Buckwheat and Chicken Meatballs is a mixture of ground chicken, healthy buckwheat, grated onion, egg, garlic, bread crumbs, and milk all rolled into a ball then fried and cooked in the oven with sauce. In Russian, we call these flat meat patties “Tefteli” which are typically made of rice but buckwheat kasha makes it a healthier grain packed with protein!
These buckwheat patties are one of my favorite Buckwheat Recipes! It’s kid-friendly and a fabulous way to add whole grain! We also love to cook buckwheat kasha like rice (Grechka) and have made pancakes and crepes from this healthy grain. Try our Russian Meatball Soup with ground chicken for more chicken meatball recipes!
These chicken meatballs have become a hit in our family, all of our children eat these with an appetite! They are savory, tender meatballs covered in a creamy mushroom sauce that’s incredibly tasty! This chicken meatballs recipe was a church food ladies had made for lunches in our circle. It makes a great make-ahead main dish as you assemble the cooked meatballs in a baking dish with sauce and heat later.
You could braise the meatballs in sauce on the stovetop instead, but I love the baked chicken meatballs idea better for the sake of making it in advance and serving later. To finish off the meatballs on the stove simply toss the cooked meatballs back into the pan after making the sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes.
What Is Buckwheat?
Buckwheat is a grain that contains no gluten (gluten-free) and is the seed of a flowering plant. It’s popular in Russia and Ukraine where most of the production takes place. To cook buckwheat for meatballs you’ll need two parts water to one part buckwheat (like making rice). Where to buy buckwheat? You can buy buckwheat kasha at Azure Standard or Amazon. Some more recipes with buckwheat kasha include pancakes that you can make from ground buckwheat flour.
Ingredients for Buckwheat Chicken Meatballs:
Similar to Russian Tefteli (porcupine meatballs), these ground chicken meatballs call for buckwheat instead of rice. You can substitute cooked rice for buckwheat in this recipe.
- Ground Meat- use ground chicken from the store or grind about 10 chicken thighs to make almost 3 pounds of ground meat using a meat grinder.
- Buckwheat- use leftover buckwheat or make it like rice. To make buckwheat for meatballs boil 1/2 cup of buckwheat, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 T butter, and 1/4 tsp salt. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
- Bread Crumbs- I used Italian-style breadcrumbs.
- Onion- should be finely grated. I use the circle side of a box grater to get a super-fine onion.
- Eggs- bind the meat mixture together.
- Seasonings- like salt and pepper are all you really need. You could swap out seasoned salt for regular salt if you want more flavor. I also like to add fresh garlic cloves to the meat mixture.
- Cream Sauce- is mainly made of heavy cream and part sour cream. I season it with salt, pepper, paprika, and a mushroom bouillon cube or powder. If using the powder form use 1 Tablespoon otherwise one cube. I know someone who sprinkles on this Umami Seasoning too. This will intensify the mushroom flavor and make a delicious gravy.
- Mushrooms- I will saute the fresh button mushrooms with butter first then sprinkle some flour over the top before adding liquid. Some recipes call for dredging the meatballs in flour before frying, if you do that you can omit the flour. One lady sprinkles brown gravy mix for this part so, be creative.
How To Make Chicken Meatballs:
These are easy chicken meatballs! The meatballs are cooked in a 10-inch frying pan first and stacked into a baking dish for finishing off the chicken meatballs in the oven. You only use one pan for both cooking and making the sauce! Use disposable 13x9 foil pans to bring to a potluck or friend!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 13×9 baking dish for stacking meatballs after frying and set aside.
- Make the meatballs mix all the ingredients together (ground chicken, cooked buckwheat, onion, egg, crushed garlic, and seasonings) in a large mixing bowl.
- Shape and roll meat patties into balls, flatten them if you wish. The more ball-shaped the meatballs the more tender and juicer. Use an ice cream scoop for uniform sizing. This recipe makes 39 meatballs using this size scoop.
- Fry meatballs in oil for about 3 minutes per side over med-high heat. Stack into the prepared baking dish.
- In the same pan where the meatballs have cooked, drain off all but 2 tablespoons of grease. Add butter and saute mushrooms until juices release. Stir in the flour and add the cream and seasonings. Simmer for 3 minutes then turn off and whisk in the sour cream.
- Pour the cream sauce over the fried meatballs and cover the pan with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until steaming hot and bubbly.
How Long To Bake Chicken Meatballs? Meatballs are done when the internal temperature reads 160°F with an instant-read thermometer.
What To Serve With Chicken Meatballs?
Chicken meatballs are good to stack over bread for sandwiches or served with an array of sides! These meatballs make a delicious main dish for dinner! Here are yummy sides to enjoy!
- If you make freezer Mashed Potatoes ahead of time all you need to focus on is the meatballs. These go best with a side of mashed potatoes!
- Serve with egg noodles or pasta!
- Eat with a side of Dill Pickles, roasted carrots, or berry jam.
- A zesty salad like these Marinated Cherry Tomatoes or Zesty Cucumber Salad.
- Even just tomato wedges or sliced cucumbers go well!
Can I Make-Ahead and Freeze?
If you made the Chicken Meatballs Sauce, then it’s best to use up the cream sauce and meatballs within a week stored in the fridge. You can assemble the meatballs directly in the sauce until reheating in the oven. For frozen chicken meatballs cool and stack cooked meatballs in a 13×9 foil pan and freeze. Then thaw and make the cream sauce.
Best Tips For Making Chicken Meatballs:
- Sear the meatballs on the stove. You do not need to cook chicken meatballs thoroughly in the skillet they will finish cooking in the oven.
- For moist meatballs shape into large 2 oz balls and fry. Small meatballs tend to dry out quicker.
- Avoid flattening too much you want moisture in the meatballs.
- Bread crumbs help the meatballs from getting dry. They make a good filler that absorbs the juices from the meat as it cooks.
- Use a food processor to finely grate the onion.
- You can use ground turkey for the ground chicken.
Buckwheat Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- 1 13x9 pan (for baking in the oven)
- 1 10-inch skillet (for frying the meatballs and cream sauce)
- 1 large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs:
- 2.75 pounds ground chicken (about 10-15 chicken thighs, ground)
- 1 cup cooked buckwheat*
- 1/2 large onion (finely grated)
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (or 9 cloves, crushed)
- 1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Mushroom Cream sauce:
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 8 oz button mushrooms (sliced)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Instructions
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix all of the chicken meatball ingredients together in a large bowl.- Scoop and roll 8 meatballs at a time.
- Fry meatballs in a preheated 10-inch frying pan with oil.
- Stack the cooked meatballs into a 13x9 pan.
- Make the cream sauce: In the same pan where the meatballs have cooked, drain off all but 2 tablespoons of grease. Add butter and saute mushrooms until juices release (5 minutes). Stir in the flour and add the cream and seasonings. Simmer for 3 minutes then turn off and whisk in the sour cream.
- Pour the cream sauce over the fried meatballs and cover the pan with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until steaming hot and bubbly.
Notes
- To Cook Buckwheat: boil 1/2 cup of buckwheat, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/2 T butter, and 1/4 tsp salt. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
