Chicken Meatballs in Roasted Red Pepper Feta Sauce

A creamy roasted red pepper feta cheese sauce drizzled (or poured in copious amounts) over perfectly cooked, bursting with flavor, chicken meatballs, and sauteed kale. This dish is everything that real food is about, whole ingredients bursting with flavor and color.

I have a little bit of a meatball thing. I love them. I literally make about 100 versions; traditional beef, teriyaki turkey, lentil vegan, paleo, gluten free, you name it I’ve got a meatball recipe for it. In the eternal battle of “who does it better” between Jordan (my hub) and I, my meatballs are better. Every single version. Although he thinks my lentil meatballs taste more like falafel, whatevs’. My chicken meatballs, the star of this dish (although that creamy feta sauce is a very close second) have been a favorite for many many years.

I started making these chicken meatballs for cheffing clients about 10 years ago, and have perfected them through the years. The creamy feta sauce is a new addition and I’m sort of glad, in an evil – twirling my mustache kind of way, that I never made that sauce in my personal chef days. Have you ever read “The Nanny Diaries”? Well, that was me – except as a personal chef. Seriously I could fill hundreds of pages with stories from those personal chef years, sometimes it’s good to look back as a reminder that I survived.

One client, in particular, was lovely (read: by lovely I mean the exact opposite of lovely). I was a trooper man, I stuck in there, and smiled a lot, and made amazing food three times a week for many years. Looking back I should have quit on day one, but I have this annoying “stick it out attitude” so stick it out I did, until I didn’t.

As a matter of fact, there were two experiences in my life that really shaped how I interact with difficult personalities, personal cheffing for the lovely client and nannying for a Real Housewife of… I’ll never say, unless you give me tequila, then I’ll say A LOT.

Wow, that was a departure.

Let’s get back to the meatballs eh? The whole reason I have a plethora of meatball recipes in my repertoire is because lovely cheffing client’s husband was “a lazy chewer” (chapter 1 of my book will be titled, “lazy chewers be damned”). So the lazy chewer only wanted ground meat recipes, meatloaf, meatballs, and something he lovingly referred to as “hot dish”, which was essentailly an old school casserole of ground beef and peas (I made a dairy free “cream” of celery soup as the base). For real you guys, I should write that book.

The best thing that came out of that experience  —- the BEST chicken meatballs ever!

These babies are bursting with flavor, super moist, so yummy. Paired with sauteed kale and bell peppers and topped with a creamy luscious roasted red pepper feta cheese sauce. Oh yeah, you are going to want to make this recipe. Quickly.

Now, you will have to chew the kale, but I have confidence that you’ll figure that part out 😉

Chicken Meatballs in Roasted Red Pepper Feta Sauce

Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN

A creamy roasted red pepper feta cheese sauce drizzled over perfectly cooked, bursting with flavor, chicken meatballs, and sauteed kale. This dish is everything that real food is about, nourishing ingredients loaded with flavor.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 6 servings

Calories 286 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Sauce

• 1 jar roasted red peppers drained (about 4 whole roasted red peppers)
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Meatballs

• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 small onion diced
• 1 garlic clove diced
• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley diced
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Kale Saute

• 1 tbsp olive oi
• 1 small onion sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper sliced
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 head kale stems removed, chopped into bite size pieces

Instructions

 

Sauce

• In a blender combine roasted red peppers, feta cheese, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Meatballs

• Preheat oven to 425
• In a small saute pan over medium heat cook onion and garlic in olive oil until soft (about 3 minutes) turn off heat and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl combine ground chicken, egg, tomato paste, parsley, panko bread crumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper, and sauteed onion/garlic mixture. Mix well to combine (I use my hands, but a wooden spoon will also do the trick)
• Roll meatballs into golf ball size and place on a cookie sheet, should make about 22 meatballs
• Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside

Kale Saute

• While meatballs are cooking heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and saute onion and red pepper for 3 minutes, add chopped garlic, saute 2 more minutes. Add kale and a splash of water to the pan, stir well and cover. Cook for 4 minutes or so, until the kale has wilted. You may have to remove the top and stir a few times. All of the water should be cooked off completely.

Putting it all together

• Serve the kale with meatballs and drizzled with creamy feta roasted red pepper sauce.

Notes

• You will most likely have additional red pepper sauce, it is AMAZING on eggs 🙂
• You can also serve the meatballs with traditional marinara sauce
• Spinach is a great sub for the kale in a pinch

Nutrition

Calories: 286kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 19gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 720mgPotassium: 627mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 2020IUVitamin C: 46.8mgCalcium: 156mgIron: 1.7mg

Snap a photo when you try this recipe!Tag me! @abrapappa or #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo!

Meet Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN

Abra Pappa, MS, CNS, LDN holds a master’s degree in functional medicine and clinical nutrition from the University of Western States. Abra practices functional nutrition in New York City with a clinical focus on eating disorders, digestive imbalances and women’s health. Abra is the publisher of the popular food blog, Abra’s Kitchen, a celebration of wholesome food, and has appeared in dozens of publications as a recipe developer, and wellness authority. Abra speaks and teaches on the topics of functional nutrition and mindful eating throughout the country.