Excessive Protein Hen Meatball Lemon Orzo Skillet

Why You’ll Love This Excessive Protein Hen Meatball Orzo

There’s a lot to like about this dinner, particularly if you happen to’re making an attempt so as to add extra protein to your meals with out fully altering the way in which you eat. The rooster meatballs are tender and stuffed with taste, whereas the orzo cooks proper in the identical skillet in rooster bone broth, absorbing all that savory goodness. Recent lemon juice and spinach added on the finish hold every thing vivid and contemporary. It’s filling and comforting with out feeling heavy, and the entire dinner comes collectively in a single skillet.

• Over 50 grams of protein per serving. Lean floor rooster, Parmesan, protein orzo, and rooster bone broth all work collectively to significantly bump up the protein.
• Made in a single skillet. The meatballs, orzo, and spinach all cook dinner in the identical pan, which implies fewer dishes.
• An entire meal. You’ve acquired protein, pasta, and veggies multi function skillet, so you actually don’t want something on the facet.
• Huge taste. Garlic, Parmesan, lemon, oregano, and crushed pink pepper ensure this doesn’t style like boring “well being meals.”
• Nice for meal prep. The leftovers are incredible for lunch the subsequent day. Make it in the beginning of the week and portion is out for straightforward to seize lunches!
• Household-friendly. You’ll be able to simply alter the crushed pink pepper if you happen to’re serving children or anybody who doesn’t like a lot warmth.

Components You’ll Want

There are two elements to this recipe: the tender rooster meatballs and the lemon orzo. A variety of the components are pantry staples, and every thing comes collectively in a single skillet. Be certain to scroll to the recipe card on the backside for the complete ingredient listing and directions!

For the Hen Meatballs

• Floor rooster: I exploit lean floor rooster to maintain the meatballs mild whereas nonetheless packing in loads of protein.
• Panko breadcrumbs and milk: Soaking the panko in milk earlier than including the rooster retains lean rooster meatballs moist and tender.
• Egg: Helps bind the meatballs collectively.
• Parmesan cheese: Provides salty, tacky taste and even a bit of further protein.
• Worcestershire sauce: Certainly one of my favourite methods so as to add further savory taste to floor rooster.
• Olive oil: Including a bit of on to the meatball combination helps hold them moist.
• Seasonings: Dried parsley, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper give the rooster tons of taste.

For the Lemon Orzo

• Onion and garlic: These create the flavour base for the orzo.
• Crushed pink pepper: Provides simply sufficient warmth to stability the lemon and Parmesan. Be at liberty to make use of much less if you happen to choose.
• Hen bone broth: As a substitute of cooking the orzo in water, bone broth provides each taste and extra protein.
• Protein orzo: This is among the best methods to spice up the protein in the whole dish with out altering the flavour or texture very a lot. Protein pasta is usually plant primarily based and the components can differ model to model. You’ll be able to completely make this with out utilizing “protein pasta”. After all the protein grams will change, however it can nonetheless be scrumptious!
• Child spinach: 5 ounces would possibly appear to be so much whenever you add it, however it wilts proper into the recent orzo.
• Recent lemon: Don’t skip the contemporary lemon juice! It brightens up the whole skillet and balances all these savory flavors.

Methods to Make Hen Meatball Lemon Orzo

You’ll want a big, deep dish skillet with a lid for this recipe. Every thing cooks in the identical pan, so ensure it’s giant sufficient to comfortably match the meatballs and orzo. A 7 qt, vast Dutch Oven works nice for this. I can’t discover my actual one, however this is basically the same and love the color!

1. Make the Hen Meatball Combination

Mix the panko breadcrumbs and milk in a big bowl. Let the combination sit for 10 minutes so the breadcrumbs have time to soak up the milk. This easy step makes an enormous distinction with lean floor rooster and helps create actually tender meatballs.

Add the egg, Parmesan, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon olive oil, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder. Stir till every thing is mixed.

Add the bottom rooster and blend with a spoon simply till every thing comes collectively.

Don’t over-mix the rooster. The extra you’re employed the meat combination, the firmer the meatballs can turn out to be.

2. Brown the Hen Meatballs

Warmth olive oil in your skillet over medium warmth. Working in two batches, use a small 1 1/2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the rooster combination straight into the skillet.

Don’t fear if the combination appears very smooth! That’s precisely the way it’s imagined to be. Making an attempt to roll these into completely spherical meatballs together with your palms can get messy, so I discover it a lot simpler to scoop them proper into the skillet.

Brown the meatballs for about 3 minutes on all sides. You’re not making an attempt to fully cook dinner them at this level. You simply desire a good browned exterior. They’ll end cooking later within the orzo.

Switch the browned meatballs to a plate and repeat with the remaining rooster combination.

3. Begin the Orzo

In the identical skillet, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the diced onion and cook dinner for about 5 minutes, till the onion is smooth.

Add the minced garlic and cook dinner for an additional minute. Stir within the crushed pink pepper, remaining salt, and remaining black pepper.

PRO TIP! And positively don’t clear the skillet earlier than doing this! All these browned bits left behind from the rooster meatballs add much more taste to the orzo.

4. Prepare dinner the Orzo and Add the Meatballs

Pour the rooster bone broth into the skillet and convey it to a boil. Add within the protein orzo and stir every thing collectively. Cowl the skillet and cook dinner for 10 minutes.

6. Add the Lemon and Spinach

As soon as every thing is cooked, squeeze the juice of 1 giant lemon into the skillet and add the child spinach.

Stir every thing collectively, cowl the skillet, and cook dinner for an additional 2 to three minutes, till the spinach is wilted. Give every thing a style and add further salt and pepper if wanted.