Just as not all of us are cut out to be Ina Gartens in this world, not every meal served out of our
kitchens is going to be five-star restaurant worthy. (Unless you are some serious kind of
overachiever, that is, for which I'll give you one million rock star points and proceed to bury my
real-life, underachieving face in meatballs and rice.)
But that doesn't mean you have to settle for bland, tasteless food for the rest of forever. This
meal is a prime example. It's simple. And it's made start to finish in one skillet where all the
goodness of the lemony rice and tender meatballs cooks together leaving you with maximum
flavor and minimal cleanup.
I mean, there's really not much else to say. This one-skillet wonder is quick. And easy. And
terribly delicious. Plus, you get meatballs out of the deal. Which is basically a huge win for all of
mankind.
Skillet Turkey Meatballs with Lemon Rice
Yield: Serves 6
I used about 2 medium lemons for the recipe (zest the lemons before juicing them). Also, if you
are curious about using brown rice, I haven't tried it in this recipe but you could try upping the
liquid just a bit and adding additional cooking time based on the type of brown rice you are
using.
I use ground turkey for this recipe but you could probably get away with using ground beef or
ground chicken or a combination (maybe even a little sausage, too?).
I've mentioned this before in other recipes but the ground turkey in the tubes (packaged kind of
like Jimmy Dean sausage tubes) is terrible and awful in my experience and makes the meatballs
mushy. I prefer the ground turkey in the trays (I usually buy the lean ground turkey at Costco but
have also used the Jennie-O brand in the trays with good results, too).
If you want to pack a little more punch into the lemon flavor, consider serving lemon wedges
alongside. Finally, depending on the salt content of your chicken broth, you may want to add
additional salt to taste.
Ingredients
Meatballs:
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup bread crumbs (panko, regular store-bought or homemade)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
Rice:
1 1/2 cups long grain or basmati white rice (see note above)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste if needed
3 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. For the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, milk, bread crumbs, lemon
zest, salt, pepper, and parsley until well-combined. Roll into about 16 meatballs (about 1-2 inches in diameter).
2. Heat the tablespoon olive oil in a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until
hot and rippling. Add the meatballs in a single layer and brown on each side. No need to
cook through here as they will finish cooking with the rice -- just get them nice and
golden.
3. Carefully scoop the meatballs out of the skillet onto a paper towel-lined plate and return
the skillet to medium heat (wiping out any excess grease -- leaving just a tiny bit for the
rice).
4. Add the rice to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the edges of
the rice start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and salt and cook for another minute. Stir
in the broth, lemon juice, and lemon zest and bring the mixture to a simmer.
5. Gently nestle the meatballs back into the rice mixture and cover the skillet. Reduce the
heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and the meatballs are cooked through, about
18-20 minutes.
6. Remove the skillet from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 5 or so minutes. Uncover and
sprinkle with Parmesan and additional fresh parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.
Recipe Source: inspired by a recipe in Cook's Country April 2015 (used my own meatball recipe
and adapted the rice slightly)
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.