Chicken and Apple Meatballs
This recipe for chicken and apple meatballs brings together two favorite dinner ideas: meatballs and fruit for dinner. Meatballs are great for weeknights, because, aside from a little chopping, they are simple to make and come together in about 30 minutes.
Once you get comfortable making meatballs, you’ll realize that they have infinite variety beyond spaghetti.
Recipe Inspiration
Fruit for dinner? Absolutely. Just like my lamb meatballs with raisins and pine nuts or pork tenderloin with bourbon apples. There are some classic meat and fruit pairings, like pork chops and applesauce (cue Peter Brady) or turkey and cranberries like in this turkey meatloaf. Is there a better way to bring in a bit of natural sweetness?
Key Technique: Homemade Meatballs
- The easy-to-remember starting ratio for meatballs and meatloaves is one pound of ground meat: one egg: one half cup of breadcrumbs or equivalent.
- You should finely chop any add-ins, or your meatballs may have a hard time staying together.
- If you’re using onion or some other crunchy vegetable like fennel or celery, it will need to be cooked before you add it to the meatball mixture. But that just adds time and another pan to clean. If a recipe calls for onions, try substituting green onions or garlic.
- The mixture should be combined gently with your hands and rolled into balls. A medium-sized (#40) cookie scoop will give you meatballs of about the same size.
Tips and tricks
Ingredients
Sometimes ground chicken and turkey can be bland, and so I contemplated adding cheese to add more flavor. Ultimately I kept cheese out of the recipe, but, with the apple, toasted pecans, and sage, these meatballs still have bold flavors.
You can use either finely chopped or grated apple in these chicken and apple meatballs. Chopped apple will give you discrete apple chunks. Grated apple will melt into the mixture and make the meatballs taste sweet.
Make the meatballs
To form the meatballs, combine the pound of ground chicken, the apple, and all of the other ingredients into a large bowl. Mix with your hands to avoid over-working the meat mixture.
Use a cookie scoop or use your hands to scoop golf ball-sized meatballs (about 2 generous tablespoons). Roll the mixture gently in your hands to form a ball and place them in an oiled pan or rimmed baking sheet, leaving space around each one. You can also line the pan with parchment paper for easier clean-up.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature is 165°F. About 10 minutes into baking, shake the meatballs around and use a spatula to loosen any that might be sticking to the pan. Serve warm.
What to serve with chicken and apple meatballs
- Serve over beans or chickpeas, lightly fried with a bit of garlic and salt. Or you could also have them over rice, polenta, farro, or another grain.
- If you want a sauce or gravy, just make sure it’s light, to match these meatballs.
- Serve with sauteed mushrooms or an unsweetened applesauce.
- For wines, pick a crisp white wine, like a Pinot Grigio or a dry Riesling.
Do you love meatball dinners? Check out other options for what to serve with meatballs for dinner.
Substitutions and variations
- Ground turkey or ground pork would work in this apple meatball recipe.
- Use hazelnuts, almonds, or even macadamia nuts in place of pecans.
- Sub gluten-free panko.
FAQs
Yes. There’s no reason you can’t fry them. Except for my spaghetti and meatballs and BBQ meatballs, which I braise, I bake meatballs because it uses less oil and takes up less of my attention. If you do fry them, definitely make a pan sauce to go on top.
Meatballs freeze and reheat perfectly for future meals. Let them cool, blot off any oil with paper towels, and store in a freezer bag after squeezing out all of the air for 3 to 6 months. You can use frozen meatballs any way you would use freshly made ones, and they go great as an addition to soups.
If you are using apple chunks, use any apple that remains firm when cooked and has a strong apple flavor. You could use a tart apple like a Granny Smith or Pink Lady or any sweet apple, as long as it stays crisp when cooked.
Disclosure: I was recently given two boxes of HunnyZ apples by the folks at Gee Whiz. About a month ago, I wrote a post about late season apples and discovered how much I loved this new apple, which is a cross between a Honeycrisp and Crimson Crisp apple.
Related recipes
Try other easy meatball recipes like:
Or turn leftover chicken and apple meatballs into a meatball wrap! Combine chopped meatballs with some wild rice and chopped fennel, and you’ve got tomorrow’s lunch.
Check out other chicken recipes like these pan roasted chicken breasts or other savory apple recipes from the archives like this bourbon apple pork tenderloin or caramelized onion and apple waffles.
Chicken and Apple Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil optional
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 egg
- ½ cup panko or other dried breadcrumbs
- 1 medium to large apple peeled and finely chopped or grated
- ¼ cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Use the vegetable oil to grease a baking pan or dish, or line the pan with parchment paper.1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Add all of the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and mix together using your hands.1 pound ground chicken, 1 egg, ½ cup panko or other dried breadcrumbs, 1 medium to large apple, ¼ cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Use a cookie scoop or use your hands to scoop golf ball-sized (2 generous tablespoons) amount of mixture. Roll the mixture gently in your hands to form a ball and place them in the dish, leaving space around each one. You will have about 20 meatballs.
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature is 165°F. About 10 minutes into baking, shake the meatballs around and use a spatula to loosen any that might be sticking to the pan. Serve warm.
Notes
- use another nut in place of the pecans.
- use ground turkey or ground pork.
Nutrition
What’s next
If you make these chicken and apple meatballs, please leave a comment or rating here.
Looking for inspiration?
Sign up to get recipes full of kitchen tips and tricks.
