Name: Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 15
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 lb ground chicken or turkey meat; 1 medium zucchini; 1 carrot; 1 onion; Handful of parsley leaves; 2 tablespoons of olive oil; 1/4 tablespoon turmeric; 1/4 tablespoon black pepper; 1/4 tablespoon cumin; 1/2 tablespoon salt; 3 tablespoons quick oats; 1 onion; 2 stalks of celery (try to get as many leaves as you can!); 3 tablespoons of oil (we used vegetable but you can also use olive oil); 1.5 lb of frozen peas (a little less or a little more is totally fine); 1 tablespoon chicken flavoring; 1/4 tablespoon black pepper; 1/4 tablespoon turmeric; 1/2 tablespoon salt; You'll also need one cup of room temperature water and one cup of boiling water

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These Mediterranean chicken meatballs (or turkey!) are light yet filling, full of veggies, healthy, delicious, and easy to make!

Lady Lee’s Note…

This recipe is coming to you from my mother’s kitchen in Israel! I previously posted this amazing recipe for fried chicken meatballs and this time I want to share with you a stovetop chicken meatballs recipe that is just as delicious.

Like most Mediterranean dishes, this one is also full of veggies. It’s healthy, filling, delicious, and simple to put together. It can be served with many side dishes (ideas below), and is a great make-ahead meal!

Ground Chicken or Turkey?

It doesn’t matter! In Israel, ground chicken meat is as common as ground beef so my mother uses it a lot. Here in the U.S., at least where I live, we don’t have ground chicken at the store but we do have ground turkey.

If you can’t find ground chicken, feel free to use ground turkey. Nothing changes, follow the same recipe. If you are a homesteader and you raise your own chickens for meat, it’s pretty easy to ground some of the meat after butchering.

Ingredients…

Ground chicken or turkey
Zucchini
Carrot
Onion
Parsley
Olive oil
Quick oats
Peas
Celery
Seasonings: turmeric, black pepper, cumin, salt, chicken flavoring

Kitchen Tools…

Step by Step Instructions…

Step one – make the meat mixture. Start by grating the zucchini, carrots, and onion in the food processor. Remove the leaves of the parsley from the stem and chop them. Add the ground chicken or turkey to a bowl, add the vegetables, and chopped parsley leaves, and mix.

Next, add the olive oil, quick oats, turmeric, black pepper, cumin, and salt. Use your hand to work the meat mixture for 5-7 minutes. This will help the meat release some of its protein and will help the meatballs keep their shape when we cook them (since we aren’t using an egg). Set the bowl aside and let the mixture rest for 20 minutes.

Step two – make the sauce. Dice the onion and celery. Add oil to the pot and set on the stovetop. Turn the heat to medium-high to heat the oil. Add the diced onion and celery and fry for five minutes. Add one cup of water, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot, and let the veggies steam for ten minutes.

Next, add the frozen peas, stir, cover the pot, and let cook for 10 more minutes. Season with chicken flavoring, black pepper, turmeric, and salt. Add one cup of boiling water and mix.

Step three – add the meatballs. Shape the meatballs with your hands, move the sauce and place the meatballs in the pot, close together. You can scoop some of the sauce over the meatballs. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

What to Serve With Chicken Meatballs…

Rice – any kind of rice. My personal favorite is wild rice.
Bulgur – if you never tried bulgur, give it a try! Bulgur is cracked wheat. It’s easy to make and is delicious.
Mashed potatoes – however you like to make it, place the meatballs with some of the sauce right on top of the mashed potatoes. Give this purple mashed potato a try!
Over quinoa or couscous.
Baked potatoes or roasted potatoes
In a pita pocket – when we were young, my mom would spread hummus in a pita pocket, add a couple of meatballs with some peas and then some Israeli salad. I know it doesn’t sound right, but believe me… It’s so good!

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers…

Fridge – If you’re left with leftovers, store the meatballs and sauce in a plastic container in the fridge. It should last just fine for up to a week. To reheat, transfer to a microwave-safe dish and reheat for a couple of minutes.
Freezer – these meatballs freeze very well! I’ve never frozen the sauce with them tho… Just the meatballs. I place them in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer. If you want to make sure that they don’t stick together you can separate them with parchment paper (same way you’d freeze hamburgers).

Kitchen Notes…

Veggies – you can change the veggies in the meatball mixture and in the sauce. In the meatballs, you can add grated potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, summer squash, and so on… To the sauce, you can add carrots, broccoli, or cabbage… There are many combinations and they all taste great!
Make it spicy – feel free to add some spice! You can season the meat mixture with cayenne pepper.
Bread crumbs – we choose to use quick oats to make these meatballs a bit healthier, however, you can use bread crumbs instead if you prefer.
Egg – we didn’t use egg in the meat mixture. Instead, we worked the meat for 5-7 minutes. This helps it release its own protein and helps the meatballs hold their shape when they cook. If you want to add an egg to the meatball mixture go ahead! You don’t need to work the meat then, just mix it in.
Make ahead – this dish is the perfect dish for a party or for meal prep for the week. It will last in the fridge for a week or so. You can make it a couple of days before a party or make it at the beginning of the week to enjoy throughout the week.

This recipe is easy to make, filling, and delicious! These meatballs are light and can be served with so many side dishes. I sure hope that you’ll give this recipe a try!

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