These Chicken Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce are simple, comforting, flavorful and easy to prepare. They’re AIP, paleo and Whole30 compliant and a great one-pan weeknight meal to serve with veggies.
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Meatballs are such a quick and easy way to prepare ground meat and I love them served with this creamy sauce that includes fresh rosemary and mushrooms!
Here’s what you need for these paleo/AIP Chicken Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- ground chicken (feel free to substitute ground turkey)
- fresh rosemary
- lemon zest
- sea salt
- onions and garlic
- olive oil
- mushrooms (button, baby bella or cremini work well)
- full fat, additive free coconut milk
- tapioca starch
- chicken bone broth or chicken stock (ensure ingredients are AIP compliant)
How to make these Chicken Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Both the grain-free meatballs and the dairy-free sauce use many of the same ingredients so I suggest reading through the recipe in its entirety and prepping the ingredients (chopping onions, garlic, herbs etc.) all at once before beginning to cook.
- Prepare the meatballs by combining ground chicken with finely chopped rosemary, lemon zest, sea salt, onions, garlic and olive oil.
- Heat a large skillet with olive oil, and fry meatballs 5-6 mins per side until they are nicely seared and golden brown. Remove meatballs from heat and set aside.
- To the pan, add additional olive oil and heat on low. Add minced garlic and sauté until garlic begins to brown.
- Next, add finely minced mushrooms, rosemary and lemon zest and sauté an additional 5 minutes.
- Add broth or chicken stock, coconut milk and salt and bring to a simmer.
- Make a slurry with the tapioca starch and add to pan. Whisk continuously over heat until the mixture begins to thicken slightly.
- Return meatballs to sauce and cook 5 minutes more.
AIP/Paleo Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Mushroom Sauce FAQs
Can I freeze this dish?
The chicken meatballs freeze well but I would recommend making the mushroom sauce shortly before serving.
Can I replace the chicken with another protein?
This dish works really well with ground turkey in place of chicken and would probably also taste great with ground beef, though I haven’t tried myself.
Can I substitute the tapioca starch?
Yes, you can thicken this mushroom sauce using arrowroot starch. Another option is to omit the starch altogether and reduce the sauce for a longer period of time. It won’t be as thick but will taste the same.
Can I omit the coconut milk?
The coconut milk is really what provides the creaminess in this dairy-free dish. If you can’t tolerate coconut milk you could try using more broth or chicken stock and then pureeing or blending the sauce for a creamier end result.
If you try these AIP/paleo Chicken Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce I would appreciate it if you would give it a rating and short review. Also, be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious.
Try these other grain-free, AIP/paleo meatball recipes:
You might also like these other AIP/paleo Chicken recipes:
- Chicken Thighs with Apples
- One-pan Roasted Chicken with Spring Veggies
- Sheet Pan Chicken with Fennel and Olives
- White Chicken Chili
- Gluten-free Orange Chicken
Chicken Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce (AIP, paleo, Whole30)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These Chicken Meatballs in Creamy Mushroom Sauce are simple, comforting, flavorful and easy to prepare. They’re AIP, paleo and Whole30 compliant and a great one-pan weeknight meal to serve with veggies.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken (or turkey)
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 TBSP fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 2.5 TBSP olive oil (divided)
Mushroom Cream Sauce
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 cup mushrooms (cremini, button or baby bella), minced*
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (additive free)
- 1.5 cups bone broth or chicken stock
- sea salt (to taste)
- 1 TBSP tapioca starch
- 1 TBSP water
Instructions
Meatballs
- In a large bowl combine ground chicken, lemon zest, finely chopped onion, crushed garlic, finely chopped rosemary, sea salt and 1 TBSP olive oil.
- Use your hands to bring the mixture together and carefully form into 1-inch meatballs. The mixture will be soft and sticky, but it will hold together during cooking. If the wetness/stickiness bothers you, feel free to use gloves during this process.
- In a large skillet, heat remaining 1.5 TBSP olive oil on medium heat.
- Once oil is hot, add meatballs in an even layer and cook 5-6 mins per side until golden brown.
- Remove meatballs from pan and set aside.
Sauce
- To the same skillet, add 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat.
- Add crushed garlic and sauté until garlic begins to brown.
- Add finely minced mushrooms*, lemon zest, and rosemary and sauté 5 minutes further, stirring frequently.
- Next, add in coconut milk, bone broth or chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, make a slurry by combining tapioca starch with water. Add slurry to pan and whisk over heat until mixture begins to thicken.
- Reduce heat, return meatballs to the pan and allow to cook an additional 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh rosemary or parsley and serve warm.
Notes
* If you have a food processor, I recommend preparing the mushrooms in one so that they’re really finely minced and this cuts the time in half.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: One pot meal
So much umami!!
This was not great. cannot get the sauce to go to a very thick gravy, it was very running no matter how much of the starch I added with the water. The flavor and taste was just off-putting. cannot recommend
So sorry you didn’t enjoy!
