Why I Love this Chicken Thigh Meatball Recipe
These chicken thigh meatballs are one of my quick and simple go-to family meals when I don’t have a lot of time to spend on dinner. They are filling, tasty, and satisfying.
I also find when I eat these chicken thigh meatballs, I don’t go overboard, which sometimes is easy to do with traditional meatballs. I come from an Italian heritage and meatballs are a staple in our house, but these chicken thigh meatballs give me a new way to serve a classic dish.
This recipe is one of the meals that’s part of my Mindful Elimination Program. This program is my 40-day elimination diet and yoga fitness program. This is a great way to discover food intolerances and inflammatory eating that has upset your gut, hormones, caused excess weight, and low energy.
To get a better idea of what the mindful elimination program is all about you can get my 5 MOST POPULAR mindful eating recipes for FREE! This plan includes what you need eat for each meal and links to recipes that help keep your hormones in balance.
Why Chicken Thighs are Good for You
I used to think that chicken thighs or dark chicken meat were “bad” for me. I think somewhere along the road chicken breasts got all the glory and chicken thighs were labeled as something unhealthy.
I am here to tell you this is just completely untrue.
Chicken thigh meat whether used ground or whole as your source of protein is so delicious! It stays very juicy and tender, as opposed to breasts that tend to dry out and become tough. Plus, they are a cheap protein coming in on the low-end of price per pound compared to other
proteins.
I won’t share the chicken-thigh calories or fat grams here, because I don’t count those! I let that go a long time ago. If you buy quality chicken thighs that are hormone-free and from responsible farms, then eating a palm-sized piece of chicken thigh is a healthy meal.
Tips I Have Learned From Cooking Chicken Thigh Meatballs Often
These chicken thigh meatballs are delicious and EASY. But the ground chicken thigh meat is a bit different to work with than your typical ground meat.
The chicken thigh meat is much gooier. So my suggestion is to use a cookie spoon, if you have one, or any spoon will do. Plus, the chicken thighs will stick to your fingers, and you will waste a good portion of your chicken thigh meat if you don’t use a spoon.
Chicken Thigh Meatballs Ingredients:
2 lb of ground chicken thigh
2 large egg, beaten
1/2 onion finely chopped
3 large cloves of garlic minced
4 Italian seasoning
2 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons of avocado oil
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Mix chicken, egg, onion, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the fat is hot, use a cookie spoon to make meatballs the size of golf balls, and carefully drop the meatballs into the oil.
- It is going to be a gooey consistency! If your meatballs aren’t perfect- that is okay!
- Pan cook for about 30 seconds per side and turning to prevent from burning. Turn consistently browning each side. This should take about five minutes.
- Transfer the meatballs to the baking sheet.
- Finishing cooking in the oven for about 8-10 minutes or until they reach 160 degrees.
- Let them rest 3-5 minutes before serving.
- Serving: I eat mine with sugar-free compliant ketchup and others love compliant mayo. I love aioli mayo with garlic that is perfect for dipping, make sure you get one that is soy and dairy-free!
Before you go, you can learn more about the way I lost 30 lbs and eat without counting anything through my Mindful Elimination Program. Or, click here to get my 5 MOST POPULAR mindful eating recipes for FREE!
