Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka Meatballs with Quick Pickled Cucumbers

These warmly spiced Indian-inspired meatballs bring the tikka masala flavors into the meatball instead of in the sauce – they are easily done on a sheet pan and such a welcome changeup on a weeknight. Paired with steamed jasmine rice, I know you’re going to love these Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka Masala Meatballs with Quick Pickled Cucumbers.

These meatballs are a different spin on the classic chicken tikka masala. Instead of chicken braised in a spiced tomato sauce of sorts, these meatballs incorporate all of the warm spices into the meatball mixture itself. And to freshen it up, they’re topped with a quick lime yogurt sauce which is such a great contrast, and served alongside some tart quick-pickled cucumbers.

The spice list might look long, but I’m guessing you have most of them in your pantry right now. One spice you may not have, but is actually worth picking up is fenugreek. It is commonly found in tikka masala and interestingly, has a nutty, bitter flavor with hints of maple.

Recipe ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make these incredible ChickenTikka Masala Meatballs and Pickled Cucumbers:

Ingredient Notes

The ingredients to make these chicken meatballs are easy to find and readily available at most any grocery store.

Here are a few ingredient notes:

Ground chicken: When making meatballs with ground chicken or turkey, I prefer to use dark meat when possible for its greater fat content, as this will always yield a juicier meatball. If you wish, you can use a mix of white and dark meat. Or, you can use all white meat, knowing that you might need to use a little more oil.

Spices for meatballs: In the interest of quicker weeknight cooking, I have used garam masala with the addition of some other spices to achieve the flavors of tikka masala. The garam masala that I used is a blend of cardamom, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, mace (a relative of nutmeg), bay leaves, and black pepper. I have also added fenugreek, whose seeds are are nutty with a hint of maple, and traditionally found in tikka masala, as well as many Indian curries. Lastly, in the spice mix is ground ginger, chili powder (Kashmiri, if you can find it), tumeric, and paprika.

Spices for pickled cucumbers: In addition to the kosher salt and sugar that do the work of quickly pickling the cucumbers, are the following flavor components: tumeric, fenugreek, lime zest and juice. These cucumbers have a very tart and earthy flavor. You can adjust the spices according to your taste.

Yogurt: You can use Greek plain yogurt or regular plain yogurt – either will work. The Greek yogurt will need to be thinned more than regular plain yogurt to achieve a nice drizzling consistency.

How to make Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka Masala Meatballs with Quick Pickled Cucumbers: STEP BY STEP

Steps 1 & 2:

To make the meatballs, first grate the onion into a bowl on the small holes of a box grater. Add the egg, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, all of the spices, and the breadcrumbs until really well combined.

Steps 3 & 4:

Then, add that to the ground chicken and panko breadcrumbs.  Gently mix the meatball mixture, being very careful not to overmix it.  Over mixing will lead to tough meatballs!

Using a large cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the meatball mixture into 2 tablespoon balls and place them on an oiled sheet pan.  Do not roll them into smooth balls – the chicken is too soft and they will become tough.

Brush the tops of the meatballs with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and then roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Steps 5 & 6:

While the meatballs are roasting, make the pickles by thinly slicing the cucumbers on the diagonal.

Combine the cucumbers in a bowl with all of the spices.  *You may only need half of the lime juice, so start with half and only add more if you like.

Steps 7 & 8:

Next make the yogurt drizzle by combining the yogurt with the lime zest and juice.

Season the yogurt sauce with salt and pepper and thin with water until you achieve a drizzle consistency.

Remove the meatballs from the oven.

Steps 9 & 10:

Chop fresh cilantro for garnishing.

To serve, add meatballs to a plate with steamed rice and pickled cucumbers and drizzle with yogurt sauce.

What Makes a Great Meatball

A great meatball is all about texture and juiciness.

I have strong thoughts on this topic. I personally love meatballs. I love the idea of taking different flavor profiles and packaging them up into small, easy-to-eat little packages. Eat them with a fork and knife, a toothpick, or packed into a sandwich, lettuce wrap, or soup – the possibilities really are endless!

But, they’ve got to have great texture. And to me, the best way to explain this is to understand the difference between the texture of a burger and meatloaf. Any burger connoisseur knows that the less you handle the formation of a burger, the superior the texture. Well, the same goes for meatballs. Texture will be greatly impacted not only by the protein used, but also whether or not you over mix the meatball mixture. With a lean protein like chicken, this becomes really important, as it is incredibly soft and doesn’t contain much fat at all.

And then there is the importance of juiciness. This is largely dictated by fat content, which can be enhanced by the addition of eggs, cheese, oil, yogurt, grated onion or other vegetables.

Different proteins will ultimately have different meatball textures, though juiciness and texture always remain the goal!

Storage & Reheating

STORAGE: Store the cucumbers and yogurt sauce separately in airtight containers.

REHEATING: To reheat the meatballs, add them with a splash of water to a saute pan with a lid over medium-low heat until heated through. Alternatively, you can reheat them in the microwave in 30 second intervals until heated through.

FREEZING: You can freeze the meatballs, but you cannot freeze the cucumbers or the yogurt sauce.

Additions & Substitutions

ADDITIONS

Cilantro: You could add chopped cilantro to the meatball mix to double down on the coriander flavor.

Grated zucchini: To add more moisture to meatballs, you could consider adding some grated zucchini to the mix. Just be sure to squeeze out any liquid from the zucchini before adding it to the meatball mix.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Panko breadcrumbs: You can substitute fresh bread torn up into small pieces and soaked in a little milk or water. This is also a great way to add more moisture to meatballs. I use panko in this recipe in the interest of time.

Fenugreek: There really is no direct flavor substitute, but mustard seed would probably be the closest. If you don’t have either, you can just omit.

Lime: You can easily substitute with lemon in both the cucumbers and the yogurt sauce.

Ground chicken: You can substitute ground turkey, beef or lamb.