Meatballs Marsala with egg noodles and chives from Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites (page 183) by Deb Perelman

Ingredients

wide egg noodles
ground chicken
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Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

danielle_s1qyh9 on March 29, 2026

A family favorite!
Plumberful on January 30, 2026

This is the second time I’ve made this and each time I have forgotten to chill the meatballs before pan frying, so they are shaped a bit like little hockey pucks. Having said that though, they are flavorful, very tender and perfectly cooked through — a true bowl of comfort food. We served them over orzo. I like the idea of adding sherry to the sauce, but it is also good as is.
Wichakati on September 29, 2024

I've made this twice. Key to chill the meatballs as others have pointed out. I messed up this time but it turned out fine. I chilled the sautéed onions and forgot to add them to meatballs. Added to sauce and was fine. Also added 8 ounces sautéed sliced mushrooms to sauce. Used sweet marsala which is what had on hand. added small amount of cayenne to meatballs. Next time would consider adding some diced rendered pancetta to sauce as well - likely render that and then cook the onions and mushrooms in it.
kbrooks on May 22, 2024

I've made this several times and agree with previous comments re bland sauce and soft meatballs. Have had best results making the meatballs ahead and refrigerating a few hours to firm up and using a good medium dry sherry for a more flavorful sauce. Ground turkey also works in this recipe.
Ishie1013 on January 09, 2024

Really nice sort of lighter Swedish meatballs kind of recipe. Used rigatoni since that was all I had, but a really nice quick dish that made good use of the pound of ground chicken I needed to go through. I’ll save this one for the weeknight archives.
dianev on December 04, 2022

I was pleased with this dish--made exactly as written except I added Aleppo pepper and garlic powder to the meatballs. Mushrooms seem to go well with Marsala, and could be added and cooked after the onions but before the meatballs. Will probably make again.
MKBGeorgi on June 04, 2022

This is a dish we make quite often with one major change - we don't bother making the meatballs into meatballs and make it a ground chicken marsala sauce, which takes out the frustrating step of destroying beautiful meatballs. My kids love this sauce though (I never have Marsala, I always use Sherry) and will happily eat this whenever I serve it.
bernalgirl on December 10, 2021

Adults liked this more than the kids did, this scratched a comfort food itch that they are more likely to satisfy with tacos or ramen. Our bad, but I would make these again.
stef on December 07, 2021

We enjoyed this meal. I added hot pepper flakes to my meatballs and used ground pork. They were very tender. To the sauce I added 1 tablespoon honey mustard and that was good.
Rachaelsb on June 11, 2019

I agree with many of others. I was expecting a rich Marsala flavor to sauce and instead it felt heavy and somewhat bland. Meatballs did not have much flavor either. I would make again...just would need several months in between.
mrsmadam on December 24, 2018

Lacking Marsala I used sherry and these totally worked. To combat the super soft meat problem I chilled the meatballs for a while before frying and that helped some. Since there are only two of us I halved the recipe but kept the sauce as written in anticipation of his constant pleas for “more sauce please”. This was not necessary but may come in handy for the leftovers. These will go in rotation. 8/5/2020. Can’t believe I waited this long to make it again. I halved the sauce recipe and SO was satisfied with the amount. Made the entire meatball recipe and froze half.
sarahwitt3 on September 24, 2018

I won't make it again. Not terrible, just bland and for that reason, not worth the calories.
alex9179 on August 11, 2018

I ground chicken thighs and baby bellas, at the same time, for the mixture. Hid the mushrooms from the young family members and added flavor. I double it, at least, for growing kids. They're flattened by the end, since they're so loose, but manage to hold enough shape while cooking to resemble meatballs.
Frenchfoodie on July 18, 2018

The meatballs were okay but the sauce was fairly bland. It all got eaten, no complaints but I’ve had (and made) better.
hirsheys on May 06, 2018

This one was less successful for me, though it wasn't bad - just a little boring. I followed Deb's advice pretty closely, despite *hating* pan-frying meatballs. These are also particularly annoying to pan fry because they are super wet. (To be fair, she warns about that they will be, though this doesn't improve the process!) The head note for this emphasizes that Deb was really focusing on buttered noodles when she created this and she really nails and heightens that flavor. That said, while I really wanted to love this recipe, this one isn't going to rise to the top of the pile for me.
BeckyLeJ on March 12, 2018

So good! The chicken meatballs are very wet when you first work with them, but Perelman is right, as you cook them they do hold form. Next time around, I'll do Half Baked Harvest's browned butter and garlic egg noodles to go with this!
Rutabaga on January 04, 2018

These are delicious chicken meatballs, something the whole family could enjoy. I increased the amount by 50%, giving us enough for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. As usual, my meatballs ended up vaguely triangular and flattened, but fortunately that doesn't affect the taste.
rionafaith on November 06, 2017

Yummy! I somewhat hesitantly substituted unsweetened almond milk for both the milk and the cream as I was trying to avoid a last-minute trip to the store, and it worked totally fine -- the gravy was rich and creamy. As Deb warns, the balls are very soft which makes shaping them difficult, and mine flattened a bit while frying so they ended up distinctly un-spherical. But who cares once they're covered in sauce?