Baked Chicken Meatballs and Orzo

baked meatballs orzo in large baking dish

5 from 2 votes

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.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: - 5

Author: Chris Collins

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)
8x12" 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 8x12" 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

a) Chicken - You'll find ground/minced chicken in most supermarkets these days, but if you can't, you can easily make your own. Just use a food processor to blend some boneless skinless chicken thighs until it resembles ground meat (this is what I do in the video).

b) Consistency - It's unlikely the orzo will need more liquid to cook through the orzo, but if for whatever reason you notice after baking that the orzo is still quite hard and there's not too much liquid left, just add in some more hot water or stock as needed until the orzo is al dente. It's usually pretty saucy by the time the orzo is almost cooked, but it thickens up more as it rests, so by the time you've stirred through the basil and meatballs, it's good to go.

c) Prep Ahead - If you want to get ahead of time, I'd probably prep the meatballs and get them out of the way. Just roll them out and place them in the baking dish with cling film over the top. You can then keep them in the fridge for a day or so before using them, or freeze them for a few hours until firm, then transfer them to zip-lock bags. You can then thaw them in the fridge and use them as needed. In both cases, I'd get them out of the fridge 30mins or so before needed, just so they cook through evenly.

d) Serving/Calories - This will offer 4 large portions (5 meatballs each) or 5 smaller portions with 4 meatballs each. Calories assuming 1 tbsp olive oil used to bake onion, then no parmesan to serve. Based on whole recipe divided by 4.

Nutrition