Baked Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Butternut Squash and Spinach Orzo

Baked Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo, Roasted Cubed Butternut Squash, and Spinach - on a white plate.

Baked Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Butternut Squash and Spinach Orzo

Baked Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Butternut Squash and Spinach Orzo is a comfort food dinner that will surely become one of your family's favorite dinners! This recipe will show you how to make chicken meatballs from scratch, but you can also use store-bought ones. Make this pasta dish meatless by using plant-based meatballs. This recipe is very flexible and easily adaptable.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken meatballs with orzo

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings people

Calories 593kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Chicken meatballs

1 pound ground chicken
1 egg
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Roasted butternut squash

12 oz butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh thyme

Orzo

1 cup orzo uncooked
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
5 oz fresh spinach
½ cup half-and-half
salt and pepper
fresh thyme

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bake chicken meatballs

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix all ingredients for chicken meatballs with a large fork or spoon in a large mixing bowl.
Make about 20 or 25 small meatballs (by rolling them with your hands) and place them on a baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes until cooked through.

Roast Butternut Squash

In a large bowl, toss cubed butternut squash with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme.
Spread the squash on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in one layer, without overcrowding.
Roast in the preheated oven at 400 F on the middle rack at 400 F for 20 or 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
Roast the squash at the same time as you're baking the meatballs. Proceed with the rest of the recipe in the meantime.

Cook orzo

To the large, high-sided skillet add 1 cup of uncooked orzo, minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the orzo on medium heat, stirring, for about 2 minutes until browned.
Add 2 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 or 10 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent the orzo from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the orzo is cooked through.
Add spinach, and stir it in until it wilts on low-medium heat.
Add ½ cup of half-and-half, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Assembly

Add roasted butternut squash and baked chicken meatballs to the cooked orzo. Top with fresh thyme.

Notes

What is half-and-half?

Half-and-half is half heavy cream, half milk. 1 cup of half-and-half is ½ cup of heavy cream (about 34 % fat content) + ½ cup of milk.

Nutrition