simmered in a sauce of some sort- something sweet and sour or fruity would be good.
Made the recipe as written using orange zest as that was what I had on hand - some bites tasted strongly of orange to me (perhaps I could have mixed better) so I decided to try dunking the meatballs in soy-ginger dumpling sauce leftover in the fridge from a local restaurant. Wow, glad I did. Went from “good” to “can I eat these in one sitting?”