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Home » Chicken Piccata Meatballs

Chicken Piccata Meatballs

January 19, 2020 by aseasonedgreeting 16 Comments

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Chicken Piccata Meatballs with fried capers is a light and refreshing dinner the whole family will love! Enjoy a light meatball using ground chicken breast, bake until golden, then add to a creamy piccata sauce.

The best part? This baked meatball dish gets topped with fried capers for a salty crispy finishing bite!

chicken piccata meatballs in a stainless steel pan topped with parsley and a lemon slice

How to season ground chicken

So here’s the thing, ground chicken needs a lot of help. It needs a lot of help to be a flavorful savory bite and not just a bland ball of meat. Chicken overall isn’t inherently flavorful in the same way that beef is, so if you don’t properly season the dish will be painfully boring.

But don’t worry, that’s not a problem in this recipe! These chicken meatballs are seasoned with plenty of:

  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • Lemon Zest (yes, in the baked meatball!)
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt & Pepper

The lemon zest in the mixture really makes these baked meatballs extra special. By doing this, you’re also getting that lemon flavor in the meat and not just relying on the sauce to bring home the lemony element.

The trick to moist meatballs

Just like no one likes an under seasoned meatball, no one likes a dry meatball. So how to you help keep them moist and tender? It’s just one simple secret ingredient that you have right now. You can find this in full supply, and it doesn’t expire.

Water.

Yupp! Adding 1/4 cup of water to the meat will help keep them moist and totally not dry. Just go to your faucet, get your water and mix it into the meatball blend.

fried capers in a black nonstick pan

Making fried capers

Capers are typically served in a piccata dish, but in many cases they’re just added to the sauce or as a garnish. I wanted to give them a little more texture and savory flavor by first frying them in a bit of olive oil.

All you need to do is add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a large pan, add in the drained capers, and cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes!

While a caper is usually described as tasting salty, which is does, it also has a peppery almost mustard-like aftertaste. I think you’ll enjoy the enhanced flavor and texture that frying the capers in olive oil ads!

overhead shot of the lemon chicken meatballs in a stainless steel pan with fried capers

Looking for more delicious meatball recipes? You’re in luck, there’s lots more recipes here on the blog!

Orange Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs
Greek Chicken Meatballs
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Chicken Parm Meatballs
French Onion Meatballs
Easy Baked Meatballs
Crunchy Taco Meatballs!

If you discover you love these fried capers, I also use them in my Smoked Salmon Wrap recipe and this Creamy Chicken Piccata!

baked meatballs in piccata sauce in a stainless steel pan topped with parsley and a lemon slice
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Chicken Piccata Meatballs

baked meatballs in piccata sauce
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Chicken piccata meatballs are a light and zesty baked meatball. Lemon zest and lemon juice add bright flavor and the fried capers add a touch of salt. This is a dish the whole family will love!

  • Author: aseasonedgreeting
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 17-20 meatballs
  • Category: Meatball
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Italian American

Ingredients

For the Baked Meatballs
1lb ground chicken
2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 egg
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

For the Piccata Sauce
1 and 1/4 cup chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup half & half or light cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the Fried Capers
3.5oz jar capers
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain the capers and place the capers on a paper towel lined plate to dry them even more. Pat them with a paper towel to remove excess moisture from their tops. In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, lemon zest, egg, breadcrumbs, water, garlic powder, onion powder, Parmesan cheese and thyme. Stir to combine into your ground chicken mixture. Form into small to medium sized meatballs, place on a cooling rack on a baking sheet (it’s ok if you don’t have cooling racks, you can place the meatballs directly on the baking sheet). Spray the cooling rack with cooking spray first to prevent meatballs from sticking. Bake for 30 minutes.

2. While the meatballs are baking, start frying the capers. In a small pan, add the olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the dry capers and cook for 5-6 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the oil and place on another paper towel lined plate. Set side until you’re done with the rest of the dish.

3. To make the piccata sauce, heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the grated garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and stir to combine, cook for another 30 seconds, then add the chicken broth, cream, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt & pepper. Stir to combine, reduce heat to low and simmer until the meatballs are done, or about 10 minutes. If the sauce thickens too much, add a little broth to thin it out.

4. To serve, plate your dish with the chicken meatballs, cover with the piccata sauce, and lastly top with fried capers. Serve with pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice.

Keywords: chicken piccata meatballs

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Comments

  1. AvatarEmily

    April 18, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    Hi! You mentioned adding water but that step is missing in the instructions. How much do you add? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Avataraseasonedgreeting

      April 18, 2020 at 1:58 pm

      Hi! The water gets added to the ground chicken, and you add 1/4 cup water.

      Reply
  2. AvatarSadie Seasongoods

    August 4, 2020 at 11:00 pm

    Absolutely delicious! And I was so excited to see you were a fellow Mediavine Publisher!!

    Reply
  3. AvatarAnna

    August 11, 2020 at 12:35 am

    Very good! Easy to make and light. I didn’t realize how long the meatballs had to cook for but still delicious. Will be making again!

    Reply
    • Avataraseasonedgreeting

      August 14, 2020 at 12:02 pm

      I’m so happy you enjoyed this! Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  4. AvatarDee

    October 9, 2020 at 11:23 am

    I made chicken baked meatballs in piccata sauce with fried capers last night for dinner. It was one of the most amazing dishes I have eaten in a while. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

    Reply
    • Avataraseasonedgreeting

      October 9, 2020 at 1:34 pm

      This made my day! So glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  5. AvatarLisa

    January 20, 2021 at 5:17 pm

    Is there any substitute for the half and half?

    Reply
    • Avataraseasonedgreeting

      January 21, 2021 at 1:00 am

      I’ve only made this with half and half. You could use light cream if you have that, or heavy cream. Anything lighter like whole milk or 2% it might not come out quite right, like not as thick.

      Reply
  6. AvatarShellay

    February 11, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    Is it ok to make the meatballs the day before, then make the sauce and warm them in it the next day?

    Reply
    • Avataraseasonedgreeting

      February 12, 2021 at 1:35 am

      You can, but I’ll say the meatballs will probably be a bit drier having been in the fridge and reheated. I’ve reheated meatballs sometimes and find that cutting them in half first helps cut down on how long you need to reheat them to get the center warm again, and hopefully preventing them from being dry!

      Reply
  7. AvatarTema

    September 9, 2021 at 11:29 pm

    Sounds delicious. Can you substitute Coconut milk or cream instead of half and half? Thank you

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Avataraseasonedgreeting

      September 10, 2021 at 12:14 pm

      thanks! I have not tried with coconut milk or coconut cream so I can’t say for sure if it would come out the same way.

      Reply
  8. AvatarSue

    January 26, 2023 at 5:47 pm

    Can I make this in the crockpot?

    Reply
    • Avataraseasonedgreeting

      January 26, 2023 at 5:51 pm

      Unfortunately I don’t use a crockpot so I can’t really recommend cooking these meatballs in one. Sorry 🙁

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Chicken Parm Meatballs - A Seasoned Greeting - Cheesy and Easy! says:
    April 21, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    […] If you like chicken meatball recipes you’re going to love my Chicken Piccata Meatballs! […]

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