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Looking for a dish to impress?! Marry Me Chicken Meatballs will take the (wedding) cake!
Homemade chicken meatballs tossed in an herby cream sauce and served over your choice of rice or noodles. It’s super easy heart-warming entree sure to leave everyone fawning for the recipe.
And we have to say, we understand the hype around this dish. It’s become one of our favorite chicken dishes and we know it will quickly become your’s too! It’s great for a date night, perfect enough to serve as a party appetizer or a great option for weekly meal prepping!
Looking for more chicken dinner entrees? check out these yummy dinners!
Mediterranean Grilled Chicken & Tomato Orzo
Chicken Piccata with Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus
Panko-Crusted Parmesan Chicken
Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce
Spicy Stovetop Indian Butter Chicken
Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
Recipe Snapshot
- Make chicken meatballs.
- While meatballs cook, make the marry me chicken sauce.
- Toss meatballs in sauce and serve with rice or pasta. Enjoy!
What is in Marry Me Chicken Meatball Sauce?
Butter: A generous amount of butter is used for sautéing garlic in the sauce. And it adds a lot of flavor. We recommend using salted butter if you have it to add more seasoning to the sauce.
Tomato Paste: Cooks down in dish to give the sauce a yummy flavor and beautiful orange color.
Red Pepper Flakes: Optional, but we love a bit of spice!
Garlic: Adds savory flavor to the cream sauce.
Fresh Oregano and Thyme: Fresh is best! And the mixture of the oregano and thyme make this dish so warming. Not to mention they smell amazing as they cook!
Heavy Cream: Makes the sauce creamy! (If you don’t want to use heavy cream, see a higher protein swap below.)
Chicken Broth: Adds extra savory flavor and helps to thin out the sauce.
Grated Parmesan: Parmesan is tangy and sharp cheese that seamlessly melts into the cream sauce.
Sun Tired Tomatoes: Each sun dried tomato is packed with flavor! It never hurts to add more to the dish if you want to increase the intensity of the tomato flavor in the dish.
Why is it called “Marry Me Chicken”?
It’s supposed to be so good, that whoever you serve it to is going to want to marry you! It’s comical but we have to admit it is a very delicious dish!!
And it can be made a variety of ways with whatever chicken you have on hand. If you have chicken tenders, chicken breasts or if you want to make meatballs. The creamy, tangy tomato sauce will leave an impression no matter how it’s served.
How do you make homemade chicken meatballs?
Our homemade chicken meatballs are super easy and full of flavor on their own. They pair well with almost any sauce. We use a combination of ground chicken, panko bread crumbs, eggs for structure and a blend of seasonings.
Follow these three simple steps for making homemade chicken meatballs…
- Start by mixing together all ingredients in a large bowl. Add ground chicken, eggs, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and seasonings. Mixing to gather with your hands until everything is incorporated.
- Form meatballs and place on parchment lined baking sheet. You should be able to form 12-14 meatballs. Place them on your baking sheet with about 1 inch space between each one.
- Lastly cook in oven for 22-25 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 165ºF. When they are done cooking, you can add them straight into your sauce and serve!
How do you make the Marry Me Chicken cream sauce?
Anyone can make this Marry Me Chicken cream sauce! It’s super simple and takes just about 10-15 minutes to make!
Start by heating a skillet over medium heat on the stove. Add butter to the pan and melt before stirring in tomato paste. Toss in garlic and some red pepper flakes and stir until fragrant.
Next, you will add in some flour to slightly thicken the sauce. The marry me chicken sauce will seem thick at this point, so you will next add in your cream and chicken broth. You’ll also add in shredded parmesan cheese and stir until everything is smooth and blended together.
Sprinkle some fresh oregano and they and stir into the sauce until it becomes fragrant. This is where the sauce starts to smell so warm and cozy!
Lastly, you will stir in sun-dried tomatoes. Don’t miss this step because the sun-dried tomatoes add a strong punch of tomato flavor that this sauce needs. Stir and let the sauce simmer and bubble for a minute or two before tossing in the chicken meatballs.
If you want to add more protein to this dish, try this swap for heavy cream….
Don’t want to use heavy cream? Try adding a yogurt and milk mixture for a high protein swap!
Instead of heavy cream, you can mix in equal parts greek yogurt and milk: 1/4 cup yogurt and 1/4 cup milk
Add milk and yogurt to a bowl and whisk together to combine. Pour into the sauce mixture in place of heavy cream and stir to combine.
It’s important to note that the yogurt will not effect the taste of the sauce at all. But, the sauce will not be as creamy and smooth as it would be with heavy cream. We’ve tried this dish both ways and either are equally delicious.
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Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
Description
Homemade chicken meatballs tossed in an herby cream sauce and served over your choice of rice or noodles.
Ingredients
Homemade Chicken Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp red peper flakes
- 2 tsp minced onion seasoning
- Salt + pepper to season
Marry Me Chicken Sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp fresh oregano
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Start by making meatballs. Here’s the directions for making homemade meatballs. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, add ground chicken, eggs, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. Mix together all the ingredients with your hands until they are thoroughly combined. Form into 12-14 even-sized meat balls. Place on a parchment paper- lined baking sheet. Cook for 22-25 minutes until reaches internal temperature of 165°F.
- While meatballs are cooking, make your sauce. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add tomato paste, butter, garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir until fragrant. Add in and 1 tbsp flour and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add fresh oregano and thyme and stir until fragrant.
- In a small bowl, whisk in heavy cream. The milk helps to thin the yogurt. (Many recipes use heavy cream, but if you do not wish to use heavy cream, see our high protein swap below.)
- Stir in chicken broth and parmesan, stirring until cheese is melted. Lastly add sun-dried tomatoes and let the sauce simmer for a couple minutes. Toss in cooked meat balls and simmer on low for 10 minutes to thicken.
- Serve over white rice or pasta and enjoy!
Notes
Don’t want to use heavy cream? Try adding a yogurt and milk mixture for a high protein swap. You will mix together equal parts greek yogurt and milk. Add 1/4 cup yogurt and 1/4 cup milk to a bowl and whisk together to combine. Stir into the mixture in place of heavy cream.
* Your sauce will not be as creamy and smooth with this yogurt mixture but it doesn’t effect the taste at all!!
