Chicken Parmesan Meatballs smothered in sauce and cheese and baked until bubbly hot. This healthy chicken meatball recipe is a new low-carb twist on an Italian classic that’s easy to make and will quickly become a family favorite! You can add it to your meal prep rotation for an easy make-ahead dinner during the busy work week.
If you’ve been wondering what to make with ground chicken, I have a recipe for you – chicken parmesan meatballs! This is a 5-star ground chicken recipe you need to add to the weekly menu!
Looking around my blog, you’ll see that I’m a huge meatball fan. Our favorites include baked turkey meatballs, spinach turkey feta meatballs, zucchini turkey meatballs, mozzarella stuffed turkey meatballs, and chicken parm meatballs.
All of those healthy meatball recipes are amazing, but these chicken meatballs are next level! It’s everything you love about Italian chicken parmesan but rolled into a tasty meatball.
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Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make. Mix everything, roll into balls, and bake. Done!
- Healthy. High in protein and fits nicely into a low-carb lifestyle. And with an easy swap can also be gluten-free.
- Versatile. Think beyond spaghetti! Enjoy these healthy meatballs with salad or veggies. I’ll give more suggestions below.
- Make-ahead! You can make these chicken meatballs on Sunday for the week or make a few batches to freeze.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make delicious ground chicken parm meatballs! See the recipe card for the full recipe.
- Ground chicken. For best results, purchase high-quality organic ground chicken breast, and you can find it in the meat section near the ground turkey breast and ground beef. You can also buy delicious organic ground chicken breast online at Butcher Box.
- Egg. This is used as a binder for the rest of the ingredients.
- Seasoning. I use garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and homemade Italian seasoning to flavor the meatballs. If you don’t have homemade Italian seasoning then use store-bought or a blend of dried basil, dried oregano, and parsley.
- Worcestershire sauce. As with my ground turkey recipes, Worcestershire is the secret ingredient I use to give more flavor and meatiness to ground chicken recipes. If you don’t have Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or tamari will work.
- Grated parmesan. For the best flavor, grate the parmesan cheese fresh. A quick shopping tip; head to your local wholesale store for great prices on chunks of fresh parmesan.
- Unseasoned bread crumbs. Since I add seasoning to the meatballs, I prefer to purchase unseasoned bread crumbs for this recipe. This also keeps the bread crumbs free of additives and preservatives.
- Marinara sauce. To keep this chicken meatball recipe easy, I suggest grabbing a jar of high-quality sauce; Rao’s or the Thrive Market Brand are my favorites. Of course, you can also use this easy marinara sauce or spice it up with an arrabiata sauce.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese. For extra ooey gooey cheesiness, I recommend shredding the mozzarella cheese fresh. However, grabbing a pre-shredded bag of cheese will also work if you’re short on time.
How to Make Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, and 1/4 cup of the sauce.
- Using your hands, slowly mix until just combined.
- Using a medium scoop, form the meatball mixture into 18 small meatballs and place onto a lined baking sheet or baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
- Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes.
- As the meatballs cook, cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole baking dish with 1/2 cup of the sauce.
- After the meatballs are done, place them in the baking dish. Pour the rest of the sauce over the chicken meatballs and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for another 20 minutes. Serve hot. Sprinkle with fresh basil or any fresh herbs, if you like.
Serving suggestions
- You can eat these tasty meatballs with pasta and extra sauce.
- Or keep it low-carb and enjoy it with zoodles, Caesar salad, or roasted Italian vegetables.
Cooking Tips
- If the ground chicken has extra liquid, drain it before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients so the meatball mixture isn’t mushy and you can form it into balls.
- If the chicken mixture is too mushy and challenging to form meatballs, add in extra breadcrumbs a little at a time until you can form a ball. Please note this mixture is on the wetter side, so as long as you can form a ball, that’s fine; the meatballs will firm up as they cook.
- This chicken mixture will be wet, so it’s helpful to have some water close by to wet your hands. This keeps the meat from sticking to your hands and helps to roll the meatballs.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to create uniform-sized meatballs.
Variations
- You can swap in ground turkey for the chicken.
- For more flavor add Italian sausage or ground pork.
- Prefer a creamy white sauce? Serve these chicken meatballs with this delicious gluten-free alfredo sauce.
- For an extra crunch, roll the meatballs in 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs before baking. You can also shallow fry in olive oil using a skillet and continue the rest of the recipe in the skillet or assemble the casserole.
- Swap in equal amounts of gluten-free breadcrumbs if you have gluten sensitivity.
- Spice it up with a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Tools to Make This Recipe
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Large-rimmed Baking Sheet
- 9 x 13 Casserole Dish
Make-ahead & Storage Tips
These healthy chicken parmesan meatballs store and reheat well, making them perfect for meal prep.
