These Southwest Chicken Meatball Sliders with chili lime slaw are a delicious, healthy and easy dinner! They can be made on the grill, smoker or in the oven. They cook up really quickly and this meal should be done in right around 30 minutes.
The Chicken meatballs are filled with southwest flavors like chopped green chilies, chili powder, cilantro and green onions. The slaw is a little sweet, tangy and creamy with a combination of cabbage, bell peppers, cilantro, lime juice, spices and mayonnaise. I also love to add a quick chili lime aioli to these and I will add that recipe below too.
These sliders are the perfect size for mini hamburger buns or rolls. You can make them bigger to fit a regular hamburger bun as well. They are a little messy to eat but that is all a part of their charm.
If you have worked with ground chicken much, you know that ground chicken is very lean, I believe around %8 fat in most mixtures. So these chicken meatballs are very lean and I like to add olive oil to them to add a little more moisture and healthy fat, though they can be made without the added olive oil and are still delicious when made extra lean. For that reason I have listed the olive oil as optional in the recipe down below.
What you need to make these Southwest Chicken Meatball Sliders:
Makes 12 Meatball sliders – serves 4-6
Southwest Chicken Meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil – optional, this adds some moisture to these because chicken is super lean
- 1 egg
- 4 green onions – diced
- 4 ounces roasted chopped chilies
- 2 tablespoons cilantro – minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Dash of black pepper
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoons chili powder – depends how spicy you want these
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Dash of cumin – optional
- 3/4 cup quick oats or bread crumbs also work
Chili Lime Slaw
- 2 cups shredded or thinly sliced green cabbage
- 1/2 cup purple cabbage – optional or use 1/2 more green cabbage
- 1/2 cup bell peppers – any color, diced
- 3 tablespoons cilantro – diced
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Dash cayenne pepper
- Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
Chili Lime Aioli
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon mustard – Dijon or any type
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- Pinch of sugar
Instructions
- Preheat grill, smoker or oven to 350 F.
- In a bowl, add chicken, olive oil, egg, diced green onions, chopped chilies, chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and oats and mix together well.
- Divide mixture into 12 balls and roll, the mixture will be loose and messy but it will stick together when it goes on the grill or in the oven.
- Place on the grill, smoker or in a pan in the oven and cook for roughly 20 minutes or until the center temperature is 165 F.
- To make the chili lime slaw, add sliced green cabbage, purple cabbage, bell peppers and cilantro.
- In another bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lime juice, sugar, chili powder, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt and pepper then add to the cabbage mixture and stir well.
- To make the chili lime aioli, mix together mayonnaise, mustard, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, lime juice and pinch of sugar and mix together.
- To assemble, add chicken meatballs, aioli or mayo and slaw to a mini bun, bun or roll and enjoy!
Here are a few other chicken recipes you may love:
Sesame Chicken Lettuce Cups
Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Bowls
Chimichurri Grilled Chicken
Southwest Chicken Meatball Sliders
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil – optional this adds some moisture to these because chicken is super lean
- 1 egg
- 4 green onions – diced
- 4 ounces roasted chopped chilies
- 2 tablespoons cilantro – minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Dash of black pepper
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoons chili powder – depends how spicy you want these
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Dash of cumin – optional
- 3/4 cup quick oats or bread crumbs work too
- Chili Lime Slaw
- 2 cups shredded or thinly sliced green cabbage
- 1/2 cup purple cabbage – optional or use 1/2 more green cabbage
- 1/2 cup bell peppers – any color diced
- 3 tablespoons cilantro – diced
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Dash cayenne pepper
- Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
- Chili Lime Aioli
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon mustard – Dijon or any type
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- Pinch of sugar
Instructions
- Preheat grill, smoker or oven to 350 F.
- In a bowl, add chicken, olive oil, egg, diced green onions, chopped chilies, chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and oats and mix together well.
- Divide mixture into 12 balls and roll, the mixture will be loose and messy but it will stick together when it goes on the grill or in the oven.
- Place on the grill, smoker or in a pan in the oven and cook for roughly 20 minutes or until the center temperature is 165 F.
- To make the chili lime slaw, add sliced green cabbage, purple cabbage, bell peppers and cilantro.
- In another bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lime juice, sugar, chili powder, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt and pepper then add to the cabbage mixture and stir well.
- To make the chili lime aioli, mix together mayonnaise, mustard, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, lime juice and pinch of sugar and mix together.
- To assemble, add chicken meatballs, aioli or mayo and slaw to a mini bun, bun or roll and enjoy!