Orecchiette with Baked Mini Chicken Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce
Baked mini chicken meatballs with tomato cream sauce and orecchiette pasta. This one-pot wonder meal is a family favorite!
We love to serve this meal with our 4-Ingredient Roasted Garlic Green Beans and Chopped Greek Salad with Avocado. Both are easy sides that even the little ones love!
Chicken Meatball Pasta
Mini chicken meatballs tossed in tomato cream sauce with orecchiette pasta. Or as my kids call it, “elephant ear pasta.” Because orecchiette pasta does resemble a small ear and what kid wouldn’t find that amusing?
This is the perfect pasta dinner for busy weeknights. Fairly easy to make with simple ingredients and easy swaps too. Plus leftovers store really nicely in the fridge. If that is you have any leftovers.
The star of the recipe just has to be my chicken meatballs. These meatballs are incredibly juicy, tender, and just fall apart good. They’re quickly broiled in the oven and then finished off on the stovetop in tomato cream sauce with the pasta.
Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make meatballs in cream sauce with pasta:
Meatballs
- panko breadcrumbs
- milk
- ground chicken
- egg
- onion
- parsley
- sour cream
Pasta and Sauce
- orecchiette pasta or sub with other short-cut pasta
- pasta sauce
- heavy cream or half and half (see note in recipe card)
- fresh mozzarella balls
- fresh parsley or basil
- fresh parmesan, optional
Frequently Asked Substitutions
Even though this recipe is already simple enough, you can make it even more adaptable with some ingredient swaps to suit what you have on hand.
- Panko Breadcrumbs – technically you can swap out the Panko for the regular breadcrumbs. However, the meatballs turn out dense with regular breadcrumbs.
- Milk – dairy-free milk, like almond milk, will work.
- Sour Cream – you can substitute with mayo or plain greek yogurt.
- Orecchiette Pasta – just about any short-cut pasta can be used in this recipe.
- Pasta Sauce – I love tomato basil sauce, especially from Rao’s but plain pasta sauce is great too.
- Cream – I’ve made this dish with both heavy cream and half and half and both can totally work. Heavy cream is definitely going to be richer and creamier whereas half and half a little thinned out but still delicious. I do not recommend plain milk.
- Mozzarella – I like to use the mini mozzarella balls also known as “pearls” for this pasta dish but I understand that they might be hard to find for some. So you can use the bigger mozzarella balls (known as Ciliegine). Just cut them in half before adding to the pasta. Or buy a fresh ball of mozzarella, chop it up, measure out 1/2 cup and use that.
How to Make Chicken Meatballs in Cream Sauce
Make Baked Mini Meatballs – My secret to moist and tender chicken meatballs is to pack the ground chicken with shredded onion, Panko soaked in milk, and sour cream. They turn out amazing every single time!
- To make the meatballs, you let the Panko soak in milk for few minutes, then add the rest of the meatball ingredients to the Panko. Let stand for 5-10 minutes and roll into 1 1/4-inch meatballs.
- Place on a baking sheet and broil for 4-5 minutes or until lightly golden. Make sure not to cook them all the way through so they can finish cooking in the sauce.
Cook the Pasta – While the meatballs are in the oven, get going on the pasta.
- Follow the directions on the back of the box for cooking the pasta until al dente.
- My biggest tip would be to thoroughly season the water with salt before adding the pasta. Your dish will turn out way more flavorful if the pasta is adequately seasoned from the start.
Prepare the Sauce – Start on the sauce when the meatballs are out of the oven and pasta is cooked. The sauce comes together quickly so it helps to have everything ready before starting.
- But all you do it heat the pasta sauce in a deep skillet. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer.
- Then add in the meatballs, tossing to coat with the sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened and meatballs are cooked through.
- Stir in cooked pasta and some of the reserved pasta water. Give it a couple good stirs and add the mozzarella. Garnish with parsley or basil before serving. I also like to add a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese but it is optional.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this chicken meatball pasta with a green salad for a complete meal. Here are a few favorites:
More Meatball Recipes
- Mini Asian Chicken Meatballs
- Turkey Pesto Meatballs
- Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Sweet and Spicy Meatballs
Orecchiette with Baked Mini Chicken Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Baked mini chicken meatballs with tomato cream sauce and orecchiette pasta. This one pot wonder meal is a family favorite!
