Chicken Piccata Meatballs (2024)

Jump To Recipe // March 16, 2020 // 7 Comments »

AIPLow CarbPaleoWhole30

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These lemon chicken piccata meatballs are a simple take on the classic! This recipe is paleo, whole30, and AIP-friendly.

What is Chicken Piccata?

Chicken Piccata is a traditional Italian dish made of chicken, served in a sauce of lemon, butter, and broth or cooking wine, topped with capers. It’s typically served with a starch such as rice or pasta, a potato dish, or a vegetable. When I was studying abroad in Italy, Chicken Piccata was one of my absolute favorite meals to devour at every chance I got!

Traditionally, this is made with flour, butter, and cheese, and the chicken breasts are prepared in their intact form, but this version is gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free, and is made to be an easy one-pan meal by using ground chicken to create delicious meatballs!

Why are these Chicken Piccata Meatballs healthier?

It’s made with nourishing ingredients

There’s no white flour or dairy in this recipe!

It’s made in one pan

This dish is virtually effortless, made in easy meatball form all in one pan! It’s a perfect easy weeknight meal.

Prepare & cook the meatballs: Using a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken, flour, 1 tbsp of parsley, minced garlic, salt, and pepper and mix well. Form into meatballs with slightly wet hands. Using a large, deep skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side to lightly brown. Set aside.
Prepare & cook the sauce: Whisk the broth and arrowroot starch together in a small bowl. Pour into the skillet along with the lemon juice and coconut cream. Stir to combine and bring to a low simmer to allow the sauce to thicken,
Combine & serve: Add the meatballs back to the skillet along with the capers. Baste the meatballs in the sauce and cover for 5 more minutes. The internal temperature of the meatballs should read 165 F. Serve topped with parsley and pasta of choice like zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.

What can you serve as a side dish with Chicken Piccata Meatballs?

Typically, you would order this dish with something like a. Here are some ideas for what you can serve it with…

Spaghetti Squash
Zucchini Noodles
Roasted Asparagus
Smashed or mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes
Noodles or spaghetti (if tolerated)
Sauteed spinach

Can you make this coconut-free?

For the coconut flour, you can try other grain-free flours like almond flour if tolerated. I haven’t tried any other flours myself and cannot guarantee they will turn out the same! For the coconut milk, there are no dairy-free alternatives that would be quite as creamy to make the sauce.

The Ingredients

Ground Chicken Breast

The star of the dish! If you don’t have ground chicken on hand, simply add chicken breast to a food processor.

Almond Flour (or Coconut Flour)

This binds the meatballs together.

Garlic, Parsley, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

These really round out the flavor of the dish! You can omit the pepper if following AIP.

Chicken Broth, Arrowroot Starch, Lemon & Coconut Cream