French Onion Chicken Meatballs

Time :1 5

Yield :16 servings

Recipe Background

French Onion Chicken Meatballs are addictively bite-sized, so a double-batch may be the move! Moist ground chicken is rolled up into a garlic-infused, cheesy, savory ball. They are smothered in a finger-licking-ly rich, buttery, and beefy sauce and topped off with even more melty cheese. Whether you serve them as your main dish or let them be the star of your appetizers, French Onion Chicken Meatballs will be gone in a flash!

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup Gruyère cheese or Swiss cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons parsley chopped
1 large egg beaten
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
ground black pepper to taste

For the sauce:

4 tablespoons butter
2 large onions thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 teaspoons thyme chopped, plus more, to taste, for garnish
kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups Gruyère cheese or Swiss cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a large baking sheet with foil and rub it with the extra-virgin olive oil.
In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1/2 cup of the Gruyère cheese, the breadcrumbs, the parsley, the egg, and 2 of the minced garlic cloves.
Season the chicken mixture with 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper.
Using your hands, form the chicken mixture into 16 meatballs.
Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden and cooked through at 165 degrees F, about 25 minutes.
While the meatballs are baking, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.
Add the onions to the butter and cook, stirring the onions often, until they are very soft and golden, about 25 minutes.
Add the remaining garlic to the onion mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the beef broth and 2 teaspoons of the thyme to the onion mixture.
Season the onion mixture with the remaining salt and the pepper.
Bring the broth mixture to a boil, then reduce to medium heat.
Let the broth mixture simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
Add the baked meatballs to the broth mixture and sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese.
Cover the skillet with a lid and cook until the meatballs are warmed through, and the cheese is melted, for about 5 minutes.
Serve warm.