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by Jessica March 13, 2023
We love green goddess meatballs! These chicken meatballs are made with all the components of green goddess dressing: herbs, lemon, garlic – and also drizzled in a green goddess sauce. They are super tender and juicy and delicious!
It’s a meatball Monday!
These green goddess meatballs are made with chicken and ricotta cheese, plus a bunch of fresh herbs and lemon. The flavor is incredible. I like to make my green goddess dressing on the side for dipping or drizzling. They’re perfect!
Hi my name is Jessica and I have a fascination with green goddess stuff. Do we need examples?
Green goddess goat cheese tartines, green goddess tuna melts, roasted carrot green goddess salad, green goddess salmon burgers, green goddess falafel and even green goddess margaritas!
I’d say I’m into it.
I love green goddess ANYTHING. And yes, it can mean so many things. But to me, the classic green goddess flavor has lots of fresh herbs. It’s very refreshing and tastes like spring. It also has a touch of lemon, some garlic and lots of creaminess. Just about anything tastes wonderful if it’s topped with green goddess dressing, so why not take those components and put them IN meatballs?!
Meatballs are one of my favorite things to make. I love how many varieties and flavors you can play with and I also love how well they last in the fridge or freezer. Meal prep winning! The leftovers are always incredible and work in so many different ways.
The best part of the meatballs? The ricotta cheese! They add so much tenderness to the meatballs and make them super juicy. A few months ago I shared our traditional meatballs with ricotta cheese and they are out of this world. I can’t make a meatball these days without a big heaping scoop of ricotta cheese. It’s a major game changer.
Of course – the herbs are next.
I like to use basil, parsley and chives. You can really use any herbs you have and love!
Lots of fresh lemon zest.
A touch of breadcrumbs.
An egg and that is it!
I brown the meatballs in a skillet but you can also bake them. If I bake them, I do it at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes – checking the internal temperature as I go. It all depends on the size of your meatballs!
Now our favorite way to eat these meatballs is with roasted vegetables or grains. Sort of like my ranch chicken meatballs. I like to serve these with rice, couscous, quinoa or even on a salad. We love meatballs on salad! If you do too, you have to check out The Pretty Dish and our favorite meatball salad.
Even though I’m showing the meatballs drizzled with green goddess dressing, you don’t absolutely NEED the dressing. I mean, sure, it’s delicious. But these meatballs are also great on their own. So if you’re pressed for time and don’t feel like you can make both, do the meatballs!
I usually put avocado in my green goddess dressing but for these, I leave it out. The dressing lasts a little longer and it’s tangy and fresh and punchy… and the best drizzle!
Plus, green is perfect for this week.
Green Goddess Chicken Ricotta Meatballs
Green Goddess Chicken Ricotta Meatballs
Yield: 4 people
Prep Time: 30 minutes mins
Cook Time: 30 minutes mins
Total Time: 1 hour hr
We love green goddess meatballs! These chicken meatballs are made with all the components of green goddess dressing: herbs, lemon, garlic - and also drizzled in a green goddess sauce. They are super tender and juicy and delicious!
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5 from 13 votes
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ⅔ cup seasoned bread crumbs
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup mixed fresh herbs: parsley, basil and chives
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
green goddess dressing
- ⅓ cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup baby arugula or spinach greens
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon snipped chives
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- big pinch kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
Mix together the ground chicken, bread crumbs, ricotta cheese, garlic, lemon zest, egg, fresh herbs and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until just combined, then roll the mixture into 1 or 2-inch meatballs. I wet my hands and it helps roll smooth meatballs. I place all the meatballs on a plate.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides - let them get golden and dark all around. You want to cook them until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. You can also pop them in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes or so to finish them off.
Serve the meatballs drizzled with the green goddess dressing, with rice, couscous, quinoa or even salad.
green goddess dressing
Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until combined.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Author: How Sweet Eats
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I appreciate you so much!
Literally the greenest.
posted in: Poultry, Recipes, Weeknight Meals 6 comments
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Annie — Reply
I stumbled upon this recipe randomly last weekend and immediately added it to this week’s meal plan. It was a happy accident when I made them today on St. Patrick’s Day of all days! They are DELICIOUS. This is for sure the best green goddess dressing I’ve ever had. The herbaceousness and acidity levels were spot on. My husband, who is NOT normally a fan of really anything in this recipe told me he loved them and asked me to make them again. So…big hit! Thanks for a great recipe.
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Rhonda — Reply
Meatballs turned out great! However I felt like the dressing didn’t get creamy enough like it was missing something. Also used my mini food processor and it didn’t seem to chop it up enough, then tried the emulsion blender stick…. Not enough volume for it to work… so ended up with the vitamix….. still seemed to not be enough ingredients to fill it enough to really blend it.
Would love to get some help…. Maybe double or tripling it would give it enough volume to process. -
Cristina — Reply
This one was a win for my family; I take all the wins I can get, so thanks for that.
I did my meatballs in the air fryer and they came out beautifully golden on the outside and moist in the center. Paired them with Parmesan zucchini rounds and it was Chef’s kiss. -
Mary — Reply
So delicious! I am on WW so made some adjustments. I made with chicken breast, low fat ricotta, Fat free Greek yogurt, and low fat mayo. I also omitted the olive oil. I cooked the meatballs in the oven because I was cooking for a large group and tripled the recipe. I served over hearts of palm noodles. Everyone in my large family loved!
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nancy g visconti — Reply
Hi, this sounds delicious. I haven’t made meatballs with chicken, only turkey. Can I substitute turkey successfully? Nancy Visconti
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Rhiannon H — Reply
Most excellent. We loved this recipe. The dressing is fabulous.
