This hearty rooster meatball skillet is loaded with sautéed zucchini, tender orzo, and contemporary cherry tomatoes — don’t skip topping it with burrata and parmesan 🥰. It’s a straightforward, flavor-packed one-pan dinner that I like serving for my household through the summer time months.
As a busy mother of two, I’m all the time looking out for straightforward dinner recipes to feed the fam, and this rooster skillet checks all of the containers. It’s straightforward to make, straightforward to scrub up, and my toddlers are getting some veggies of their bellies! Should you love this recipe, you’ve additionally gotta attempt my lemon rooster skillet with broccolini and pearl couscous, which additionally checks allllll the containers.

It’s onerous to discover a pasta recipe that you just nonetheless crave on scorching summer time evenings, however that is precisely that! A hearty dinner however doesn’t really feel too heavy for the summer time is such a win in my guide 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Takes benefit of yummy seasonal veggies. By the top of the summer time, my backyard is all the time overflowing with zucchini, so this can be a nice recipe to make when you’re in the identical boat 😋😋
Made in a single skillet, and doesn’t require you to activate the oven. Want I say extra?




Primary Components
- Floor rooster: I’ve examined this recipe with floor rooster and floor turkey — each work nice.
- Panko breadcrumbs: These assist maintain the meatballs collectively properly whereas preserving them tremendous moist even when utilizing lean meat like floor rooster.
- Zucchini: The star of the present! You’ll wish to seize 2 medium zuccs for this recipe. I love to do one inexperienced and one yellow zucchini so as to add some coloration selection.
- Rooster broth: The broth will rapidly soak up because the orzo cooks, so don’t fear if it seems to be too watery at first! You possibly can even make your personal rooster broth 🥰.
- Orzo: Orzo simply cooks within the skillet and soaks up all of the yummy liquid.
- Cheese! I like topping this dish with grated parmesan, and a giant ol’ ball of burrata proper earlier than serving.
Discover the record of full elements within the recipe card under.
Tips on how to Make Summer season Squash Rooster Skillet
Discover the complete directions within the recipe card under.
- Put together the meatballs: Combine all of the meatball elements, and kind into meatballs utilizing a 1.5 tablespoon scoop and your palms. Sear the meatballs within the skillet to partially cook dinner them and brown the outside. Set them apart when you’ve achieved this!
- Sauté the veggies: Now it’s time to sauté in the identical pan. Add the veggies and a pinch of salt, and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Add the orzo, and simmer to cook dinner: Add the orzo to the skillet and toast for a couple of minutes earlier than including the meatballs again into the skillet in addition to all of the rooster broth, heavy cream, lemon juice and zest. Deliver it to a boil and scale back to a simmer for 7-10 minutes.
- High and luxuriate in! High with grated parmesan and burrata (elective, however actually advisable 😋), and luxuriate in!

My Favourite Methods to Serve
I like serving this skillet family-style in the course of the desk with a huge backyard salad on the facet. My toddlers love dunking breadsticks into the pan to scoop up the yummy sauce, so I extremely advocate that as properly 😋😋.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Retailer any leftovers within the fridge for as much as 3 days. In case your skillet has a prime, you possibly can completely retailer it proper within the skillet itself for straightforward reheating of leftovers.
Extra Skillet Dinner Recipes
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Combine all the elements for the rooster meatballs in a big bowl till mixed. Scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of the combination into your palms and kind a meatball. Repeat till all the meatballs have been fashioned. Put aside.
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Warmth olive oil in a big nonstick skillet over medium/excessive warmth. Add the meatballs to the skillet and partially cook dinner the meatballs by browning two sides. Take away them from the skillet, they are going to be totally cooked later.
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In the identical pan, cook dinner the onion with ¼ teaspoon of salt for 2-3 minutes over medium warmth. Add the zucchini and tomatoes and cook dinner for a further minute.
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Add the orzo and toast for 1-2 minutes, after which add the lemon zest, broth, lemon juice, heavy cream, and remaining salt. Stir and convey the combination to a boil, after which scale back the warmth to low. Add the meatballs to the dish and canopy. Simmer for 7-10 minutes or till the orzo is cooked and the liquid is generally absorbed.*
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As soon as the orzo is cooked via and the meatballs are totally cooked, take away from the warmth. High with parmesan cheese and serve instantly.
- In step 4, if the liquid is absorbed however the orzo continues to be crunchy, add ¼ cup extra of broth, stir, and permit the combination to simmer till the orzo is cooked via.
- I used zucchini and cherry tomatoes, however be at liberty to make use of your favourite backyard greens.
Energy: 602 kcal, Carbohydrates: 42 g, Protein: 36 g, Fats: 34 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 6 g
Vitamin info is routinely calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Pictures: pictures taken on this publish are by Erin from The Picket Skillet.
