Honey Barbeque Chicken Meatballs

I'm always on the lookout for quick, easy, and delicious weeknight meals that I can pull together in no time. I'm usually too tired to cook a laborious dinner after work but definitely want to make something that Dr. Sweetpea can eat when he comes home too. So when I came across this oven baked chicken meatball recipe, I went grocery shopping the same day and whipped these together really quickly. Dr. Sweetpea loved the meatballs but suggested they should be tossed with marinara sauce instead of barbecue sauce to be served as a meal, and I totally agree. Definitely going to our regular meal rotation.

Honey Barbeque Chicken Meatballs

(Source: thewholesomedish.com)

For the meatballs:

1 lb. ground chicken

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the barbeque sauce:

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Prepare the meatballs. In a large bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients and lightly mix together with your hands. Do not over-mix as this will produce tough meatballs. Use your hands to roll out 12-14 golf ball sized meatballs (**I used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out my meatballs**)and spread them out on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through. (**since my meatballs were slightly smaller, they were a touch dry...so I'll bake these for about 10-12 minutes next time)

In the meantime, prepare the barbeque sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk all sauce ingredients until well combined. Transfer the sauce to a large sauce pot. Turn the heat to medium-high and let cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will begin to thicken. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and gently stir to coat the meatballs. Let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.