comment icon 163 more comments This recipe just really gets me excited.
Watch How To Make These Chicken Meatballs
Not to be dramatic but in my experience there’s something magical about the combination of panko and Parmesan loaded quick chicken meatballs (remember these Baked Chicken Meatballs?), tangy tomato sauce with garlic and sautéed peppers, and a silky-creamy-delicious pile of hot orzo on the side. This is the kind of recipe that just calls you straight home to the dinner table, you know? And there’s even more where this meatball/orzo combo came from. Basically this recipe has two prep steps. Now cook them and combine them. Add a can of tomato sauce and capers because YUM. So salty and briney. And pile onto hot, creamy, cheesy orzo. I made mine creamy with mascarpone cheese but honestly, you don’t need to be that extra about it. Just get something that’s going to creamify the orzo a bit and toss it together while the orzo is hot. Mostly I’d like to go on record and say that this just tastes like heaven in a bowl. The ideal bite involves a cut piece of golden brown chicken meatball, plus a good coating of tomato sauce, a few pieces of pepper and maybe even some bitey capers, plus a little scoop of creamy, cheesy orzo all up in there to balance it all out. Yes to that, times 100 more bites.
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our favorite bell pepper recipes page. Check it out! 4.9 from 75 reviews
1 pound ground turkey or chicken 1 egg 1/2 cup panko 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, and kosher salt
Sauce:
2 large cloves garlic, minced 1–2 cups sliced peppers (see notes) 1/4 cup capers (optional) one 14-ounce can plain tomato sauce 1 teaspoon kosher salt (more or less to taste)
Creamy Orzo:
8 ounces uncooked orzo 1/4 cup of something creamy – I used mascarpone, but you could also use cream cheese, goat cheese, cream, or butter kosher salt, Parmesan, and parsley for finishing