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1/2 cup plain Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 lb. ground chicken
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp. grated white onion
- 1 Tbsp. fresh minced parsley
- 1 Tbsp. sour cream
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Pasta + Sauce
- 6 oz. dry orecchiette pasta, about 2 cups
- 1 cup Tomato Basil pasta sauce (I love Rao’s brand)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/2 cup mini mozzarella balls (“pearls”)
- Fresh chopped parsley or basil
- Freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish, optional
Instructions
Meatballs
- In a bowl, combine Panko with milk. Let stand for about 5 minutes or until milk is absorbed. To the Panko, add the chicken, egg, onion, parsley, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix the mixture by hand just until combined. The mixture should be quite wet. Let rest for 10 minutes before forming into balls.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. If using aluminum foil, lightly spray with non-stick spray. You’ll also want to turn on your oven broiler so it has time to pre-heat.
- Lightly oil the palm of your hands with olive oil, form the chicken mixture into 1 1/4-inch meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil the meatballs for 4-5 minutes on the middle rack or until lightly golden on the outside. Keep an eye on them as you don’t want them fully cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Pasta + Sauce
- Cook pasta al dente in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
- In a large deep skillet, heat pasta sauce over medium heat until warm and lightly bubbling around the edges. Stir in cream and bring to a light simmer.
- Add meatballs tossing to coat with the sauce. Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and meatballs are cooked through. Meatballs should be super moist, tender, and white on the inside.
- Stir in cooked pasta to the sauce and the reserved pasta water. Give it couple stirs with a spoon and then add the mozzarella balls.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Pasta: You can substitute any short-cut pasta for the orecchiette. The amount is the same.
- Cream: I’ve made this dish with heavy cream and half and half. Heavy cream will give you smooth and velvety sauce. Half and half produces slightly thinned out sauce but tastes just as good.
- Pasta Water: Adding starchy water to the sauce will produce creamy and silky sauce with least amount of oil on the surface, plus it will help the sauce adhere to the pasta. Start off with 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water and add more if needed.
- Mozzarella: I usually find the mini mozzarella balls next to fresh mozzarella. You can substitute Ciliegine, which are slightly bigger mozzarella balls. Just cut them in half before adding to the pasta. Or you can use a ball of fresh mozzarella. Chop it and measure out 1/2 cup.
- For more substitutions, see “frequently asked substitutions” in the body of the post.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 419
- Sugar: 6.9 g
- Sodium: 863.2 mg
- Fat: 11.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 49 g
- Protein: 28.8 g
- Cholesterol: 110.9 mg
Can you make ahead? How do you reheat?
Reheat on the stovetop over medium/low heat. Add little liquid such as cream or chicken broth if too dry.
Can you make this dish ahead and heat? Maybe reheat with mozzarella?
You certainly can. It reheats well.
Absolutely delicious, quick and easy, so it ticked off all the boxes! My husband loved this. We will definitely be adding this to our dinner rotation!
Thank you!!
Just got done eating this for dinner and holy crap!!! One of the most delicious meals I’ve ever made. AND it was done in 30 minutes… score! This will definitely be making its way into our dinner rotation!
That’s so great! Thank you Shelbi for feedback. Glad to hear you loved it.
I love this recipe! I was thinking of doubling the batch next time, then freezing half. Would you recommend the freezing part?
Yes – it should freeze okay.
Hi there. Instead of the grated onion, could I add extra sour cream or something? I really hate onions LOL
You could but I wouldn’t do too much so the meatballs don’t fall apart. Also you can’t really taste the onion it’s simply there to tenderize the meatballs.
Like another reviewer commented they always read the reviews, but rarely leave a comment. When I find something so delicious I feel I need to inform others. I’ve made this recipe several times now because it so good. I don’t change a thing except that I bake the meatballs instead of broiling. It’s definitely one of my favorites. Thanks so much for posting.
Thank you Kathy! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
My kids adore this dish (and so do I) I always double the recipe so we have leftovers 🙂
Amazing recipe. Did not change a thing and it turned out perfectly! Thank you so much!!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit with my young kids. Instead of ground chicken, I used a half pound of ground beef and half pound of sweet Italian sausage, because it’s what I had on hand. I loved the addition of the heavy cream. It took away some of the acidity from the tomato sauce and made the sauce smooth and velvety. And finally, I put everything in a cast iron skillet and broiled it just until the mozzarella balls browned a bit. This is definitely a family-friendly meal, but also special enough to serve to guests. Delicious!