For the week:
- Cook the ground chicken meatball recipe completely, and after it cools, place it in glass meal prep containers to heat and eat during the week. It’s also helpful to divide the meatballs into individual containers if you’re looking for a grab-and-go lunch or dinner.
- Bake the meatballs, assemble the recipe into a casserole dish, cover, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. On cooking day, continue with the recipe.
- Bake and store the meatballs in an airtight container or storage bag and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. On cooking day, assemble the rest of the ingredients and continue with the recipe.
To freeze:
- The easiest way to free this recipe is to cook the chicken meatballs, cool them, and freeze them in freezer bags. Take the meatballs out of the freezer the night before to thaw in the refrigerator. Assemble the meatballs and the rest of the ingredients into the casserole dish and continue with the recipe.
- Assemble the ingredients into a disposable casserole dish, cover, label, and freeze. Take out of the freezer the day before to thaw in the fridge. Continue with the cooking instructions; you might need to add more cooking time if it’s still cold.
- For heat and eat freezer meal, cook the chicken meatball parm thoroughly, let the recipe cool, and then portion out into individual containers and freeze. Taking the portion out the day before to thaw in the refrigerator is helpful. However, you can reheat it from frozen. Use a microwave dish and reheat for 3-4 minutes until hot.
Other Healthy Italian Dinner Recipes
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs smothered in sauce and cheese and baked until bubbly hot. This healthy chicken meatball recipe is a new low-carb twist on an Italian classic that's easy to make and will quickly become a family favorite! You can add it to your meal prep rotation for an easy make-ahead dinner during the busy work week.
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Servings: 6 people
Calories: 253kcal
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Large baking sheet
- 9 x13 casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
- 1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
- 2 cups marinarai sauce divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, and 1/4 cup of the sauce.
- Using your hands, slowly mix until just combined.
- Using a medium scoop, form the meatball mixture into 18 small meatballs and place onto a lined baking sheet or baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
- Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes.
- As the meatballs cook, cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole baking dish with 1/2 cup of the sauce.
- After the meatballs are done, place them in the baking dish.
- Pour the rest of the sauce over the chicken meatballs and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Serve hot. Sprinkle with fresh basil or any fresh herbs, if you like.
Video
Notes
Make-ahead & Storage Tips
These healthy chicken parmesan meatballs store and reheat well, making them perfect for meal prep.
For the week:
Cook the ground chicken meatball recipe completely, and after it cools, place it in glass meal prep containers to heat and eat during the week. It’s also helpful to divide the meatballs into individual containers if you’re looking for a grab-and-go lunch or dinner.
Bake the meatballs, assemble the recipe into a casserole dish, cover, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. On cooking day, continue with the recipe.
Bake and store the meatballs in an airtight container or storage bag and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. On cooking day, assemble the rest of the ingredients and continue with the recipe.
To freeze:
The easiest way to free this recipe is to Cook the chicken meatballs, cool them, and freeze them in freezer bags. Take the meatballs out of the freezer the night before to thaw in the refrigerator. Assemble the meatballs and the rest of the ingredients into the casserole dish and continue with the recipe.
Assemble the ingredients into a disposable casserole dish, cover, label, and freeze. Take out of the freezer the day before to thaw in the fridge. Continue with the cooking instructions; you might need to add more cooking time if it’s still cold.
For heat and eat freezer meal, cook the chicken meatball parm thoroughly, let the recipe cool, and then portion out into individual containers and freeze. Taking the portion out the day before to thaw in the refrigerator is helpful. However, you can reheat it from frozen. Use a microwave dish and reheat for 3-4 minutes until hot.
Nutrition
Serving: 3meatballs | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g
Did you make this recipe?
Have you tried this Chicken Parmesan Meatballs recipe? If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences.
Terrie says
This is more of a question…to free up oven and for traveling purposes could these be done in an electric roasting pan? as a P.S. I have made this recipe many times and always a big hit!
Tammy Overhoff says
I havent done it this way – but I’m sure it would work.
Cassandra says
Greetings,
I made these meatballs due to having ground chicken in the freezer and wanting to use it. I really love these meatballs. I specifically went looking for a meatball recipe when I decided I needed to make something using the ground chicken and I stumbled on this recipe in my email. The only changes that I made to the recipe is that I added one grated zucchini, I made sure to squeeze out the excess water in the zucchini —(I had to find a way to use my zucchini 🙂 and added Italian herb paste and Mrs. Dash tomato, garlic and basil seasoning, in addition to the required seasoning. The meatballs are really moist and very tasty.
Beth Arnold says
I made these last night. Absolutely love them. I squeezed the chicken meat to get some of the moisture out. Very easy to make and low enough on calories. The only change I made was I used Italian breadcrumbs. Thank you for this delicious recipe. Love, love, love it.