Chicken Meatballs are tender, seasoned bites made with ground chicken that are baked to perfection. Perfect to serve as an appetizer, a main dish, with pasta or even meatball sandwiches!
A BAKED CHICKEN MEATBALL RECIPE
Do you ever look st ground chicken in the grocery store and think, I wonder what you can make with it? Ground chicken (especially right now) is often more affordable than ground beef and you can pretty much do anything with ground chicken that you can with ground beef. Like meatballs! Now, you do have to make sure you season ground chicken really well or it won’t taste very exciting. I absolutely love how these meatballs turned out. I like to drizzle a little teriyaki sauce on them and serve with some rice and steamed broccoli. My son really enjoys them with BBQ sauce. They’re so versatile and so easy to throw together for dinner!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Try not to squish the meatballs too tight or handle the meat too much when forming into balls or they will be more tough. Ground chicken is a bit more forgiving than ground beef though when it comes to this.
These meatballs can be served as a dinner entree or as an appetizer. There are plenty of serving options, you could serve these by themselves but with some dipping sauce like a dish of BBQ sauce or a drizzle of teriyaki sauce on top. You could coat them in a marinara sauce and serve with pasta (see more on that in the next question below). Or use them in meatball sandwiches. If serving as an appetizer for guests, just put them into a slow cooker (after baked) on the warm setting so they stay warm while serving.
You bet, these would be delicious as Chicken Parmesan Meatballs! Just throw a little marinara sauce on top and serve it with spaghetti or other pasta – so GOOD! If you want to give the meatballs some more Italian flavor, skip the onion powder and garlic powder and use about 1 ½ teaspoons of Italian seasoning. I’d alo suggest reducing the salt to ½ teaspoon since most Italian seasoning already has salt in it. If your Italian seasoning doesn’t have salt, just leave it the same as the original recipe.
Yes, make the physical meatballs just as you would for the original baked version, then preheat the Air Fryer to 400F. Place meatballs in the basket, not touching, in a single layer and air fry for 8-10 minutes. You’ll need a meat thermometer to ensure they reach 165F internally before serving. Also, you’ll probably need to cook these in multiple batches, don’t overcrowd the basket.
Meatballs should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Yes, this is great for meal prepping. Flash freezing is the way to go. After you form the mixture into balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, put the whole tray in the freezer for 30 minutes. Make sure the meatballs aren’t touching. Remove the meatballs to a freezer bag or freezer container. Freeze up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 and remove meatballs from freezer. Place on a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 28-32 minutes.
After you bake the meatballs, let them cool then put the whole tray in the freezer for 40 minutes. Make sure the meatballs aren’t touching. Remove the meatballs to a freezer bag or freezer container. Freeze up to 3 months. This is the best way to ensure they don’t stick together when frozen.
When ready to rewarm, simply pop them in the microwave for about 1-3 minutes, depending on how many you are warming at once. You can also air fry to reheat or put back in the oven.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- ground chicken – you can make these with ground pork or ground turkey as well.
- large eggs
- olive oil
- Worcestershire sauce
- panko bread crumbs– You can use regular breadcrumbs if needed. Also, if making these Italian flavored, you may want to use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs instead.
- parmesan cheese– I like to use freshly shredded cheese, but I think these should work if you used the grated bottled stuff.
- garlic – I like fresh minced garlic, but I suppose you could try the jarred garlic if in a pinch for time.
- salt and pepper
- dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder – I tried to keep the seasoning for these pretty standard so you could use them for a variety of purposes. I go into more detail above in the Frequently Asked Questions section but you could make these more Italian flavored if preferred. If you want them more Asian inspired you could also substitute these spices for a Chinese Five Spice (about 1 teaspoon – or more to taste)
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with foil, spray with cooking spray, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine all the meatball ingredients with a wooden spoon or with your hands. Don’t overmix or it can toughen the meat.
Take about 2 Tablespoons of the mixture and form into balls. I think this is easiest with a spring loaded cookie scoop. Don’t press too firmly. Place on the prepared baking sheets and bake on the middle rack for about 16-22 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Note: Try to cook the meatballs on the same oven rack for even doneness. If you have to use two racks, I would suggest rotating about halfway through so they cook evenly.
Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before eating.
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Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with foil, spray with cooking spray, (or line with parchment paper) and set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl combine 2 pounds ground chicken, 2 large eggs, 3 Tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 ¾ cups panko bread crumbs, 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ teaspoon pepper with a wooden spoon or with your clean hands. Don’t overmix or it can toughen the meat.
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Take about 2 Tablespoons of the mixture and form into balls. I think this is easiest with a spring loaded cookie scoop. The less you handle the meat, the more tender they will be.
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Place on the prepared baking sheets and bake on the middle rack for about 16-22 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Note: Try to cook the meatballs on the same oven rack for even doneness. If you have to use two racks, I would suggest rotating about halfway through so they cook evenly.
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Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5-10 minutes before eating.
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Calories: 41kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 79mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
