Ranch Chicken Meatballs

5 from 4 votes

This ranch chicken meatballs recipe has tender, flavorful homemade meatballs that are smothered in a rich, creamy, and luscious ranch sauce! It's comfort food done right.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: ranch chicken meatballs

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

Meatballs:

1 pound ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil for frying

Sauce:

1 cup low sodium chicken broth see note
1 tablespoon ranch seasoning I prefer Hidden Valley
1 clove garlic minced
8 ounces cream cheese (a block of Philly) softened
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Add all the meatball ingredients except for the olive oil to a fairly large prep bowl. Using your hands, mix everything together well, but don't overwork the mixture. The mixture will be quite wet. Form 1" meatballs (it'll make around 30 or so). Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for easy clean-up.
Microwave the cream cheese in 20-30 second intervals until very soft. Cut it into smaller pieces.
Add the olive oil to a skillet and let it heat up for a few minutes over medium-high heat. Fry the meatballs in two batches until they're browned all over (about 5 min/batch). I use tongs to turn them quickly and easily. They will brown quite fast, so turn them often. If needed, add another splash of olive oil to the skillet for the second batch. Transfer meatballs to a plate once they're browned.
Turn the burner off for a couple of minutes so that the pan gets a chance to cool a bit. If there's a lot of excess oil in the skillet, drain it, but leave the browned pieces (don't wipe out the pan).
Add the chicken broth, ranch seasoning, garlic, and cream cheese to the skillet and cook, over medium heat, stirring often (you may want to use a whisk), until it's melted into a smooth sauce. This will take a few minutes. If the sauce is getting too thick, add a splash more water or chicken broth.
Add the meatballs back to the skillet and cook for another 5 minutes or so until they're cooked through (165F), giving them the occasional stir. You may need to turn the heat down if it's bubbling a lot. Stir in the parsley and enjoy immediately.

Notes

This recipe is fairly salty. I like to make it with regular chicken broth and it's almost too salty for me (I love salt), so I definitely recommend using low sodium chicken broth if you're at all sensitive to salt as pre-made ranch seasoning is rather salty. There are recipes for homemade ranch seasoning available where you can control the salt content if you would prefer to make it yourself.

Nutrition