Chicken Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
Tender, juicy, and tasty chicken meatballs tossed in fresh marinara sauce make the perfect quick midweek dinner. Made with minced chicken breast, buckwheat flour, and Parmesan, they’re naturally gluten-free and perfect for a high-protein, gut-friendly dinner. This nutritious dish pairs great with a crispy slice of sourdough bread or on top of a gluten-free spaghetti, roasted root veggies or a fresh salad.
Equipment
1 Deep pan
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 400 g chicken breast or mini fillets
- 1 onion medium, peeled
- 2 tbsp Rice bran oil plus extra to grease hands and baking tray
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 tbsp buckwheat flour
- 100 g lactose-free cheese eatlean, grated
- 80 g Parmigiano Reggiano grated or shaved
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For the marinara sauce:
- 800 g fresh tomatoes or two 400g cans of tomatoes or any tomatoes with thick flesh
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil or rice bran oil
- 5 cloves garlic sliced/minced
- ½ sea salt sea or pink salt
- ½ tsp black pepper grinded
- 1 handful basil fresh, chopped
- 1 tsp Dry oregano dry
- 1 handful parsley fresh, chopped
Instructions
Prep the Meatballs:
- Blitz the chicken mini fillets with the onion in a food processor until you get a smooth, uniform mince. It should hold together nicely. NOTE! Skip this step if using a ready, store-bought mince. Simply chop the onion and add it to your mince.
- Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the oil, eggs, buckwheat flour, grated cheese and Parmigiano.
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste, and mix everything thoroughly.
- Gently grease your hands with oil to prevent the mixture from sticking. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to form and shape into meatballs.
- Place them in a plate and set aside.
Cook the Sauce:
- Prepare tomatoes—For a fresh tomato version, blend the tomatoes in the food processor. If you use canned tomatoes, toss them directly into the pan; they will dissolve into small chunks while cooking. You can also blend them or press them with a potato masher to achieve a smoother consistency.
- Heat the oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Pour in the tomatoes and cover with a lid.
- Add the sliced garlic to the simmering sauce. Sprinkle the salt and black pepper. Stir well.
- Lower the heat to the lowest and let the sauce simmer for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and deepens in flavour.
- Remove from the heat and stir in dry oregano and the fresh chopped basil.
- Once the sauce is done, gently add the meatballs to the pan and cook them for 15 – 20 minutes. Don’t overcook them to keep these chicken meatballs tender and juicy.
- Serve on a plate and enjoy
Notes
NOTE!
If using a ready-made tomato sauce, either homemade or store-bought, just skip the 'cook the sauce' steps above and simply pour it into a deep pan and heat it.
Nutrition
Calories: 130kcal
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