Delicious, juicy, golden chicken meatballs with basil and pistachio pesto spaghetti. A simple collection of pantry staples and basic ingredients, this dinner is the perfect recipe to cook when you’re spending extra time at home.
A couple of days ago I promised to share more ‘make it your own’ recipes and today I’m so excited to share our Chicken Meatballs with Pesto Spaghetti recipe made with just a few pantry staples and simple ingredients that can be easily substituted if needed.
These Chicken Meatballs are easy-to-make, practical, delicious, require just 5 ingredients and are a HUGE HIT with kids (big and small). The meatballs come together in one bowl and fry to golden perfection in 10 minutes, giving you enough time to whizz together an easy peasy home-made pesto and boil a little spaghetti.
Basil and Pistachio Pesto
Making pesto at home is easy! And delicious! It’s fragrant, full of flavour, zesty and super fresh. And this basil and pistachio version is very adaptable. Here’s what to do…
- Place the basil, baby spinach, garlic, pistachios, parmesan, lemon juice and zest into the bowl of a food processor and give it a good blitz for 1-2 minutes or until the ingredients are finely chopped.
- With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and continue blitzing until thoroughly combined and wonderfully emulsified. The pesto should be bright green, creamy and luscious.
- Pop the pesto into a jar or bowl. TIP: cover the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil. This little trick stops the pesto from oxidising (going brown).
- Toss through spaghetti and enjoy!
A few notes on substituting pesto ingredients…
- Baby spinach can be replaced with extra basil leaves, rocket, mint or kale leaves.
- Don’t have pistachios? Use almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews or macadamias instead.
- Can’t find lemons? Lime will work too!
How to make Chicken Meatballs
Chicken meatballs are simple-to-make, infinitely adaptable and the perfect recipe to know ‘down pat’ because they can be served so many ways! Chicken meatballs are delicious tossed through pasta, nestled on a sub sandwich, popped into a salad or even eaten ‘as is’ straight from the fridge, YUM! Here’s how to make Chicken Meatballs…
- Place the chicken mince, breadcrumbs, garlic, eggs, parmesan cheese into a big bowl and season generously with lots of salt and pepper.
- Using your hands, mix the ingredients into the ground chicken. The trick to tender and moist meatballs is NOT TO OVER MIX! Sorry to use all caps but I take meatballs very seriously and this little trick makes all the difference! So my lovely, to ensure your meatballs aren’t tough and dry, have a light hand and pretty please don’t mix for more than a minute or two.
- Measure out the meatballs using a small ice-cream scoop. This little gadget is so handy because it not only saves time but helps keep the size and shape of your meatballs uniform. Once the meatballs are measured out, lightly grease (or wet) your hands and get rolling!
- Fry the meatballs to lock in those juices! Pan Searing = Trapped Juices = Moist and Tender Meatballs = Delicious. Oh and to ensure perfectly browned and crisp meatballs shake the skillet around every minute so the meatballs can dance and shake their way around the hot pan exposing every side to the searing heat. TIP: Don’t overcrowd the pan. Instead, space the meatballs out generously as this stops the meatballs poaching or simmering in its own juices.
- Eat! Toss the gorgeously golden meatballs through a big ol’ bowl of pesto spaghetti and dig in.
Chicken Meatballs Ingredients/Substitutions
Chicken Mince: Yes, the recipe is titled Chicken Meatballs however, if you can’t get a hold of chicken mince – pork, beef or lamb mince will work just as beautifully. Yes the flavour will be different but times like this call to make do with what we have and this recipe is perfect for that.
Garlic: Both fresh and minced garlic work beautifully in this recipe. Don’t have either? Check your spice cupboard for garlic powder and use 1 teaspoon instead.
Soaked Breadcrumbs: Whizz up fresh breadcrumbs at home using day old bread (wholemeal, white, sourdough – whatever you’ve got), then soak in a little milk. Soaked breadcrumbs are another clever trick to ensure light, moist and totally tender meatballs.
Parmesan Cheese: Grated parmesan cheese is a must for these meatballs, it adds so much flavour, seasons the meatballs and is just plain delicious. Tip: grate the parmesan straight into the bowl! Freshly-grated parmesan straight from the block always tastes a million times better than pre-grated parmesan.
Eggs: Eggs bind the meat, breadcrumbs and parmesan together and are essential to the recipe.
Spaghetti: Spaghetti is the perfect pasta shape to serve with meatballs BUT any short or long shapes will do the job too. Check your cupboard, use your imagination and use up whatever pasta you have on hand.
Salt and Pepper: Pretty please don’t be stingy when seasoning the meatball mixture. Be generous with the salt and pepper to ensure the most delicious meatballs ever.
Add in’s: This recipe is classic and simple but that doesn’t mean you can’t add extra flavour via fresh or dried herbs you have on hand. This recipe is delicious with an added handful of chopped fresh parsley or basil or even a tablespoon or two of dried oregano, thyme or parsley. You decide.
Your family will love these perfectly browned and crisp chicken meatballs served with lots of pesto soaked spaghetti and TONNES of parmesan cheese. This dinner is comforting, cosy and sure to keep your house bound loved ones happy and fed.
MORE FAMILY-FRIENDLY DINNER RECIPES:
Spicy Soy & Sesame Chicken Noodles
Peanut Sesame Soy Noodles with Crispy Tofu
Sweet Cherry Tomato Spaghetti with Crispy Breadcrumbs
Wholemeal Spaghetti with Roast Capsicum Pesto & Crispy Chorizo
Pesto Prawn Spaghetti with Oven Roast Cherry Tomatoes
I know you’re going to love these Chicken Meatballs with Pesto Spaghetti, please let me know if you make them by leaving a comment and rating the recipe. I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! Kayla xo
★ DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW!
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Chicken Meatballs with Pesto Spaghetti
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs:
- 1 kg chicken mince
- 1 cup (40 grams) fresh breadcrumbs, soaked in a 1/4 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (125 grams) parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- sea salt and pepper, to season
Basil Pistachio Pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) pistachios
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) parmesan, grated
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 500 grams spaghetti, cooked according to packet instructions reserving 1 cup of cooking water
Instructions
To make the Chicken Meatballs:
- Place the mince, breadcrumbs, eggs, parmesan, garlic, salt and pepper into a large bowl and mix thoroughly to combine.
- Take 2 heaped tablespoons of mince and roll into rounds.
- Heat a little olive oil in a fry pan over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the meatballs are golden and cooked through. Set aside.
To make the Basil Pistachio Pesto:
- Place the basil, baby spinach, garlic, pistachios, parmesan, lemon juice and zest into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz for 1-2 minutes or until finely chopped.
- With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and continue blitzing until thoroughly combined (scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary).
To Serve:
- Pour the pesto over the cooked spaghetti with a splash of the reserved pasta water and toss to combine.
- Top spaghetti with cooked meatballs, fresh basil leaves and a grating of parmesan cheese. Enjoy x
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American
This looks delicious! Given these current times, can we substitute a the homemade pesto for a jar? If so, would you know how much this recipe’s pesto makes so I could do that. Thanks so much.
Hi Shona! Absolutely lovely! Store-bought pesto will work just as beautifully! You’ll need about 3/4 cup of pesto. Hope you’re well! Happy cooking. Kayla xo
We’re about to make these for dinner tonight – was just wondering if they can be frozen?
We love this recipe! It has been on repeat in the last few months. Next time we are going to try replacing the Nuts with chickpeas as my son is desperate to take it to kinder.
This is a go-to in our house, full of flavour, great warm, or cold the next day. I like to make it using penne pasta