Rosemary & Lemon Chicken Meatball Skillet is simple, warming, hearty and so delicous. Greek inspired chicken meatballs are seared in a skillet and then cooked with lemon slices, rice, garlic, rosemary and spinach. This one pan dish is served with a topping of feta for a flavorful, balanced, comforting and filling meal.
How To Make the Chicken Meatballs
The first step to making this Rosemary and Lemon Chicken Meatball Skillet is, you guessed it, meatballs. Start by seasoning the ground chicken with diced onion, garlic, plenty of oregano, paprika and my personal fav, fennel. Next up, is mixing in some breadcrumbs and an egg. This combo helps to bind the mixture. It also gives a nice texture by adding in some moisture and prevents a tough meatball. Some people choose not to add this crumb + egg combo, but I personally think it’s a game changer for the tenderness of the meatball, especially when using chicken.
If you don’t have dried bread crumbs, you can use panko or torn up pieces of bread (option to dry out the bread in the oven at a low temp). Once the ingredients are mixed together, and the meatballs are formed, they are seared to perfection with a crisp outside and cooked tender inside.
There are many reasons I love meatballs. For one, hello delicious. Two, meatballs are found in so many cuisines around the world and there’s so many flavors to have fun with: thai, curried, italian, swiss, german, spanish to name a few. This recipe is very much greek inspired. Another other big reason, from a home cooks perspective, is because I love making several dozen meatballs at a time and storing uncooked extras in the freezer. So, when we’re in a pinch for dinner, I can just whip em out for an quick, already prepped protein.
How to Make the Rosemary & Lemon Chicken Meatball Skillet
Before the meatballs are cooked, lemon slices are seared until browned and caramelized. These are set aside and the meatballs are cooked. Once those are done, add the rice, rosemary and garlic. If your kitchen doesn’t smell crazy good by this point, this is where things get really aromatic. The garlic and rice are lightly browned after a minute or so, and broth is added to the pan. It gets covered and cooked until the rice is tender. Stir in thawed frozen or fresh spinach until warmed through or wilted (if fresh), add meatballs and lemon slices back to pan, top with crumbed feta and dinner is served. It’s that easy!
If you make this Rosemary & Lemon Chicken Meatball Skillet make sure to leave a comment or give it a rating! And if you’re into taking photos of your food (like me), be sure to give me a tag on Instagram!
Rosemary & Lemon Chicken Meatball Skillet
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 45 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: About 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: One Pan
- Cuisine: Greek
Description
Rosemary & Lemon Chicken Meatball Skillet is a one pan, flavor packed dish with greek inspired meatballs, brown rice, spinach & tangy feta for an easy, simple, balanced and comforting meal.
Ingredients
Meatball Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. dried bread crumbs
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp. dried parsley)
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. paprika
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper
Remaining Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. EVOO
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
1 1/2 c. brown rice
3 c. low sodium chicken broth
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (or 5oz. fresh)
5 oz. crumbled feta
Instructions
To make meatballs, combine the ground chicken, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, parsley, fennel seeds, oregano, paprika, egg, salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix everything together. Be careful not to over mix. Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, form the mixture into about 2 tablespoon balls (makes about 18 to 20). Set aside.
Heat 1 Tbsp. EVOO in a large cast iron skillet or a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add thinly sliced lemon, spreading out as evenly as possible. Sear the lemon slices until browned on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside. To the same pan, add the meatballs and sear on all sides until browned and cooked through, turning several times, about 10-12 minutes. Careful not to crowd the pan. This may take a couple batches depending on the size of your pan. Remove the meatballs from the pan as they are done and set aside.
Add in garlic and rosemary and rice. Saute until aromatic, about one minute. Add in chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes. Stir in thawed frozen spinach, cook until warmed through, about one minute. Stir in lemon slices and add the meatballs back to pan. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and enjoy!
Keywords: meatballs, greek meatballs, one pan dinners, greek food, brown rice, lemon rosemary chicken, chicken meatballs, pantry recipe, feta, lemon, rosemary
Is the rosemary measurement for fresh or dried? This sounds so delicious!
Great catch! The measurement is for fresh rosemary 🙂
Do you think you could substitute the brown rice with quinoa?? Sounds delicious can’t wait to make this!
I haven’t tried quinoa in this dish, but I think it should work okay. The cooking liquid to grain ratio is about the same. But the cooking time will not be as long. Maybe 10 to 20 minutes. I’m excited for you to try it! 🙂