These juicy Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are the perfect satisfying weeknight dinner that everyone will love! If you love chicken parmesan then you’ll be obsessed with these meatballs. They’re made with quick cooking ground chicken, fresh herbs and spices, and covered in saucy marinara and melty mozzarella and parm. Serve them over your favorite pasta for a delicious meal!
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs: The Recipe My Husband Is Always Asking Me to Make
I’ve made a lot of meatball recipes, and I love them all, but these Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are just special! Since I first tested this recipe, both me and my husband have not been able to stop making it. They’ve become one of our favorite weeknight dinners and I’m pretty sure they’ll continue to be on repeat.
If you love chicken parmesan then you are going to love this recipe! The perfectly seasoned chicken meatballs are covered in marinara, topped with mozzarella cheese, and then baked until the cheese is gooey melty and perfect. You can pair them spaghetti like classic chicken parm or pick your favorite pasta shape (rigatoni is my personal fave).
This recipe takes a little bit of prep but it’s still relatively easy to make. Honestly the little bit of prep that’s required is so worth it. It’s filling, satisfying, and the leftovers taste great the next day. I know you’ll love it!
Key Recipe Ingredients
Ground Chicken: for these meatballs we’re using ground chicken. I prefer to use dark meat ground chicken but you’re welcome to use ground chicken breast instead.
Parmesan Cheese: we’re adding a bit of grated parmesan cheese to the meatballs which helps to add flavor and keep them nice and juicy.
Almond Flour: typically meatballs include breadcrumbs but to keep these gluten free this recipe uses almond flour instead. If you have a nut allergy I’ve included some options for you, below.
Marinara Sauce: to keep things easy you can use your favorite jarred marinara sauce for this recipe. This is my very favorite jarred marinara sauce.
Mozzarella Cheese: For that delicious layer of melty cheese you’ll add some fresh slices of mozzarella on top of the meatballs before baking.
Ingredients Substitutions In Case You Need Them
- Ground Chicken – don’t have any ground chicken on hand? you can swap it for ground turkey instead.
- Almond Flour – swap the almond flour for traditional Italian breadcrumbs if you prefer to not use almond flour. If you need to keep this recipe gluten free then you can use gluten free breadcrumbs.
- Cheese – dairy free grated parmesan and mozzarella can both be subbed for traditional dairy cheeses if you prefer.
- Pasta – you can swap the pasta for zucchini noodles if that works better for you!
How to Make Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Once the meatballs are seared, you’ll your favorite jarred marinara sauce overtop and then top with slices of mozzarella cheese.
Pop the meatballs into the oven to bake until everything is bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden brown.
A Few Important Tips
- Cheese Buying Tip: I like buying a ball or log of whole milk mozzarella and slicing for this recipe. I find that it melts much better than the pre-shredded variety because there are no stabilizers.
- Baking Tip: you could easily bake these meatballs instead of pan-searing them. Bake them at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the internal tip reaches 165 degrees.
A Few Serving Suggestions
These chicken parmesan meatballs pair perfectly with al dente pasta but I also love adding a veggie on the side like roasted asparagus, a greek salad, or make a caesar salad.
If I’m not feeling a side of veggies though, I’ll stir a few handfuls of spinach into the meatballs before topping them with cheese to get in my greens.
Make a Chicken Parm Meatball sub: toast a roll with a little olive oil or better, add a few meatballs, top with extra mozzarella and parm and then toast until broiler on low for a few minutes until it’s melted.
I hope you give these Chicken Parmesan Meatballs a try! They are so easy to make and delicious! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know!
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Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop & Oven
- Cuisine: Italian inspired
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These incredible Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are the perfect weeknight dinner! Made with plenty of fresh herbs, spices, and delicious melty cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 egg, whisked
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons finely diced or grated yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 25 oz marinara sauce
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into rounds
- cooked pasta, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Make the meatballs: Add the ground chicken, whisked egg, garlic, onion, basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt pepper, parmesan, almond flour, and red pepper flakes to a large mixing bowl. Gently mix together until well combined. Use a tablespoon measure to scoop and roll the meat mixture into meatballs. You should be able to make around 20 meatballs.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot add the olive oil and then add the meatballs to the skillet and cook for 2-4 minutes until golden and then flip and cook another 2 minutes. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your skillet. Once the meatballs have browned, remove them from skillet.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and wipe down or rinse to remove any browned bits. Return the meatballs to the skillet and pour the marinara sauce over the meatballs. Top the meatballs with the sliced mozzarella cheese.
- Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the edges of the skillet are bubbly. If desired, turn the oven to low broil and let cook for 2-3 minutes to help the cheese brown a bit.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and top with a more grated parmesan and additional fresh parsley and basil.
- Serve the meatballs and sauce with the cooked pasta of your choice. Enjoy!
Notes
How to Store and Reheat: Store the meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. You can reheat in the microwave or simmer on the stove top until the meatballs are heated through.
Ashlea’s Make-Ahead Tips
Make a double batch of the meatball mixture – you can easily make a double batch of the ground chicken meatball mixture and then freeze half for a later date.
Prep and freeze the meatballs – want to save even more time? Prep and roll the meatballs, place on a large sheet pan and then freeze for 30-45 minutes. Once the meatballs have hardened, transfer them to a freezer safe storage container. When it’s time to cook you can either cook the meatballs from frozen or let them thaw before cooking.
Cook and freeze the meatballs – another option is to prep and then fully cook the meatballs before freezing. When you are ready to use them, just remove from the freezer and let the meatballs simmer in the marinara sauce until heated through. Once hot, transfer the meatballs to the oven to finish baking.
Photography by: THE MINDFUL HAPA
These meatballs are so flavorful! One of my favorite of Ashlea’s recipes. When I’m feeling more hungry I serve these with pasta, but they’re great on their own with just a veggie, like peas. These are on regular rotation in my house.
Delicious! I didn’t use the mozzarella, but the meatballs are fantastic. Thank you!
Huge huge HUGE hit in this house! I doubled the recipe knowing how my house loves ANYTHING meatball and these were a slam dunk. Perfect texture and super flavorful.
These meatballs are easy and DE-LI-CIOUS! They’re versatile, too. I’ve prepared them as shown here, but they’re just as good served with something as simple as rice. (You know, when you want a reallyyyy easy dinner!) Bonus – they also make a good lunch/meal prep option!
I’m so glad you loved this one, Tamela! Thanks for leaving a review!
Easy recipe and they came out great. Served over spaghetti squash to save some calories 🙂
Sounds delicious, Brandy! thanks for taking the time to leave a review!