Imagine tender cheesy Chicken Parmesan Meatballs, covered in rich marinara sauce and melted cheese piping hot and on the table in under an hour. This easy recipe is a perfect blend of rich Italian flavors crafted for easy weeknight dinners with all the flavors of the Italian classic.
If you have a fondness for classic chicken parmesan, you’re in for a delightful surprise with our chicken parmesan meatballs. We’ve captured the quintessential flavors of the beloved comfort food and transformed them into convenient, bite-sized marvels. This is the kind of chicken recipe we never get bored of.
Perfect for both special occasions or an easy family dinner. This quick dinner recipe is a go-to for when you want to meal plan for the week, just like our sumptuous pork meatballs or traditional veal meatballs. And it’s an easy chicken meatball recipe, even easier than our go-to air fryer veal parmesan, loaded with marinara and a cascade of melted cheese.
We’ve listed our favorite brands below to make these homemade meatballs but feel free to use whatever you like best for this recipe. Our secret ingredient for keeping things low-carb is pork panko. We love the stuff but traditional panko or plain breadcrumbs work great if that’s what you have on hand.
Ingredients
- Ground chicken – we look for ground dark meat for added flavor. Ground turkey.
- Pork Panko bread crumbs or traditional Italian breadcrumbs
- Parmesan cheese – use freshly grated cheese, not the kind in a shake jar
- Eggs
- Dried herbs like basil and Italian seasoning
- Red pepper Flakes
- Salt and Pepper – we always use Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Garlic
- Oil – neutral cooking oil will work
- Marinara sauce – we love Roa’s marinara sauce right out of the jar and find it on sale at Costco. Check out our shop page for all of our favorite pantry staples.
- Mozzarella cheese – we used sliced fresh mozzarella because we like how it melts, but shredded mozzarella will work too.
- Fresh herbs like parsley and basil
- More parmesan cheese for garnish
How to make chicken parm meatballs
This is one of those easy recipes that only take a few minutes to prep.
- First, Line a baking sheet with wax paper or foil and prep your ingredients by getting them all in place so you have things ready to go.
- Then add the meatball ingredients to a large bowl. The ground chicken, parmesan cheese, eggs, herbs, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. Mix with your hands to combine.
- Divide the ground chicken mixture into 12 even portions and gently form into meatballs by rolling the meat mixture with your hands. Place the meatballs in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Next, when ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then, preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a splash of oil to coat the pan and prevent the meatballs from sticking. When the oil is shining and just starting to smoke, arrange the chicken meatballs in a single layer in the pan without crowding them. Work in batches if needed.
- Fry the meatballs until golden brown, flip, and remove from the heat.
- Carefully spoon the marinara sauce over top. Then add the slices of mozzarella cheese.
- Using an oven mitt, carefully transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake the meatballs for another 10 to 12 minutes. The cheese will be browned and toasted. Use a digital meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the chicken parm meatballs is 165 degrees F at the center.
- Let the pan cool for 5 minutes before spooning out and serving hot. Garnish with freshly minced parsley, fresh basil, and more grated parmesan cheese if desired. It’s all the absolutely delicious flavors of chicken parm in juicy chicken meatballs.
Girl Carnivore Expert Recipe Tips
- Don’t want a dry meatball? Look for dark meat for the best flavor. Ground chicken breast is incredibly lean, so make sure not to cook it too far past 165F internally.
- This is one of our favorite meals to make in a big batch for easy meal prepping. We double it and have baked meatballs ready for easy lunches, delicious dinners, and protein snacks all week long.
- You can bake these ground chicken meatballs on a baking sheet without the marinara sauce or mozzarella if you want to prep them ahead for meals or freeze them without sauce.
- We use a seasoned cast iron skillet for this recipe. Because the tomato sauce won’t be in the skillet too long, and because it’s well seasoned clean cast iron, the acidity won’t hurt the pan. If you don’t have a well-loved cast iron skillet, use an oven-safe skillet.
- If you don’t have ground chicken, this recipe works with any ground meat, like pork, venison, or even ground beef similar to a traditional polpette recipe. With ground beef, drain any excess fat before adding the sauce, and expect a rich flavor similar to our beef parmesan.
