Chicken, basil, spinach and lemon meatballs with orzo

Lifestyle Recipes Everyday Chicken, basil, spinach and lemon meatballs with orzo You don’t have to chill or brown the meatballs; the whole thing just undergoes a transformation in the oven Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 17 July 2026 1:08pm BST Save Comment speech bubble icon Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source These tasty chicken meatballs make for an excellent midweek meal  Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 17 July 2026 1:08pm BST My new favourite dish and it’s also delicious made with veal mince, if chicken mince is hard to find. Overview Prep time 20 mins Cook time 1 hr Serves 4 Ingredients For the meatballs 500g chicken mince 50g fresh white breadcrumbs 25g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve 50g Gruyère, grated ½ tbsp olive oil ½ onion, very finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée 200g spinach 15g basil, leaves only, chopped generous grating of nutmeg zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated For the orzo 1 small onion, finely chopped ½ tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, grated to a purée 300g orzo pasta, rinsed 650ml chicken stock ½ tbsp tomato purée 125g cherry tomatoes Method Step Preheat the oven to 200C/190C fan/gas mark 6. Step Put 500g chicken mince, 50g fresh white breadcrumbs, 25g grated Parmesan and 50g grated Gruyère into a bowl. Step Heat ½ tbsp olive oil for the meatballs in a pan and gently sauté ½ very finely chopped onion until soft.  Step Add 2 grated garlic cloves and cook for another couple of minutes. Leave to cool. Step Put 200g spinach into a pan with a couple of tbsp of water. Cover, set over a medium-low heat and allow to wilt for about 4 minutes, turning the spinach over a couple of times.  Step Drain, leave to cool then squeeze the excess water out. Step Chop it finely and add to the chicken mixture along with the sautéed onion and garlic, 15g chopped basil leaves, a generous grating of nutmeg, the finely grated zest of 1 lemon and some seasoning. Step Using wet hands, form the mixture into meatballs. I never chill them for this dish as it doesn’t make much difference. Step It’s best to start the orzo in a 30cm shallow ovenproof pan. You can always transfer everything to a roasting tin later. Step Sauté 1 finely chopped onion in ½ tbsp olive oil until soft, then add 1 grated garlic clove and cook for another minute. Step Add 300g orzo to the onion, pour in 650ml chicken stock and ½ tbsp tomato purée and bring everything to the boil. Season.  Step Take off the heat and arrange 125g cherry tomatoes on top, then the meatballs.  Step Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed, the pasta is cooked – but still moist – and the meatballs are golden. Step  Remove, leave to settle for a few minutes, then serve with extra Parmesan. Join the conversation Show comments The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Related Topics Spinach recipes, Dinner recipes, Chicken recipes, Pasta recipes, Cheese recipes, Meatball recipes License this content You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more here. Log In Subscribe Advertisement More Stories