Herbed quinoa chicken meatballs
Serves 4
We like to use quinoa as a binding element in place of breadcrumbs for a lighter yet very filling chicken meatball. packed with fresh herbs, these meatballs are delicious over zoodles, pasta, or made into a meatball parm sandwich!
¾ cup cooked quinoa
1 lb. ground chicken
2 garlic cloves, grated
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 large egg
¼ cup chopped basil, plus more for serving
½ bunch scallion, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for serving
kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 16 oz not just pasta sauce
1 lb. prepared zoodles or dried pasta
1. Preheat oven to 425 with the rack in the middle position. In a medium sized bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, chicken, garlic, parmesan, egg, basil, scallion, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and mix until fully incorporated.
2. Line a sheet tray with tin foil, and mist with cooking spray. Divide the mixture into 12 even portions, rolling each portion into smooth balls with your hands. Place on the prepared tray, and bake for 20 minutes.
3. In a large non-stick skillet, add the not just pasta sauce over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. off heat, add the cooked meatballs and toss to coat in the sauce. Stir in extra basil and pepper flakes, if you like.
5. Serve meatballs over your favorite pasta, zoodle (those spiralized zucchini pasta imposters in the produce aisle), or on a roll.