Meatball and Rice Skillet

This Meatball Rice Skillet with baby peas is a delicious and easy weeknight meal all made in one pot. You can use homemade meatballs or buy them. Great dinner option the entire family will love!

One Pan Meatball and Rice Recipe

My freezer is never without these homemade meatballs and this Meatball Rice Skillet dish is another reason why.

This skillet recipe is a family favorite and never disappoints. The meatballs and rice soak up all the tasty liquid from chicken broth and white wine, and the sweet baby peas provide a built in vegetable. Flavor-packed, made all in one pan, it’s a great weeknight meal that’s so delicious and hearty. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, they reheat nicely for the next day, too.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy skillet dish.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

• Meatballs – My classic beef meatball recipe is awesome, but you can use store-bought, if preferred to cut back on time. You can also use turkey meatballs. They should be fully cooked before using, thawed or frozen when you add them to your pan.
• Rice – Use either uncooked long grain white rice, Jasmine rice, or Basmati rice. See note below regarding brown rice.
• Baby peas – A built in vegetable that adds nutrition and subtle sweetness. Using frozen peas makes this an easy year-round dish. Thaw and remove the excess moisture before using.
• Onion & Garlic – For great flavor and aromatics.
• Chicken broth – The uncooked rice absorbs the chicken broth as it cooks, adding an extra layer of flavor. Use low-sodium so the dish isn’t overly salty.
• White wine – As the wine cooks off, it adds wonderful depth of flavor to this dish (see note below.)
• Olive oil – To sauté the onion and garlic.
• Seasonings – Coarse salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and fresh chopped parsley season the dish.

How to Make Meatball Rice Skillet

This one pan dish is so easy to make and is flavor-packed. Here’s a summary.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

1. Sauté the onion and garlic. Warm oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until soft and translucent. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant. Season with a dash of salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.
2. Add rice. Stir in the uncooked rice and stir to coat.
3. Add other ingredients. Add the wine; cook until rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid, about 1 minute. Add broth and cooked meatballs; bring to a boil.
4. Cover and simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 22 minutes until rice is tender.
5. Stir in peas. Stir in the peas, cover, and cook for another 3 minutes to warm through.
6. Serve. Remove from the heat, taste and add more salt, if necessary. Toss in the parsley. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe Variations

This is a great one pan meal with some options if you need to switch out some of the ingredients.

• Using brown rice. This recipe has not been tested with brown rice, but it would probably work. Note that since it takes about 10 minutes longer to cook, you’ll need more broth.
• Don’t like peas? If you don’t like peas, you could add small broccoli florets or cut green beans instead, but they will take longer to cook. Add them to the pan about 10 minutes before it is finished cooking.
• Omitting the wine. The alcohol in this recipe lends wonderful flavor and completely cooks off, but if you are opposed to cooking with wine, you can use extra chicken broth in its place. Note that the overall flavor won’t be as robust.

Storing Leftovers

• Fridge. Allow any leftovers to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• To freeze. Cool completely, then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

More One Pot Meals:

• Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Broccoli and Bacon Pasta
• Easy Jamalaya
• Rice with Beans
• Mexican Rice Skillet

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!

Meatball Rice Skillet

5 from 9 Ratings

This Meatball Rice Skillet with baby peas is a delicious and easy weeknight meal all made in one pot. You can use homemade meatballs or buy them. Great dinner option the entire family will love!

Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small sweet onion , finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic , minced
• salt and pepper , to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 & 1/4 cups uncooked Jasmine rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 & 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 16 cooked Italian meatballs , homemade or store-bought
• 1/2-3/4 cup sweet baby peas , thawed if frozen
• 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Instructions

• Warm oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Season with a dash of salt and pepper and add in the red pepper flakes.
• Stir in rice to coat.
• Add the wine; cook until rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid, about 1 minute. Add broth and meatballs; bring to a boil.
• Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 22 minutes until rice is tender.
• Stir in the peas, cover, and cook for another 3 minutes to warm through.
• Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Toss in the parsley.
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 455IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: meatball rice skillet, rice skillet recipe

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