Y’all already know I am a big chicken piccata fan, so I had to turn those wonderfully bright flavors into a skillet meatball. Enter — Gluten-Free Chicken Piccata Meatballs!
What is there not to love about chicken piccata? A luscious white wine sauce that’s brightened even more by lemon juice? Yes, please!
For these Gluten-Free Chicken Piccata Meatballs, ground chicken is simply flavored with a few spices, lemon zest, and parsley then formed into meatballs. They are browned to golden perfection then set aside while you make your piccata sauce.
Just like the meatballs, your piccata sauce will come together easily with very few ingredients with all your classic piccata flavors. With a little butter, white wine, fresh parsley, capers, and a few other ingredients, your sauce will be ready in no time to then add your meatballs to it for a quick simmer to finish cooking. And while this sauce does use butter, you could easily substitute it with vegan butter to keep this recipe gluten-free and dairy-free!
I know this recipe is going to be a star on your weeknight dinner rotation and I can’t wait to see y’all cook this in your own kitchens!
For more piccata recipes…
whole30 skillet chicken piccata
the best sheet pan chicken piccata
Chicken Piccata Meatballs

Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 ½ pounds ground dark meat chicken
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- ¼ cup gluten-free panko
- 1 egg yolk
- Zest of ½ a lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For the Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter (sub vegan butter for dairy-free)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoons cassava flour sub all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves more for serving
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice about 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Meatballs:
- In a large bowl, mix to combine the ground chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, panko, egg yolk, lemon zest. Once well combined, form into 1 ½-inch meatballs. Damp hands will make this easier as the chicken can be sticky.
- In a large deep non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the meatballs in a single layer, working in batches as needed. Brown the meatballs on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. The meatballs do not need to be cooked through as they will finish cooking in the sauce. Once browned, set aside on a plate and continue until all the meatballs are browned.
Make the Sauce:
- In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium-low and melt the butter. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, cassava flour. Stir, toasting the flour, for 1 minute.
- While whisking, pour wine into skillet to combine. Continue whisking and add the chicken broth until well combined. Add the capers, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine then increase heat to a rapid simmer.
- Reduce heat to a light simmer then nestle the meatballs back into the sauce. Cover and cook until the meatballs are cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Serve with additional parsley.
Photography and styling by Eat Love Eats.
50 Comments
April
March 15, 2023 at 10:56 amCooked as stated and they were delicious!! Thanks for helping me look good around the dinner table, Alex!
Meredith
February 7, 2023 at 1:17 amThese are amazing!!! So delicious and easy! I accidentally added the oil to the meat mixture one time and they still turned out totally fine haha! I make these almost weekly!!
Karen Rector
January 3, 2023 at 7:39 pmIs there a decent substitution you would suggest for the white wine?
Alex
January 4, 2023 at 6:25 pmYou can sub in more broth and just bump up the lemon to 4 tbsp!
Penny reed
January 3, 2023 at 3:06 amI’d like to make them as appetizers, so smaller balls. Freeze then day of party fry, but finish in saucepan with the sauce
I’m making so many thugs I’d like not to be frying at last minute.
What do you suggest? Thank you
Alex
January 3, 2023 at 1:35 pmI think this would work just fine! Meatballs freeze very well, so a very good strategy to save some time.
Sujari Duerr
November 9, 2022 at 1:09 amThese meatballs are delicious! I ended up mixing light chicken meat with dark turkey meat and they turned out great. I also doubled the sauce as others did and served over angel hair pasta. Can’t wait to make it again!
Alex
November 9, 2022 at 6:43 pmSo glad you loved these!
Ryen Brumbeloe
November 4, 2022 at 3:09 pmJust made these last night and they were incredible. I swapped the cassava flour with arrowroot and panko with almond flour to keep it a little lighter in carbs. Still perfection. Doubled the sauce as some suggested to put on pasta for my husband. I poured sauce over mine and some broccoli rabe. Love how I can make all of these recipes with a few small swaps to accommodate my husband’s and I’d differing food lifestyles. Alex your recipes are always a hit.
Bree
February 13, 2023 at 8:46 pmDid you use the same measurements the recipe calls for with your arrowroot and almond flour swap?
Grace
November 3, 2022 at 9:51 pmHi! Recently made this recipe and LOVED it! Already planning to make it over the holidays. Any chance we could beg you for the crockpot version/technique of these?! Would be so perfect as an app or main over the holidays. Thank you for all of the amazing recipes you provide!
Alex
November 11, 2022 at 2:23 pmHi Grace!!
This recipe will be fine if kept warm/finished cooking on low in a crockpot! Similar to the recipe I linked below! You’ll need to brown the meatballs and place them in a crockpot. Then make the lemon-caper sauce, pour over the meatballs. They’ll finish cooking on low and then just keep them warm to serve at a party! I don’t think they’d need much time on low, maybe just 1-2 hours.
https://thedefineddish.com/crockpot-chicken-piccata/
Andrea
October 24, 2022 at 8:00 pmIf I can’t find ground dark meat chicken, would you recommend ground chicken breast or ground turkey?
Alex
October 26, 2022 at 3:07 pmI would go with ground turkey!
Andrea
October 31, 2022 at 6:42 pmI didn’t see your response in time (my fault) and went with ground chicken breast. Happy to report it was absolutely fantastic! It’s a flawless recipe. Already planning to make it again ASAP!
Mary Kathryn Reed
October 17, 2022 at 10:58 pmThis was DELISH!!!!! I doubled the sauce, used almond flour in place of panko and served over GF noodles. YUM!!!!!
