8 servings (of about 3/4 palm); 15 min preparation, 20 min cooking.

Who doesn’t like meatballs?! I’ve personally never met anyone who would refuse a portion. Even vegetarians make their own “meatballs”. That’s because meatballs are  casual, full of flavor and easy to make. What if I tell you that you can make them even healthier and easier than normal? Well, I’ve made my own version of meatballs by adding quinoa and I can promise you that they are totally worth it.

This healthy grain becomes more popular by the minute, since people realized the  various benefits of eating quinoa. I can tell you, the Inca’s knew their superfood. First of all, I have a good news for people with allergies – it’s gluten-free! Quinoa is protein-rich and contains all fundamental amino acids. And plus all vitamins and fibers, it does not contain a lot of calories. With other words, quinoa is the real deal!

This chicken meatballs with quinoa are delicious. You can make them in advance and cook them right before dinner. Or you can prepare them as a slider. Try them with a yoghurt-dill dressing, it will lift the flavour even more. And last but not least, you can prepare them in the oven as I did, or put them in the Airfryer for the same amount of time. Both ways will make the result just great!

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 350 g chopped chicken breasts (you can use ground beef instead)
• 2 small shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 10 g fresh chives, minced
• 1 tbsp minced parsley
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 cup crème fraîche
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the yoghurt-dill dressing

• 1 cup greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp chopped dill
• salt and pepper
• 1 clove minced garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Cook the quinoa in boiling water for about 10 min. When it’s ready, cover it with the lid and set aside. In the mean time put the chicken breasts in a food processor and blend until you get a smooth consistency. You can also chop the meat with a knife if you prefer. Add the tomato paste and stir well so that it’s distributed evenly.

Mince the shallots and garlic very fine. You can do that in a blender as well. Add to the chicken mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Make meatballs from the mixture. You can make them as big as you like. If you prepare them as an appetizer to accompany your drinks, you will get more meatballs from the mixture.

Lay the meatballs on an oven tray and bake for about 20 min in a preheated oven. Serve with the yoghurt-dill dressing. If you don’t want fo use raw garlic, replace it with 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Enjoy!