This dish was great! We’re not paleo, just a dairy allergy so we served this with pasta and it was so good. Next time, I’ll double the ingredients for the sauce so it can cover the pasta as well. Thanks for the great recipe!
The recipe was a hit tonight! I had chicken breasts so I cut it into cubes and flavored it as the recipe called for the meatballs. I also didn’t have mushrooms but it still came out delicious we will try it again with the mushrooms next time this will definitely become a staple in our house.
THIS RECIPE IS PHENOMENAL!!!! I made with turkey since my local store didn’t have ground chicken today. It was so. delicious. We put it over garlic cauliflower mashed potatoes and put lots of sauce allllllll over it. This will absolutely be a staple to make!!!
My non-AIP family loved this. My LO who has never added sauce in his meal requested to get more of this sauce in his blonde rice with the meatballs. I added broccolini towards the end to enjoy the aromatic mushroom sauce!
I went out of lemon zest so I also used a little from a lime 😳
One question though, can I bake them in the oven in the future? If so, how long and at what temperature? I doubled the recipes and it took 3/4 batches of time to cook all of them. Would you freezer them uncooked? Would you bake them to cut down the prep time for batch cook? Thanks, Nicole, for another top of the pop recipe 🤩 ! 🤌🏼💋
Super good! Haven’t come across any AIP recipes that I didn’t like on HMD. This recipe was easy and delicious. Thank You again!
Made these for a church potluck, my mom was visiting and on strict AIP. Everyone at church loved them! I was able to make the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them. Made the mushroom sauce one day ahead and refrigerated separately. Thawed/Reheated the meatballs in the crockpot in the morning and then added the sauce about an hour before serving. Worked like a charm! The mushroom sauce would be fabulous in many dishes. Thank you for the recipe!
This was very good. I added spinach to mine. Really enjoyed it and helped to revive my search for recipes.
I made just the mushroom sauce tonight to use as a pan sauce for leftover baked chicken breasts. I used bone broth and arrowroot starch (maybe 1/2 teaspoon or a bit more). It was delicious!
Wonderful recipe with such excellent flavors. The meatballs hold together well and are tasty, but the sauce is the star in this dish. I doubled the mushrooms, which added more richness and extended the meal into more substantial leftovers. Served it over cassava pasta.
this is such a comforting recipe without being heavy! as others have pointed out, the lemon zest brightens & the rosemary is so earthy and deep in combination. i had some zucchini that needed to get eaten so cubed it and threw it in and was excited for a little extra veg. love the recipe exactly as published and continue to be grateful for this and all of Heal Me Delicious! HMD lives up to its name time and again!
My whole family loved this. I made some changes. I just sliced the mushrooms bc we like them. I also used the whole can of coconut milk and used less broth bc that’s what I had. I added a spoonful of chicken better than bouillon for a little extra flavor. Also, didn’t have fresh Rosemary so I used dried. I really liked the lemon zest!!
I want to copy Regina’s comments. This is delicious. My non-AIP husband liked the meatballs, not the cassava pasta I served with it, so definitely putting this on the list to make again. Thank you for all the work you do to put your recipes on here.
These were great, Nicole. The lemon adds such a surprising, bright, summery flavor to a sauce that I would normally gravitate to more in the colder months. It paired perfectly with broccoli, too–the AIP answer to stroganoff! It was a big hit with both the mushroom-disdaining husband and the 13-month-old. Thank you!
Yay for winning over the mushroom-disdaining husband 🙂 I’m so glad you all enjoyed. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review.
My non-AIP husband is drooling over this! So good.
Aww yay I’m so glad! Thanks for your review 🙂
incredible! i made this tonight, and added some leftover kale i had in my fridge and riced cauliflower to make it into a stew. this did mean i had to add some lemon juice to add some acidity back in. this is going to be my meal for the next few nights and i look forward to see how this flavor develops.
Former vegetarian that introduced chicken and fish to help with good options on AIP. My partner made this for me TWICE. They’re so good, easy to make, and we’ve used the meatball (without sauce) sprinkled in AIP tacos as well.
Delicious! Served over cooked spaghetti squash
THIS WAS AMAZING!! I made it with cassava pasta and my oh my it was delicious. I LOVED IT!!! Another huge hit. Thank you for working your AIP magic.
Made these today, with turkey. So good! I kind of forgot to follow the recipe so they were slightly different though. Next time I’ll have to remember the lemon zest ?
Delicious! I served this over cauliflower rice. Will definitely make this again. Thanks!
Just made this tonight and gave it 4 stars just because I have not tasted it yet. However it seems absolutely fabulous. I used ground beef and was surprised that no egg or bread crumbs were included. Surprised me when, as stated, these little meatballs held together just fine. Smelling that lemon zest and rosemary while they cooked was delightful. I think these will be a winner.
Hi Connie, glad you enjoyed the process! You’ll have to let me know your actual review now that you’ve tasted them ?
So flavoursome!!! Garlicky, oniony, mushroomy. I made it with ground turkey and used all of the ingredients. I am so glad I came across this website. It has made my AIP journey much more exciting.
Thanks so much Caisha! Glad you enjoyed!