Freeform Chicken Meatballs With Carrots and Yogurt Sauce (2024)

1½ lb. small carrots, scrubbed, tops trimmed to about ½", halved lengthwise

½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

5 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling

2¼ tsp. kosher salt, divided

1 lb. ground chicken or ground turkey

6 scallions, white and pale-green parts finely chopped

1 large egg, beaten to blend

2 Tbsp. plain breadcrumbs

3 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt, preferably full-fat

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, plus more for serving

2 cups baby arugula or watercress

Flaky sea salt

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• Delicious! Added some cumin to the meatballs to help round out the flavor. Recipe overall looked a little bland for my taste, so I made a chimichurri-style sauce with cilantro, mint, harissa & good olive oil. The harissa turned the oil bright orange, just like the carrots & was a great contrast to the yogurt sauce bed.

  • Liz S

  • Los Angeles, CA

  • 5/3/2023

• I was unsure if I was going to like this but it turned out really good.

  • Lisa E

  • Seattle ish

  • 1/4/2023

• Garnished with fresh cilantro and the green portion of the scallions instead of arugula. Spectacular!

  • Quappi

  • Miami FL

  • 4/21/2022

• I loved this! I tossed the carrots with some chopped cabbage and OMG….it was delicious. I used dark and white meat chicken, and made burger patties out of them cooked them in a touch of olive oil on the stovetop. When they were done I cut them into bite sized pieces and tossed with the carrots and cabbage. I added arugula on top. For the yogurt sauce I added chopped cucumber and dill weed. What a great meal!

  • Adam

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    Butter Chicken Recipe

  • Chagrin Falls Ohio

  • 3/14/2022

• Loved it! Added feta and some fresh garlic to the yogurt and used 2% vs full fat yogurtAlso added some roasted chick peas to the plate.

  • Lj Reitman

  • Atlanta

  • 2/25/2022

• Easy and flavorful. I substituted spicy chili crisps for the olive oil and red pepper on the carrots, turned out great! Highly recommend this dish. I ran into several issues on my end like, I ran out of chicken, and didn’t have a arugula. I substituted ground beef and fresh spinach for those and it still turned out tasty. It’s adaptable and recovers nicely from my poor planning.

  • Alicea

  • New England

  • 2/24/2022

• Delicious and easy.

  • Kate

  • Vermont

  • 2/24/2022

• Never got a chance to try this bookmarked recipe before it went behind a paywall, thanks anyway I guess

  • Anonymous

  • NYC

  • 2/1/2022

• We tried this last night, thanks to all the positive review. This is a keeper! I love how we can have "meatballs" without doing the laborious task of rolling them. These turned out delicious and we will keep this one in our rotation.

  • Kathleen

  • Colorado

  • 1/19/2022

• This recipe suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. As a framework for a meal, it is quite good. The texture of the meatballs and carrots is excellent. I would change nothing about the cooking instructions or meal assembly.However, the meal itself appears to be halfway between a Indian/Pakistani and a Levantine dish.In South Asian cuisine, garam masala is a spice that complements others. It is not the main event. The lack of cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chili pepper, and/or fenugreek is unusual. Further, the complete absence of onion, garlic, and ginger is inexplicable. On the other hand, the yogurt sauce easily could be converted into a raita, to take it in a more South Asian direction, or into tzatziki sauce, for more Middle Eastern flavor. As instructed, it's neither here nor there.I prepared it as written, but my family complained that it was bland. I do intend to make something like this again, modifying the recipe likely to omit the garam masala and take it in a more Middle Eastern direction.

  • Jonathan Evans

  • Dallas, TX

  • 1/19/2022

• This recipe is a winner exactly as written. It's a standard in our meal rotation. Don't overcook the meatballs!

  • CarolAnnVictoria

  • 01760

  • 1/5/2022

• Delicious!! So easy and super fast to clean up.I subbed ground beef for the chicken because that is what I had. I left the oil out of the meatballs as the beef was fattier than chicken. I also added tahini to the yogurt sauce as I wanted another layer of flavor.

  • Kathryn Whitehead

  • Illinois

  • 12/24/2021

• Surprisingly delicious! I tried formed and unformed meatballs and actually preferred the unformed. Try this one!

  • Anonymous

  • Westfield

  • 9/26/2021

• Delicious! Threw in a sweet potato with the carrots and it was so good! Easy to make and clean up. Will definitely make again.

  • suecq

  • California

  • 6/16/2021

• Easy + delicious! I've made this several times--exactly as written.

  • susandenner

  • Highland Beach, FL

  • 5/30/2021

TagsMeatballGround ChickenChickenPoultryGround TurkeyTurkeyCarrotRoot VegetableVegetableYogurtDairyScallionOnionMainDinnerNut FreeKetoWeeknight MealsQuickEasySheet-Pan DinnersOven BakeBon Appétit