Chicken Meatballs with Roasted Tomato and Pepper Orzo

October 8, 2024 Sonia Wong

Tis the season for cozy meals! And of course, family-friend and easy to make are always in season. This CHICKEN MEATBALLS WITH ROASTED TOMATO AND PEPPER ORZO checks all of those boxes!

Fresh Ontario ricotta is the secret weapon for these tender chicken meatballs. Whether you have the last of your summer tomatoes and peppers to use up, or you’re making this during the off-season, roasting them deepens their flavour and brings life to them. The cooking technique for the orzo is somewhat similar to risotto except it takes less than half the time to cook (about 10 minutes). Gotta love that, right?

I was inspired by the October meatball recipe in Ontario Dairy’s 2025 Milk Calendar that just came out. Thanks to Ontario Dairy for sponsoring this recipe. Let me know in comments if you make this recipe. Or post and tag me on social so I can see 😍

Eat well + be well!

Sonia x

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Chicken Meatballs with Roasted Tomato Pepper Orzo

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken Meatballs:

1 lb ground chicken

½ C (125g) ricotta cheese

½ C (5g) fresh parsley, finely chopped

½ C (50g) parmesan cheese, grated

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

½ tsp kosher salt, more to taste

¼ tsp onion powder

Black pepper or white pepper, to taste

Oil for cooking

For the Roasted Tomato Pepper Orzo:

¾ lb tomatoes (4 large or 5 small), cut into 1½” pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1½” pieces

4 garlic cloves, separated (2 cloves smashed and 2 cloves minced)

3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp butter

½ small white onion, small diced (about ½ C)

½ tsp dried chili pepper flakes

1 lb (2½ C) uncooked orzo

3½ C chicken broth or enough to top up roasted tomato/pepper puree from above to a total of 5½ cups

Salt and pepper to taste

For serving:

¼ C grated parmesan cheese

¼ C chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

Place oven rack to one rung above the middle height. Preheat oven to 400f convection or 425f normal. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Drizzle oil on both.

Spread chopped tomatoes, bell pepper, the 2 smashed garlic cloves and thyme on one baking sheet. Toss in the oil to coat well. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Roast 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender with slightly charred edges.

While veggies roast, make meatballs. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, ricotta, parsley, parmesan, garlic, salt, onion powder and black or white pepper. Mix well. Taste meatball mixture for seasoning before rolling them out. Microwave 1 teaspoon of meat mixture for 30 seconds or when cooked through, taste and adjust salt as needed. Divide and form into 16 equally-sized meatballs, about 2 tablespoons worth of mixture per meatball. Dampen hands as needed if mixture is sticking. Brush oil all over meatballs or roll them around in oiled hands to coat well.

Once veggies are done, pull them out of the oven and let cool. Place meatballs in the oven to roast for 20 minutes, or whenever golden brown. Meanwhile, cook the orzo.

Place roasted vegetables in a blender or use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Make note of the volume – mine typically yields about 2 cups. You will need enough chicken broth to top this up to 5½ cups of liquid for cooking the orzo i.e. If you have 2 cups of tomato/pepper puree, then you will need 3½ cups of broth.

In a large deep skillet or wide-base pot over medium heat, add oil and butter to the pot. Add onions to sauté until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. And garlic and chili pepper flakes. Sauté 30 seconds. Add orzo and stir to coat in the oil. Add roasted tomato/pepper puree and the required amount of chicken broth (you may hold back ½ cup to add towards the end depending on desired consistency of orzo). Bring everything to a low simmer. Taste the liquid now season as needed with salt, pepper and sugar if tomatoes were tart. The orzo will be bland if the liquid is bland. Cook orzo until al dente, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. This should take 8-10 minutes. Orzo will thicken in consistency as it rests, so I like to take it off heat and serve while it still seems a touch wet. Serve orzo with meatballs on top, finished with parmesan and fresh parsley on top.

Enjoy!