Elevate your pasta game with this delicious and easy Marry Me Chicken Meatballs Orzo recipe. A drool-worthy twist on the popular Marry Me Chicken recipe, that combines juicy chicken meatballs, creamy orzo pasta, and a rich tomato cream sauce.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Marry Me Chicken Meatball Orzo, Marry me chicken meatballs
3cups(720ml) chicken broth or stock made using 2 chicken stock cubes
⅓cup(80ml) cream, heavy / double
3tbspgrated Parmesanplus extra to serve
7oz(200g) baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
MAKE THE MEATBALLS
Blitz the sundried tomatoes, onion, garlic and basil leaves in a mini chopper or finely chop by hand. Empty into a large mixing bowl/
½ cup (66g) sun-dried tomatoes, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves, handful fresh basil leaves
Add the ground chicken, Panko breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into the bowl. Mix really well with a wooden spoon or your hands.
1 lb. (500g) ground chicken, 1 large egg, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp ground pepper, 3 tbsp grated Parmesan, ½ cup (75g) Panko breadcrumbs,
Use a small cookie scoop to make the meatballs, about 24 golf-ball sized ones. Roll with oiled hands to make them perfectly round.
COOK THE MEATBALLS
Heat olive oil in a large casserole dish and pan fry the meatballs for about 5 minutes, gently turning them over so that they are nicely browned on all sides. Scoop them out of the pan and set aside. At this point the meatballs will not be cooked all the way through but we will be adding them into the sauce to finish cooking.
2 tbsp of the sun-dried tomato oil
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Add a splash of white wine or sherry to the hot pan to deglaze, using a wooden spoon to scrape any stuck browned bits in the pan loose. Cook the wine down until it is almost gone.
2 tbsp dry white wine
Stir in the butter until it starts to sizzle then add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, over medium low heat until softened.
1 tbsp butter, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves
Add the orzo and sundried tomatoes or pesto and stir to combine. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
½ cup (66g) sun-dried tomatoes,, 1 ½ cups (300g) orzo pasta, 3 cups (720ml) chicken broth
Place the meatballs back into the pan and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the orzo from sticking.
Add the cream and grated Parmesan and finally stir in the chopped spinach, allowing to just wilt down. Your marry-me chicken meatball orzo is ready to be served!
⅓ cup (80ml) cream,, 3 tbsp grated Parmesan, 7 oz (200g) baby spinach leaves
Video
Notes
Note 1: replace the sundried tomatoes with sundried tomato pesto (I like the Belazu brand).Note 2: you can use ground turkey or pork instead of the chicken if preferred.