Chicken Ricotta Meatballs

I'm really happy with the way these meatballs turned out!! I thought they were delicious, if I do say so myself! I'm really not a fan of ground turkey (notice how I don't blog ground turkey much? Wait, have I ever blogged anything with ground turkey?)......I find it really dry and bland. I do like using ground chicken, however. Ground chicken has breast and thigh meat in it so it is moist and flavorful. I added the chopped shallots and shredded carrot for a hint of sweet.  Sauteing the shallots and carrots first is a nice way to take out any "crunch"....I don't like meatballs with crunchy onions!!

I made meatballs subs out of these meatballs. You could also serve them with spaghetti and sauce or even plain! Yum! Enjoy!

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1/3 cup low-fat ricotta
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small shallot, minced (about 1/3 cup - you can substitute onion if you like)
• 1 small carrot, grated finely (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 egg
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbl fresh basil, chopped
• 1 Tbl dried parsley
• pinch of crushed pepper flakes
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400F

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add shallots and carrots and saute till tender, about 4 minutes, stirring often.

 

In a large bowl, gently mix together the cooked shallot and carrots along with the rest of the ingredients. Do not over mix.

Spray the bottom of a large baking dish with cooking spray.

Take a large pinch of the meat mixture and form it into a 1 to 2 inch ball. Place the meatballs in the baking dish. Continue until all the meatballs are formed.

Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

I served the meatballs on a roll and made a meatball sub. I topped each sub with marina sauce and shredded mozzerella then returned them to a 350F oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

You can also serve these over pasta noodles or on their own! Enjoy!