Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs (Provencal Style) • Little Nomads Recipes (2024)

It’s a lighter but super tasty meatball with chicken and Mediterranean aromatics. Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs are done quickly in an Air fryer and are easy to freeze and pop on a salad, wrap or lunch box.

Meatballs are usually made with pork or beef, but why not make them with chicken to keep them light? It could also be turkey, rabbit, or any lean meat. This way, giving them a lovely Provencal twist is possible by adding dried tomatoes, capers or olives, parsley, thyme, olive oil, shallot and garlic. I love an umami touch, so I’ve added cashews and nutritional yeast to give the grilled bits around the meatball this perfect cheesy taste without the calories! You’ll see these Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs are bursting with addictive flavours!

What is Provencal Style?

Provence is a region in the South of France; many great dishes originate there, like Ratatouille, Nicoise Salad, Rouille, Bouillabaise, etc. It’s a more arid and sunny place, so you’ll feel it too in the typical ingredients of Provencal style. Usually, olives would be part of the mix, which would work wonders in this recipe, too, but since we already had the capers, I chose one of the two to prevent over-salty meatballs. But if you dig more olives, switch the capers for olives.

Thyme, garlic, olive oil and flat-leaf parsley are in every dish, so this was a no-brainer. Also, I’ve used the oil directly from the dried tomatoes, which is super aromatized and saving to waste all that good stuff.

Last but not least, the dried tomatoes bring the hot sun to the meatballs. A lot of them to make sure we taste it! Careful, there is no turning back; you’ll never return to bland beef meatballs after this.

The Secret Touch

This trick is a way to replace parmesan; it makes the crunchy grilled bits coming off the meatballs this parmesan taste but without any cheese involved! It’s time to shop for those two ingredients you can incorporate everywhere you want a cheese touch without the calories. Nutritional yeast and cashews! The first one you can find in stores or online in flake or powder form, while cashews are everywhere. This combo will trick cheese lovers!

Versatile Meatball

These Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs a la Provencale are great everywhere! Plus, the kids love them, so if you add them to a simple mashed potato and broccoli dish for the kiddos, parents can elevate them to a lovely Green Goddess Salad for dinner (Check the recipe here)! These freeze perfectly; add them to an airtight plastic bag and pop some out for your lunch box for a quick sandwich or wrap, salad, pasta, etc. They are versatile; you can even pop one out to snack on!

Storage

As previously mentioned, the meatballs can be frozen by adding them to an airtight container or hermetic bag. They would last a few weeks in the freezer and two to three days in the fridge. To reheat them, use the air fryer or microwave to warm them up.

Other Yummy AF Bites

• Air Fryer Chicken Bites
• Crispy Cauliflower Bites with Indian Spices (2 Ways)
• Accras de Morue (Cod Fritters) 2 Ways

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