These spinach feta chicken meatballs are incredibly tender and simmered in the most incredible lemon dill sauce! Perfect over zucchini noodles, pasta, or rice.
We are absolutely winning the dinner game today and jamming all of life’s best things into one glorious little pan of meatballs.
There’s chicken, there’s feta cheese, lots of spinach goodness, and the most killer lemon dill sauce tying everything together in the perfect meatball package.
It’s like pure spring in a pan, but who are we kidding, you’re gonna want to eat this year round.
I’d personally recommend just diving face first into that pan. It’s the only way to go.
These Spinach Feta Chicken Meatballs feature…
- Perfectly moist and tender chicken meatballs with spinach and feta cheese
- A bright and flavorful lemon dill sauce
- Perfection alongside zucchini noodles or your favorite pasta
Making the Spinach Feta Chicken Meatballs
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Baby spinach
- Olive oil
- Ground chicken
- Garlic
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Egg
- Feta cheese
- Unsalted butter
- White wine
- Chicken broth
- Lemon
- Dill
Can I Use a Different Meat?
Yes, you sure can! This recipe will also work great with ground turkey, beef, or pork. Be aware, you may need to adjust cook time slightly depending on the meat you use and always use a kitchen thermometer to ensure meatballs are cooked through.
Tips for Perfect Meatballs
- Wilt spinach before adding to meatballs – cook the spinach until wilted, allow to cool, then finely chop and mix into the meatball mixture.
- Shape meatballs in uniform size – make sure all the meatballs are the same size so they cook at the same rate.
- Pan sear meatballs – this gets a jump start on cooking the meatballs and browns them nicely on the outside.
- Handle meatballs with care – due to the spinach inside, these meatballs are a bit more delicate so use a light hand when flipping and moving meatballs during searing to ensure they hold together.
- Finish cooking meatballs in sauce – allow the meatballs to simmer in sauce until they reach 165F.
- Add dill and lemon at end of cooking – this helps the flavors stay super fresh!
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this recipe!
- Try a different ground meat – see above for options!
- Serve with sauteed veggies – mushrooms, sweet peppers, or zucchini are great veggie components alongside these meatballs.
- Try a different citrus – lime would be great in place of the lemon.
- Serve it with different sides – we love zucchini noodles or pasta with these meatballs, but they’re also great over rice or tucked into a wrap.
Make Ahead Instructions
Follow these instructions for easy make-ahead instructions!
- Form meatballs – the uncooked meatballs may be stored in refrigerator up to 3 days before cooking.
- Make the sauce – follow the recipe instructions through Step 1, then store the sauce in refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat sauce over medium heat and proceed with recipe.
The lemon, feta, and dill trio of flavors is simply to DIE for in these meatballs! You won’t find a more flavorful pan of goodness than this beauty, guarantee it.
Do yourself a favor and welcome spring the right way with this meatball perfection. You’ll thank me later.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More incredible meatball dishes to try next!
Spinach Feta Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Dill Sauce
Ingredients
Spinach Feta Chicken Meatballs
- 1 cup firmly-packed baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Lemon Dill Sauce
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sautéed zucchini noodles or cooked angel hair pasta for serving
Instructions
Spinach Feta Chicken Meatballs
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add spinach and saute several minutes until spinach is wilted. Transfer spinach to a cutting board, allow to cool, then finely chop.
- In a large bowl, combine cooled chopped spinach, ground chicken, garlic, salt, pepper, panko, feta, and egg. Gently knead until combined and form into 1-in meatballs.
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat remaining olive oil and butter and swirl pan to evenly coat. Add meatballs to pan and sear on all sides, turning occasionally with a tongs until meatballs are golden brown (flip them gently, they are a little delicate) Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
Lemon Dill Sauce
- Heat same pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute in pan drippings 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add white wine, scraping up any browned bits on bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and allow to cook 3-5 minutes until sauce is slightly reduced.
- Whisk butter into sauce until butter is melted and sauce is creamy. Add meatballs to sauce, cover pan, and allow to simmer over medium-low heat 5-8 minutes until meatballs register 165F.
- Gently fold dill, lemon juice, and zest into sauce until combined. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve meatballs over zucchini noodles or pasta and enjoy!
Dorothy Drobney says
I made these over the weekend, but with ground turkey vs chicken. They are absolutely amazing – and with just the two of us, we had them for 2+ meals. Hubby loved them, too, so thanks for sharing it!
Sarah says
Dorothy, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for reporting back. 🙂