James and I LOVE Sicilian meatballs. They’re in our dinner rotation at home, so we make them pretty often. It’s an easy dish to make once you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go.
These Sicilian meatballs are a good mix of savory AND sweet. I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘What makes them sweet?’. When my mother-in-law, Paula, first introduced me to these Sicilian meatballs years ago, I honestly wasn’t sure about a savory and sweet meatball. She then explained the sweetness comes from adding raisins or currants to the mixture.
Like I mentioned, I already wasn’t sure about them, and when she said raisins, she almost lost me. I’m not a fan of raisins or currants and wasn’t sure if I’d like the meatballs.
My mother-in-law is one of the best cooks I know and everything that she makes tastes amazing, so she took one out of the pot of sauce for me. I tried one and I couldn’t believe how freaking good they were, especially because I do not like raisins at all. The flavors, the sweet and savory, it all just made sense! *chef’s kiss*
The rest is history from there. I’ve been making these Sicilian meatballs ever since!
I always use ground chicken and haven’t tried any other ground meat like pork or veal, but I can only imagine how good they would turn out with those meats too. We also make 3 pounds of meatball mixture so that we can freeze what we don’t use. Depending on how big you form your meatballs, this should give you at least 24 meatballs.
When making the Sicilian meatballs, take a small amount of the mixture and cook it on a pan to test it out. This gives you the opportunity to adjust your mixture— whether you need more salt, breadcrumbs, parm, etc. This is key. Don’t go through all that trouble to end up with flavorless meatballs.
There are so many ways to serve these Sicilian meatballs. You could do a simple spaghetti and meatball pasta, meatball subs (James’ favorite), or with rice or pilaf and veggies. They would even go great as a protein in a salad.
HOW TO MAKE THE SICILIAN MEATBALLS
WHAT YOU NEED
3 lbs ground chicken
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
About 1 cup raisins*
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 bunch chopped parsley
10-12 minced garlic cloves
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients and mix together. I use my hands to make sure everything is mixed together really well. Get all up in there- you want every single bite to have flavor.
Over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil to a small frying pan. When the pan is ready, add a piece of the mixture and cook until it’s cooked through. Give it a taste. Adjust your mixture if necessary. Don’t be afraid to keep testing until you reach the flavor you are looking for.
Once your mixture is ready, form your meatballs and place onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. Giving each meatball space in between. Drizzle a good amount of olive oil on them. I flip the meatballs over after 15 minutes and cook them for another 10-15 minutes, or until they are fully cooked. They should have this beautiful golden brown color to them.
Notes + Recommendations
I drizzle olive oil onto the parchment paper and meatballs. I then use a brush to ensure the meatballs are nicely coated.
Flip the meatballs halfway through so they can cook evenly.
Do a taste test before forming the meatballs. Add more of what is needed.
You can opt out on the raisins or just adjust the amount in the mixture.