Juicy homemade chicken meatballs are baked over a rich tomato orzo, before everything is brought together with plenty of Parmesan and fresh basil. It’s hearty, satisfying and all made in one pan.
This is such a nifty recipe and such a delicious way to combine two of my favourite ingredients: meatballs and orzo. The result? A dinner you’ll repeat that produces clean plates every time. Follow me…
Chicken Meatball Ingredients Notes
Chicken meatballs are a nice switch-up from beef and pork meatballs. They come out super soft and juicy, plus they only require simple ingredients. The full quantities are down in the recipe card, but I’ll just quickly touch on a few ingredients:
- Ground chicken/making your own – if you can’t find ground/minced chicken, you can very easily make your own (that’s actually what I did to film this recipe). Just blend some boneless skinless chicken thighs in a food processor until they resemble ground meat.
- Grating the onion is essential – we are actually going to grate the onion. This intensifies the flavour and helps keep the meatballs moist and juicy.
- Don’t skip the Panko – the breadcrumbs are less about helping to bind everything, and more about locking in all the fats and juices in the meatballs to help keep them soft and juicy.
Tomato Sauce Ingredients Notes
- Passata makes the perfect sauce consistency – it creates a rich, smooth tomato sauce that’s just the right consistency for the orzo to cook in. I don’t recommend using chopped tomatoes instead.
- No need to cook the orzo – no need to cook it beforehand. It cooks directly in the sauce, soaking up all that flavour as everything bakes.
Making the Meatballs
As you can see below, I’ve made my own ground chicken, but if you’ve got yours ready to go, the meatballs are as simple as combining everything together in a bowl.
We’re going to bake the meatballs on a wire rack ABOVE the orzo. That way, any fat/flavour that drips out of the meatballs will fall straight into the orzo. Plus, with the meatballs being on a wire rack, the hot air will better circulate around them and cook them more evenly.
Process shots: add chicken thighs to food processor (photo 1), pulse until it resembles ground meat (photo 2), add to bowl with breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper (photo 3), mix to combine (photo 4), scoop out chunks (photo 5), roll into balls (photo 6).
Meatballs and Orzo
Underneath the meatballs is going to be the orzo in a simple, yet rich and delicious tomato sauce. The orzo will be uncooked and will cook in the sauce. We’re using uncooked orzo for 3 main reasons:
- The orzo soaks in all that gorgeous flavour as it cooks.
- The starch from the orzo will thicken the tomato sauce and give it a silky/glossy finish.
- Less washing up.
Process shots: add onion and oil to baking dish (photo 1), bake then stir in garlic (photo 2), stir in tomato passata, stock, tomato puree, oregano and seasoning (photo 3), stir in uncooked orzo (photo 4), add meatballs on top with oil (photo 5), bake until meatballs are cooked (photo 6).
Baked Orzo
You’re looking for the orzo to be about 90% cooked through, so still a teeny bit hard. The sauce should still be fairly saucy, although if for whatever reason it’s too thick, just add in a splash more hot water to thin out as needed.
From there, you’ll want to toss through heaps of fresh basil and finish with your meatballs!
Process shots: remove meatballs (photo 1), stir orzo (photos 2&3), add basil (photo 4), stir to combine (photo 5), stir in meatballs (photo 6).
Serving Meatballs and Orzo
When it comes to serving, I recommend plenty of freshly grated parmesan! I also like to serve it up with any leftover parsley/basil I’ve got lurking about.
How many does this recipe serve?
It’ll serve 4 comfortably (5 meatballs each), or 5 smaller portions. You could always add a side of Garlic Bread (or Cheesy Garlic Bread).
Looking for another awesome meatball recipe? Check out my Marry Me Meatballs and One Pot Meatballs and Rice!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these baked chicken meatballs and orzo shall we?!
How to make Chicken Meatballs and Orzo (Full Recipe & Video)
Baked Chicken Meatballs and Orzo
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Box Grater (for onion)
- Fine Cheese Grater (for parmesan)
- Large Mixing Bowl (for mixing meatballs)
- Wire Rack (for baking meatballs)
- 8×12" Baking Dish (for baking orzo)
- Jug (for stock)
- Paper Towels (for oiling wire rack)
- Food Processor & Spatula (optional – for making ground chicken)
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1lb / 500g Ground/Minced Chicken (see notes)
- 2/3 cup / 40g Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup / 40g freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup finely diced Fresh Parsley
- 1/2 medium Onion, grated on a box grated (save other half for sauce below)
- 1 clove of Garlic, finely grated/diced
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- Oil Spray, as needed
Orzo
- drizzle of Olive Oil
- 1/2 medium Onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1x 700g/25oz jar of Tomato Passata (strained/pureed tomatoes in US)
- 3 cups / 720ml hot Chicken Stock
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree (tomato paste in US)
- 1/2 tsp Oregano
- 1/4 tsp Salt, or to taste
- pinch of Black Pepper and Chilli Flakes, to taste
- 2 cups / 400g uncooked Orzo
- 1 small bunch Fresh Basil, finely diced (1oz/30g)
- freshly grated Parmesan, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.
- Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl and use your hands to combine until everything is evenly distributed (don't mix it into oblivion or it'll come out tough/dry).
- Use paper towels and oil to grease a wire rack (helps prevent the meatballs from sticking). Use a 1 tbsp measuring spoon to scoop out 20 chunks of meat and place them on the wire rack. One by one, roll the chunks into meatballs. Liberally spray all over with oil.
- Add the finely diced onion to an 8×12" baking dish (or similar size) and combine with a drizzle of oil. Place in the oven for 8-10mins, or until soft & lightly golden. Add in the garlic and allow it to sizzle for a minute or so (the excess heat will lightly cook it), then pour in the passata. Swill out the jar with ~1/4cup water and add that in too, then pour in chicken stock. Add the tomato puree (paste), oregano, salt, pepper & chilli flakes. Whisk to combine, then stir in the orzo.
- Add the meatballs & wire rack on top, then carefully transfer everything to the oven. Bake for 20-25mins, or until the meatballs are golden brown and piping hot through the centre. Remove the meatballs and place to one side, then give the orzo a good stir, scraping up any orzo stuck to the dish as needed.
- At this point, the orzo should be al dente with plenty of sauce. If you find it still needs to cook a little more, you can place it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Keep in mind the orzo will continue cooking slightly and soak up more of the sauce as you toss in the meatballs and serve up. If the sauce over-thickens before the orzo is cooked, just add a splash more stock or hot water to help it cook through.
- Stir through the basil and check for seasoning, then toss in the meatballs. Serve up with plenty of parmesan and any leftover parsley/basil you've got on hand.
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Delicious Orzo Recipes
- Garlic Parmesan Sausage Orzo
- ‘Nduja Orzo
- Creamy Mushroom Orzo
- Spanish Chicken Orzo
- Tomato Spinach Bacon Orzo
- Garlic Butter Prawn Orzo
- ALL Orzo Recipes
Family loved this. Thanks.
Great to hear, Ian! 🙂
My whole family ADORED this recipe. Added to the rotation. Thanks so much!