Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Meatballs in One Skillet

Some pans empty themselves before the pot is even off the stove, and this is one of them. Tender ground-chicken meatballs, golden on the outside, sit in a rosy cream sauce thick with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, and torn basil folds in at the very end. One skillet, one bowl, about 40 minutes from mixing bowl to table.

This dish takes the famously persuasive creamy sun-dried tomato sauce and wraps it around small, spoon-friendly meatballs, so every bite carries both the seared crust and the sauce. Instead of cooking a whole breast, ground chicken is shaped into tender balls that brown first, then rest on a plate while the sauce builds in the same pan, picking up every browned bit left behind.

The recipe below uses ground chicken, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and an egg for the meatballs, and a quick pan sauce of garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken broth, heavy cream and fresh basil. From start to finish it is a weeknight-length cook with company-worthy results.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

The method works because it separates two jobs that fight each other in one pan. Meatballs need high, dry heat to build a browned crust; cream sauce needs low, gentle heat to thicken without breaking. Browning the meatballs first, then removing them, gives each its own ideal condition.

The crust they leave behind is not a mess to clean but an ingredient: deglazing it with broth dissolves those caramelized bits into the liquid, and the cream carries that flavor through the whole sauce.

The meatball mixture itself is built to stay tender under cream. Breadcrumbs hydrated by the egg act as a buffer, keeping ground poultry from tightening into rubber, while Parmesan adds salt and savory depth without extra liquid.

Because the meatballs only simmer in the sauce at the end, they finish cooking in moisture rather than losing theirs, and the sauce thickens slightly from their released juices and starch. Finishing off the heat with basil protects both the herb's color and the sauce's gloss.

Notes and substitutions

Choose ground chicken with some fat in it, around 7 percent; breast-only grinds make firm, dry meatballs no matter how gently they are cooked. Plain breadcrumbs bind better than seasoned ones here, since the sauce already carries plenty of salt and garlic.

Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes give the deepest color and a tang that balances the cream; dry-packed ones work once softened in hot water. A 10- to 12-inch skillet is the right size: wide enough to brown without crowding, deep enough to hold the sauce.

If the mixture feels too sticky to roll, chill it for 10 minutes rather than adding more breadcrumbs, which would make the meatballs heavy. An instant-read thermometer is worth having for this recipe, because ground poultry must reach 165°F (74°C) and the sauce hides the color cues you would rely on with a plain sear. For substitutions, ground turkey behaves almost identically, and half-and-half can replace the cream if it is added off the heat and given a minute to thicken.

• ground chicken: Ground turkey or a 50/50 mix of ground chicken and ground pork works equally well; keep the fat around 7 percent so the meatballs stay juicy.
• plain breadcrumbs: Panko crushed fine, or 1/3 cup cooked rice for a gluten-free binder; check that the broth and Parmesan are also gluten-free.
• heavy cream: Half-and-half thickened with an extra teaspoon of breadcrumbs makes a lighter sauce; add it off the heat so it does not curdle.
• oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes: Dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes softened in hot water for 10 minutes, then drained and sliced, with a teaspoon of olive oil added to the pan.

Equipment

• large skillet, 10 to 12 inches
• mixing bowl
• spoon or cookie scoop
• instant-read thermometer
• cutting board and knife