Chicken Meatballs With Yogurt Sauce

By Sue Li

Updated October 8, 2025

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
35 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Rating
5(758)
Comments
Read comments

This recipe transforms ground chicken into flavorful meatballs using warm spices, like paprika, cumin and coriander, and fresh herbs, like parsley, mint and cilantro, for binding instead of bread crumbs. Like Turkish kofte, these tender meatballs pair perfectly with a simple, lemony yogurt sauce. Serve them with salad, rice pilaf or on toasted bread for a balanced and satisfying meal.

Featured in: 3 Smart Recipes That Will Change the Way You Make Meatballs

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings (about 20 meatballs)

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 pound ground chicken

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped

  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated

  • ¼ cup finely chopped parsley leaves and tender stems

  • ¼ cup finely chopped mint leaves 

  • ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

  • ½ teaspoon sweet paprika

  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin

  • ¼ teaspoon ground coriander

  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

7 grams carbs; 154 milligrams cholesterol; 290 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 18 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 536 milligrams sodium; 27 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, drizzle with the olive oil and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, combine chicken, egg, shallot, garlic, parsley, mint, cilantro, paprika, cumin, coriander, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, vigorously stir the mixture until well combined. With a standard soup spoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and scrape it against the palm of your other hand to shape it into a meatball. Drop the meatball onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat to form the remaining meatballs. (You should wind up with about 20 meatballs.)

  3. Step 3

    Bake until the meatballs are cooked through, 14 to 15 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    In a small serving bowl, whisk together the yogurt and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.

  5. Step 5

    Serve the meatballs hot, with the yogurt sauce and lemon wedges.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
758 user ratings
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Comments

~Chrissie O.

This chicken meatball recipe is nearly identical to mine; my girlfriend Anshu taught me HER mother's recipe, and the biggest differences are these: 1st, Anshu uses 1 fresh spice in addition to parsley, depending on how she was serving them. Indian= Cilantro; Mediterranean =mint; Italian=Oregano. 2nd, She grates a small zucchini into the meat mixture. You can NOT taste it, but it preserves moisture for perfect meatballs!!! Wonderful flavor with the cumin/coriander! You will LOVE these!!

~Chrissie O.

I love hearing I'm not the only one to grind my own chicken!!! Freaking love the KitchenAid!!! Chicken breasts are currently the lowest cost meat (Aldi:$2.19/lb for fresh!), I buy 10-20 lbs at a time, grind up about half of it, portion out into #1 portions, make chorizo, breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, and freeze it all. The other half, I throw in a slow cooker with chicken broth and crushed red pepper, to shred (#10 in a KitchenAid w/ the paddle? 10 seconds=Done!), and freeze. :)

FY

For the yogurt sauce with garlic, do as we do in Türkiye. Lightly crush a couple of cloves, bury them in the yogurt, leave on the counter while prepping the meatballs. Before serving, don’t forget to fish out the cloves. The yogurt will be subtly perfumed with none of the aggressive garlic flavor. I also sprinkle a pinch of sumac and Aleppo pepper and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top.

Natalie

My family absolutely loves this dish. When in a pinch, I use whatever herbs I have on hand when making the meatballs and they always turn out great. For the yogurt sauce, I typically add 1 small grated garlic clove and a dash of salt (and maybe a spice or two) to add more complexity to the flavor. I serve with couscous or rice (made with lemon zest from the lemon used in the meatballs along with herbs and seeds/nuts and dried fruit—again whatever I have on hand). Also great to serve with hummus and pita bread.

Illinois

I used ground dark meat chicken and the meatballs didn’t dry out like they often do with breast meat.

Curious Chef

The meatballs were not very flavorful so I decided to add panko breadcrumbs to my second batch and thought the taste of the herbs was more apparent. Overall, I think the recipe was fine but nothing of note.

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