Chicken Meatballs with Mini Wheel Pasta
April 12, 2009
How much do you dread it when you offer to make dinner for your friends and their kids and then you realize you need to come up with a dish that's both easy and fast to make and that everyone will enjoy. Trust me, this is the recipe to pull out when that happens. Not only is it a crowd pleaser, but all you need to add is a vegetable or salad and you have a complete meal that only takes minutes to prepare. You can even make the meatballs and sauce ahead of time and boil the pasta when you're ready to serve it, so all you have to do is toss everything together. I add the tiny mozzarella balls right at the end because when you toss them with the warm pasta and sauce, they melt and become gooey and delicious!
Chicken Meatballs with Mini Wheel Pasta (Serves 6)
- Prep Time:10 minutes, (PT10M)
- Cook Time: 15 minutes, (PT15M)
- Total Time: 25 minutes, (PT25M)
Ingredients
- 1 pound piccolini or mini-wheel pasta
- 1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 28 oz can tomato sauce
- 8 ounces bocconcini mozzarella (mini balls)
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, julienned
Preparation
- 1. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
- 2. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than package directions call for (I used mini wheels that were to be cooked for 7 minutes, so I cooked them for 6 minutes). Drain the pasta and set aside.
- 3. Mix the bread crumbs, ground chicken, egg and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl.
- 4. With wet hands use 1 teaspoon of the ground chicken mixture to roll into each tiny meatball.
- 5. Heat a large pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
- 6. Cook the meatballs for 3 minutes turning occasionally.
- 7. Add the garlic to the meatballs and cook for 1 minute.
- 8. Add the tomato sauce, 1 tsp salt and basil and continue to cook the meatballs and sauce for 8 minutes over low heat.
- 9. Add the pasta and mozzarella to the pot with the sauce and cook until the cheese and pasta are heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
- 10. Serve.
Kate Edenborg
April 23, 2013 at 8:19 am
Melissa
April 10, 2013 at 8:26 pm
catherine
April 11, 2013 at 10:19 am
kellyandcamille
April 5, 2013 at 10:34 am
nicole
October 25, 2012 at 4:26 pm
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Amber
January 7, 2011 at 11:45 am
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