Chicken Chipotle Meatballs combine delicious Mexican flavors like smokey chipotle and cumin with healthy ground chicken for a very delicious dinner.
Everyone loves a meatball. People like chicken. Quite a few folks like Mexican food. Let’s combine everything and blow their minds!
Chicken chipotle meatballs are super easy to make. If you’ve ever rolled chicken meatballs though, you know they don’t roll as easily as a beef or sausage meatball. The ground chicken is sticky. Keep a bowl of water close and keep your hands wet when rolling. This will help the chicken not stick and get a nice smooth roll.
Roll chicken chipotle meatballs with water on your hands to prevent sticking!
Of course you could cook the chicken chipotle meatballs in a skillet with a little oil; but I like to cook them in the oven. Less mess and I’m free to prepare the rest of dinner while they roast.
Roasting meatballs in the oven is one of my favorite prep tricks. I roast these Chicken Meatballs with Cumin and Orange in the oven as well as the meatballs for this delicious Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs dinner. 
I love the Mexican flavors in these chicken chipotle meatballs. It makes for diverse dinner options. Try some of these:
• Serve with Spanish rice, enchilada sauce and Cotija cheese
• Wrap in a burrito with beans, rice and salsa
• Sauté onions and peppers, then serve with tortillas like fajitas
• Serve with rice, salsa verde and tortilla chips with Pepper Jack Cheese
• Place on top of a taco salad with chips, guac and everything nice
• As an appetizer on a tortilla chip topped with guacamole
This recipe has a preparation bonus! The little meatballs freeze like a dream, to be cooked and devoured at a later date. Freeze them in a single layer then wrap well to store, or pile in a zip-top freezer bag if you don’t have room for a tray in the freezer!
- 2 lb ground chicken
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 eggs beaten
- ½ cup plain bread crumbs
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo finely chopped
- 2 tsp adobo sauce
- 1½ tsp chili powder
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- ½ cup cilantro finely chopped
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Use a cookie scoop to portion out mixture and roll into balls. Freeze or cook.
- To sauté, heat 2 tsp canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add meatballs taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Turn frequently to brown on all sides and cook through, about 8 to 10 min.
- To bake, heat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil and add meatballs, cook small meatballs about 25 minutes.
- *Roll with wet hands to keep the mixture from sticking. Rewet hands with water as needed.
These meatballs freeze nicely and will be ready for cooking when you are!
Recipe Tara Bench. Originally published in Ladies’ Home Journal Mar/11. Photography Antonis Achilleos. Food styling Jaime Kimm. Prop styling Paige Hicks.
Mary Bench says
May 5, 2019 at 12:41 amThis is one of my favorites!