Leftover Chilli Dough Balls (with Garlic Butter!)

close up shot of leftover chilli dough balls fresh out the oven in large white dish

5 from 4 votes

Leftover Chilli Dough Balls (with Garlic Butter!)

Turn leftover chilli into these easy cheesy dough balls, baked until golden and brushed with garlic butter. No yeast, no fuss.

Prep Time25

Cook Time20

Total Time55

Course: Appetizer, Finger Food

Cuisine: Tex Mex

Servings: balls

Author: Chris Collins

Equipment

Large Mixing bowl & Whisk
Spatula
Rolling Pin
Large Baking Dish (mine was 9x13")
Microplane (for garlic - optional)
Small Pot & Brush (for garlic butter)

Ingredients

Dough Balls

7oz / 200g / 1 packed cup Plain/All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
6.3oz / 180g / 3/4 cup Plain Natural Yogurt (see notes)
1 packed cup fridge-cold Chilli (see notes)
2.6oz / 75g Cheese, sliced into small cubes approx 1-1.5" (see notes)
Olive Oil, as needed
Sour Cream, to serve (optional)

Garlic Butter

2 tbsp / 30g Butter, melted
1 clove of Garlic, very finely grated (see notes)
1-2 tsp very finely diced Fresh Parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre then add the yogurt. Use a spatula to roughly combine everything until it starts to come together, then use your hands to form a ball. The texture should be very slightly tacky, but not so much it sticks to your fingers (work in a little more flour if needed).
Dust some flour on a clean surface and knead for a few minutes until nice and smooth/lump-free, adding more flour as you go. At this point, I recommend covering the dough and leaving it to rest for 10–15 minutes. This helps relax the dough and makes it easier to shape. If you are pushed for time just continue with the recipe.
Divide the dough into 16 even pieces, then one by one roll them out into circles approx 3.5-4" wide. Add ~1 heaped tsp of chilli in the centre, gently press in a chunk of cheese, then fold the dough into a ball. It's crucial you pinch the seam shut to prevent the chilli from leaking out.
Once all the balls are formed, lightly oil a large baking dish and space out the balls. Keep in mind they'll expand slightly as they bake (not a huge deal, you can pull them apart when serving). Lightly brush with oil, the place in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until light golden. You might get some small leakage, but just keep an eye on them to catch any excessive leakage.
Meanwhile, combine the melted butter with garlic and parsley. Once fresh out of the oven, brush the balls with garlic butter, then serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Chilli - If you want to make fresh chilli just for these dough balls then firstly check out my Classic Chilli Recipe, or even my Turkey Chili. This recipe works best with a chilli with a thick consistency; watery chilli recipes will likely leak out as the dough balls bake. Also, just make sure the chilli is fridge cold. For reference, I found 1 packed cup of chilli to be ~270g/9.5oz

b) Yogurt - You can use any plain yogurt. You can also use Greek Yogurt, so long as it's unflavoured.

c) Cheese - I use Red Leicester for this recipe, but Cheddar works just as well. For an epic cheese pull, you could use Mozzarella, but it does lack in flavour in comparison.

d) Garlic - It will very likely 'cook' in the melted butter when it's hot and when brushed on the hot dough balls, which will take a little bite out of it. However, it's still essentially raw, which is why 1 clove is typically plenty. Just make sure it's very finely grated so you don't get chunks of garlic (I recommend a microplane).

e) Calories - Per ball.

Nutrition