Thank you Sara. So happy to hear you little ones loved it. My kids love this pasta dish too.
I ALWAYS read the comments before making a dish but I seldom leave any ! But I felt compelled to just in case someone finds themself in my predicament lol I thought I had all of the ingredients so I picked up a pack of ground chicken. That was like the only ingredient I had lol I had no eggs (and just came from the store) so I subbed mayo (thanks Google) I didn’t have parsley so I threw in a little Italian seasoning. Didn’t have the mozzarella so I used Parmesan and didn’t have the cream so I used whole milk. I did have the onion tho! Oh yea didn’t have the orichette either so I used little pipettes. I was expecting this to be a big fat flop and it still tasted amazing !!! Next time I’ll use the actual ingredients but for my first time ever making chicken meatballs (I’m a turkey meatball gal) I am so pleased !!! And this made a lot of food ! I was skeptical about using only a 1/2 pound of the ground chicken but I gave it a shot and it made 10 (not so mini) meatballs!!
Thank you Christina for your thorough feedback. So glad the recipe was a success with all the substitutions!
My oven doesn’t have a broiler, can I fry these or bake the meatballs instead?
Hi Serena: you can definitely fry them or bake them. You want them half way cooked through as they will finish cooking in the sauce.
My family loved this!!! I added a a package of fresh, baby spinach to the sauce and let it wilt down a bit before adding the meatballs. My daughter commented on how pretty the dish was. It tasted great!!! My husband said it’s a do-over!!!
Thank you Candy! So glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your feedback.
I make this all the time! It is easy and delicious. Some of my common tweaks:
– use lean ground pork instead of ground chicken, or do 1/2 pork and 1/2 chicken (more flavor and fat)
– add a little grated parmesan cheese to the meatball mixture
– I bake the meatballs at 400 for 15-20 minutes instead of broil
– saute a lot of garlic and 1 shallot in olive oil before adding the pasta sauce (I always use Rao’s marinara) for added flavor
– use half and half instead of heavy cream for the sauce (less fat)
– sometimes omit adding cream to the sauce if I want a lighter dish
– usually omit the mozzarella balls in favor of grated parmesan which I usually have on hand
–
Thank you for sharing Joy. Your tweaks sound delicious!
Love this recipe!! I’m a sucker for a creamy tomato sauce! It is a favorite in this house and on the menu tonight!
Thanks so much Kati! Appreciate your feedback.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it is delicious. It is one of my daughters favorite meals, who is sometimes difficult to please being 2 years old and all! I have burned the meatballs a few times as toddlers are very distracting but it still tastes great. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Thanks so much Krystal! That’s awesome. So happy you all enjoyed it. And I know all about little picky toddlers 🙂
This was really really good. We used turkey instead of chicken, but pretty much followed to recipe to the letter otherwise. My husband and baby both had seconds. Will definitely make again!
Thanks so much Shannon! So glad you and the husband loved it!
Ahhh! I just realized I don’t have sour cream. Anything I can use as a substitute??
Hi Shannan: Mayonnaise would be a good substitute.
Can you use shells in place of the Orecchiette? My local grocery mart doesn’t sell it.
Definitely! Any small cut pasta will work.
Just finished making this and boy, it is delicious. I had a little trouble with the meatballs, though. The mixture was so gooey, I wasn’t able to roll it into balls. I tried adding more Panko but it didn’t help much. I ended up with chicken blobs (which taste delicious) instead of meatballs. Have you ever had this issue? Maybe it was the ground chicken I bought?
Hi Karen: the chicken mixture is supposed to be fairly wet and I find that if you wet your hands first and then roll..they come together a little easier. Also a small melon scooper or measuring spoon is a great way to scoop the meat mixture. Hope that helps!
Can I bake these instead of broil them? What oven temp? Thanks!
Hi Danielle: I can’t answer with certainty as I have not tried baking these.You want them raw in the middle but cooked on the outside so I’m assuming higher temperature would work.