Alex
October 18, 2022 at 1:04 amyay! so glad you loved it!!
Jackie
October 17, 2022 at 3:03 amThis looks and sounds so good. I saw someone asked about baking the meatballs, and I was wondering the same thing. Any idea how long to bake and at what temp? 350? Thanks!
Alex
October 18, 2022 at 1:08 amSince they are made of chicken– I recommend searing them in the skillet then letting them finish cooking in the sauce like I did here for best results. The oven method I worry will dry them out– and this skillet method prevents that from happening 🙂
Brittany
October 11, 2022 at 3:30 amThis was delicious!!! I doubled the sauce recipe but honestly I could’ve quadrupled it and drank it through a straw. I wasn’t able to find dark meat ground chicken, but the extra sauce kept our meatballs from getting too dry.
Caroline
October 5, 2022 at 9:27 pmLOVE the sauce. Sharing a mistake I made – despite clear instructions – so others don’t follow. I made with ground white meat chicken breast, instead of dark meat and I expect that caused them to be a bit dry. Would 100% make again with the right meat
Michelle
October 3, 2022 at 11:37 pmMade these tonight and they were a hit! Love the lemon flavor! We doubled the recipe and it filled our 12” cast iron skillet perfectly.
Rosemary
October 3, 2022 at 12:50 amThese are stellar!! I love & good meatball situation & this is such a fun twist on chicken piccata! Minimal prep, one pan, & super simple. We paired these with the Whole30 Mashed Potatoes recipe but you could eat these a number of ways. Another TDD winner!!
Bri
September 29, 2022 at 8:50 pmThese were a hit! Thank you so much!
Melissa
September 28, 2022 at 8:14 pmThis looks delicious! Is there a substitute ingredient if you can’t eat eggs? Thank you!
Alex
September 29, 2022 at 5:05 pmA tablespoon or so of plain greek yogurt would work I think best here.
Emily
September 28, 2022 at 2:24 amThis was incredible! Far surpasses a regular chicken piccata. This recipe is next cookbook worthy.
Alex
September 28, 2022 at 10:40 amomg amazing! thank you!
Erin
September 27, 2022 at 11:05 pmChicken piccata is a favorite of mine, so I had to try this right away. I followed the recipe exactly and doubled the sauce to have plenty to serve over linguini. I served with a side salad, and it was a delicious meal! What I appreciate most about the Defined Dish recipes (which I make at least twice a week from the website and both cookbooks) is that not only are the recipes so flavorful, but the directions are thoughtful and precise. Thank you, Alex! 🙂
Alex
September 29, 2022 at 5:11 pmThank you so much, Erin!! I so appreciate your comment and review on the recipe! xoxo
Chelsea Buchanan
September 27, 2022 at 2:06 amCan this be a crockpot meal? Should I make the meatballs before hand and heat on low in the crockpot?
Blair
September 25, 2022 at 4:18 pmCould the meatballs be made ahead of time (and stored in the fridge) and then the rest of the recipe later in the week?
Alex
September 26, 2022 at 2:42 pmYes that could definitely work here! Just make the sauce the day of and let the meatballs reheat in the sauce.
Peggy
September 25, 2022 at 12:02 pmAnother winning Defined Dish recipe that will be on repeat for sure…my husband loved it! Made it with exact gluten free ingredients and added a bit more chicken broth to the sauce. Could not find dark meat chicken so I used ground Turkey. Thanks Alex!
Alex
September 25, 2022 at 1:25 pmyay! Thank you, Peggy!
Lisa
September 25, 2022 at 9:16 pmI was going to ask if anyone made this with turkey, thanks for posting
Holly
September 24, 2022 at 12:24 amCould I just bake the meatballs?
Alex
September 25, 2022 at 1:27 pmSure!
Amanda
September 23, 2022 at 4:24 pmTo make whole 30, I’m thinking; sub the Panko for almond flour and white wine for more broth? Or a better suggestion?
Alex
September 29, 2022 at 5:12 pmYes!! That would work pretty close– and you’ll maybe need more lemon to brighten up the dish since the wine is out!
Catherine Firmin
September 23, 2022 at 4:24 pmThis looks so amazing that I’d love to make it tonight! Where do we purchase ground dark meat chicken?
Alex
September 23, 2022 at 6:32 pmI can typically find it at Central Market or Whole Foods! You can also ask the butcher to grind up chicken thighs for you!
Ground Turkey thigh also works in this recipe.
Jenn
September 23, 2022 at 3:57 pmLooks delish… any idea what the nutritional info on this is?
Calories/protein/carbs!?
Im assuming eliminating butter would be the best way to lighten it up.
Alex
September 23, 2022 at 6:31 pmI just added nutritional facts to the notes section for you 🙂
Angela
September 25, 2022 at 7:33 pmHow many meatballs should this make? Just trying to understand serving size. Thanks!!!
Alex
September 26, 2022 at 1:48 amIt makes about 16 meatballs!
Teghan
September 23, 2022 at 1:25 amLove this! Any suggestions for what to serve them with?
Alex
September 23, 2022 at 11:55 amI love to serve with a starch of some sort to enjoy more of that sauce/soak it up: mashed potatoes, pasta, or steamed white rice! and then I usually do a roasted asparagus or simple side salad! Enjoy!
Jen
September 22, 2022 at 9:37 pmCould you make this as a freezer meal?
Alex
September 23, 2022 at 11:56 amYes!! This should freeze very well!