Chicken Piccata Meatballs

By Kay Chun

Updated November 17, 2025

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Ready In
45 min
Rating
5(396)
Comments
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Inspired by the flavors of piccata, these chicken meatballs are seasoned with capers, garlic and oregano and pan-roasted until golden. The pan drippings are used to create a quick and tangy lemon-butter pan sauce. The secret to these plump, tender meatballs is the panade, bread crumbs soaked in milk until softened and folded into the meat mixture. Serve the meatballs with pasta and any simply roasted vegetable, like broccoli, green beans or bell peppers.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 meatballs

  • ¾ cup panko bread crumbs

  • ½ cup whole milk 

  • 1 large egg

  • ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan

  • 2 tablespoons chopped capers

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

  • Kosher salt and pepper

  • 1 pound ground chicken (preferably dark meat)

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus wedges for serving (optional)

  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

  • Egg noodles, pasta or rice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

4 grams carbs; 59 milligrams cholesterol; 132 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 203 milligrams sodium; 9 grams protein; 1 gram 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.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine panko and milk and mix well; let stand until the milk is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Add egg, cheese, capers, garlic, oregano, ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper and mix until well blended. 

  2. Step 2

    Add chicken to the panko mixture and gently mix just until well incorporated. Using moistened hands, form mixture into 12 equal meatballs. (The uncooked meatballs are very soft, but they can be placed in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up and hold their shape better during cooking. The meatball mixture can also be made a few hours ahead and chilled in the refrigerator, which makes the meatballs easier to form. Roll the balls again just before cooking to reshape.)

  3. Step 3

    In a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, heat oil over medium. Add meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until mostly lightly golden all over (they will continue to brown in the oven), about 5 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast, turning meatballs halfway through, until tender and cooked through, about 10 minutes.  

  4. Step 4

    Divide meatballs among 4 plates.

  5. Step 5

    Place the skillet over medium-high heat and add the broth. Bring to a boil, stirring to lift up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add butter, lemon juice and parsley and stir until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

  6. Step 6

    Spoon the pan sauce over the meatballs. Serve warm with noodles or rice and lemon wedges on the side, if desired.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
396 user ratings
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Comments

Kathy

Great recipe! Meatball mixture was indeed very soft so I called into duty a small muffin tin into which (after spraying with nonstick spray) I put a scoop each of meatball mix. I chilled, then cooked for 10 minutes, then turned for another 10 minutes, then turned into the sauce to finish.

Lorraine Fina Stevenski

It is much simpler to make the sauce and return the meatballs into the sauce to continue to cook. The sauce will have more flavor from the meatballs. If you coat the meatballs in flour and then brown, they will help thicken the sauce and make a nice coating on the meatballs.

DB

Delicious. I broiled the meatballs until browned, flipped, browned. Perfect. For the sauce, I sautéed 2 T whole capers and 1T chopped garlic in olive oil, deglazed with white wine. Added 2 cups chicken broth (Better than Bouillon), 2 t lemon juice, 4T butter and cooked 8 oz thin spaghetti in the sauce. If the sauce starts to bind, add 1/2 C hot water. Easily feeds a family of four. YUM

Joseph Robert "Bob"

Boiled orichiette, added broccoli in last few minutes. Doubled the sauce (2x broth, lemon juice, butter, 1x parsley). Added pasta and broccoli to sauce at end, added a little olive oil and salted butter to finish. I bought the ingredients but the real credit goes to my fiancee who is so good at cooking things like this. Will try again!

Anonymous

Meatballs were lit, but my pan sauce was actually not super flavorful (yes, I seasoned it liberally with salt and pepper). There was also not enough of it. I will double it and add some extra capers to it next time to really tie in that piccata flavor. Don't skip the advice to serve roasted broccoli on the side!

Alyssa

I wondered if I could make these in the slow cooker, and they turned out great! Doubled the sauce and used equal parts wine and broth, as other commenters suggested. Tossed the meatballs in flour before they went in and cooked on high for four hours. Delicious!

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