These spicy apricot chicken meatballs have the perfect balance of sweet and heat. They are easy to make and perfect for your next party. 
My hubby loves hot pepper jelly on his bagel for breakfast. His second favorite is apricot jam. So when this week’s Sunday Supper theme was Spice is Nice &r Some Like it Hot, I decided that I would mix his two favorite flavors (hot peppers and apricots) and use them in some way. That’s when I came up with these spicy apricot chicken meatballs. Actually I originally came up with a spicy apricot pistachio cookie but thought these would be fun to make too. They remind me a lot of those party meatballs people make with grape jelly and cocktail sauce. These are very similar to that but with a little more heat and a different kind of sweet.
I made my chicken meatballs from scratch and they were really easy but if you were in a hurry you could use frozen meatballs. I don’t think it would matter if they were chicken, beef or pork meatballs either. I personally like chicken meatballs and thought they would be the best choice of meat to go with the apricot jam and serrano peppers. So if you bought the meatballs, this would be a 3 ingredient dish! Easy peasy. But today we are making the meatballs by hand. 
I used ground chicken, bread crumbs and Pparmesan cheese for the meatballs and the sauce is apricot jam and serrano peppers. I browned the meatballs under the broiler in hopes I could keep their round shape but next time it would be just as easy to do it in the skillet. When they were browned, I added them to the skillet with the apricot jam sauce and cooked for 10 minutes. 
I plan to make these for my next big family party. One of my brothers loves those grape meatballs so I think he would really like these.
Spicy Apricot Chicken Meatballs
I mentioned the other day how my husband thinks I don’t cook with him in mind. Well here’s another one for you sweetheart! Chicken meatballs with your two favorite flavors of apricot and hot peppers. I’m sure this will be at our next big family party. I hope you all like it too! And please scroll down for some more great recipes from my friends at Sunday Supper.
Spicy Apricot Chicken Meatballs #SundaySupper
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken ground
- ½ onion minced
- ½ serrano pepper minced
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic crushed
- 2 serrano peppers minced (can use more if you want it hotter)
- 2 cups of apricot jam
Instructions
-
To make the meatballs first add your onion and serrano pepper to a food processor to mince both.
-
In a large bowl add the onion and serano pepper to your ground chicken. Add the bread crumbs, eggs and Parmesan cheese and mix well to combine.
-
Spray a cookie sheet with cooking oil.
-
Form your meat mixture into small meatballs and place on the cookie sheet. Oil your hands while rolling the meatballs to make them nice and smooth.
-
Set under broil and broil for 2 minutes on each side or browned to your liking.
-
Alternatively you can brown these in a big skillet.
-
In a microwave safe bowl, add your jam and heat for 1-2 minutes to make it a bit runny.
-
Add your minced serrano pepper and mix well.
-
In a large skillet add your meatballs and jam mixture. Mix well, cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
-
This recipe made 32 fairly large meatballs.
Renee says
Spicy + apricot = fabulous! What a great meatball recipe!
Denise says
Thank you Renee!
Karly says
Whoa! I’d never think to try a spicy apricot sauce on my meatballs, but this is pure genius. I must try these soon!
Denise says
Thanks! Glad you stopped by.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
my grandmother used to make the most delicious apricot chicken meatballs, and it’s been a while since i last had them! good memories! thanks for the nostalgia & inspiration.
Denise says
Wow that’s great to hear! Thanks for stopping by!
Maria says
Love the flavor combination and the fact that it is in the shape of a meatball. Great post. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ashleigh @Dash of Evans says
I love the sweet and heat combo, especially for meatballs! I bet these would be great in a large batch for the slow-cooker–my friends love when I serve meatballs at a party! Great recipe 🙂
Denise says
Yes, meatballs are big for parties here! These could definitely be made in the slow cooker. Thanks for stopping by!
Tammi @ Momma's Meals says
OMG my hubby loves hot pepper jam too, I have to attempt making my own some time. I think we would both LOVE these meatballs.
Denise says
Maybe the hot pepper jam is a guy thing huh. I hope you make them and enjoy them. Thanks for stopping by Tammi!
Hungry Goddess says
These look GREAT!
Caroline says
These sound delicious – love apricot in savory dishes so sure I’d like these.
Denise says
Thanks Caroline. I’m liking apricots more and more lately. (Probably because of my husband. 😉 )
The Finer Cookie/Kim says
Let’s toast to all we do for our husbands. Mine calls me the Underwear Fairy. Go figure. Your meatballs look delicious. You could make those for me any day!
Denise says
Hahaha I like that! My husband calls me squirrel, because I squirrel all kinds of things away.
Monica says
What is it about these men who think we plan our blog around them? My husband is the same – he complains until he tastes and then decides he likes it …
These look amazing. How can you go wrong with meatballs? Love everything you have in there and the apricot glaze is brilliant!
Denise says
Thanks Monica, it’s good to know that I’m not the only one!
shelby says
I love your comment about your hubby thinking you don’t cook for him! My hubby tells me that everyone thinks he eats like a king every night because I’m a food blogger. That is his whine when I don’t cook a meal every night. ha ha. Great looking meatballs and I love the sweet heat combo!
Denise says
I know! I start to feel guilty if I don’t cook every single day. I like the combo too! Thanks for stopping by Shelby.