Green Goddess Chicken Meatballs
Updated March 26, 2026
Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Ready In
- 25 min
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
¾ cup homemade or store-bought green goddess dressing, plus more for serving
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper
1 pound ground chicken
Olive oil, for forming the meatballs
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Step 2
Add dressing, panko, egg, scallions, garlic, lemon zest and 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper to a bowl and mix to combine, ensuring the panko is fully moistened. Add chicken and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Step 3
Using a bit of oil on your hands, form the meat mixture into 18 small balls (about 2 tablespoons each) and place onto a baking sheet. Bake meatballs for 10 minutes, until the bottoms of the meatballs are browned and cooked through, and release easily from the pan. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Serve with extra dressing on the side. Cooked meatballs can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 3 months.
Private Notes
Comments
@ta thank you I am glad you enjoy the pesto meatballs! And that you are adjusting the salt levels to your taste! Be sure to note the differences in this recipe from the pesto meatballs - the absence of grated parm, the addition of scallions and lemon zest, as I found they all enhanced the flavors of the green goddess meatballs! Happy meatballing!
These are pretty good. Closer to 20 minutes in the oven to get to that slightly crispy situation. Put them in a flatbread with some store-bought arugula salad.
This is Dan’s Chicken Pesto Meatballs substituting Green Goddess dressing for the Pesto. I’ve made the Pesto version and like it a lot. I’ll suggest that, if using store-bought GG dressing or pesto, that the mixture is put together without the additional 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Make a small meatball, fry it and taste. Store bought dressing or pesto are plenty salty. I’ve found I don’t need to add a full tsp of salt or of pepper depending on which store bought item I buy.
So good! I’m a huge fan of Dan’s chicken pesto meatballs and was eager to try these. Totally different flavor profile, just as delicious. Doubled his GG recipe, used extra dressing as pasta sauce. Love the bright spring flavors and versatility to serve hot or cold as a salad. Adding this to my regular family recipe rotation!
These were tastier than I thought they would be. I used Gotham Greens green goddess dressing as it is available in our area. I only had regular dried bread crumbs so used those, just 1/2 cup. I thought it made them taste a little too bread-y. Next time I’ll try panko.
The taste was delicious, but I found that the texture was off - I struggled to get the meat to form balls, I ended up with something more like the shape of a crab cake...any tips on making the meat mixture stickier?
That shape would work well on a plate, though. I thought about doing just that. Chicken cakes!