What to serve with these easy meatballs
We keep it low carb and serve these ground chicken meatballs with shredded roasted cabbage, and for an added layer of flavor, use smoked cabbage.
Alternatively, these are great spooned-over pasta noodles like spaghetti in classic chicken parm style, roasted spaghetti squash, or zoodles. Add a slice of warm garlic bread on the side to sop up the extra pasta sauce to make this chicken parmesan meatballs recipe even more indulgent. You could even serve these in a hoagie roll and make it a meatball sandwich.
Leftovers and Storage
Once cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, take out the desired portion and microwave in 30-second blasts until heated through. Alternatively, you can reheat these in a large skillet or baking dish in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F until heated through, about 10 minutes.
You can also freeze these chicken parm meatballs. After they are cooled, store them in resealable freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. Label the bag, and par freeze the meatballs by laying the bag flat on a baking sheet for an hour in the freezer. Then, you can freeze the whole bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge until ready to cook and reheat in an oven preheated to 325 degrees F until heated through 15 to 20 minutes.
More easy Meatball recipes
Poultry Recipes
Ground Turkey meatballs
Pork Recipes
Easy Pork Meatballs
Veal Recipes
Veal Meatballs
Lamb Recipes
Baked Lamb Meatballs
Chicken parmesan meatballs are a clever nod to an Italian classic, except for busy weeknights, in an easy, tasty format. Ideal for meal prepping, lunch, or quick dinners, they’re a straightforward way to spice up a meal. Tempted to give them a go? Don’t just take our word for it—whip them up, enjoy them, and then rate the recipe card and leave a comment to help out the next guy.
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Ingredients
For the chicken meatballs
- 1 lbs Ground chicken
- 1/4 cup Pork Panko or traditional Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 tsp basil dried
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Red pepper Flakes
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp Oil any neutral cooking oil will work
- 15 oz Marinara sauce
- 8 oz Mozzarella cheese sliced or shredded
For Garnish
- Parsley minced
- Basil minced
- Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
Make the meatballs
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
- Add the meatball ingredients to a bowl.1 lbs Ground chicken, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 Eggs, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp Red pepper Flakes, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp Pepper, 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup Pork Panko
- Gently mix and form into 12 even sized meatballs with your hands.
- Place the meatballs in the fridge for 30 minutes to firl up.
Cook the meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add oil to the pan and swirl to coat.1 tbsp Oil
- Add the meatballs to the pan, in a single layer, not overcrowding the pan and brown for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Flip and remove from heat.
- Carefully add the marinara over the top of the meatballs.15 oz Marinara sauce
- Add the mozzarella cheese, sliced over each of the meatballs.8 oz Mozzarella cheese
- Carefully transfer the skillet of meatballs to the oven to finish cooking, another 10 to 12 minutes.
- The meatballs are done when the internal temperature reaches 165F with an instant read thermometer.
Serve
- Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Garnish with freshly minced parsley, fresh basil, and more grated parmesan cheese if desired and serve hot.Parsley, Basil, Parmesan cheese
Notes
- Don’t want a dry meatball? Look for dark meat for the best flavor. Ground chicken breast is incredibly lean, so make sure not to cook it too far past 165F internally.
- This is one of our favorite meals to make in a big batch for easy meal prepping. We double it and have baked meatballs ready for easy lunches, delicious dinners, and protein snacks all week long.
- You can bake these ground chicken meatballs on a baking sheet without the marinara sauce or mozzarella if you want to prep them ahead for meals or freeze them without sauce.
- We use a seasoned cast iron skillet for this recipe. Because the tomato sauce won’t be in the skillet too long, and because it’s well seasoned clean cast iron, the acidity won’t hurt the pan. If you don’t have a well-loved cast iron skillet, use an oven-safe skillet.
- If you don’t have ground chicken, this recipe works with any ground meat, like pork, venison, or even ground beef. With ground beef, drain any excess fat before adding the sauce, and expect a rich flavor similar to our beef parmesan.
Nutrition
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I love chicken meatballs! Your recipe looks delicious!
Recipe is GREAT! INGREDIENTS are good!
However, I will Forgive you for the ABOMINATION that is Ground poultry…of any kind.
Grrrrrrr…. 😡😁🤗❤️
hahaha, to be fair, we did say look for dark meat if you have to use ground chicken ;D