Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Take the ingredients from a chicken parm recipe and turn it into easy-to-make ground chicken parmesan meatballs. Delicious!
These mini chicken parm meatballs are so cute, aren’t they? I don’t even normally like chicken parmesan but I definitely gobbled these bad boys right up. I have a really strange aversion to chicken paired with red sauce. I have always had this peculiar notion where I very strongly feel that chicken and red sauce should never go together. Chicken belongs with some sort of white sauce or a buttery wine sauce. Anyone else agree? No? I never ever ordered chicken parmesan at a restaurant and here I am making a version of it at home. Hooray for the new and adventurous me!
These meatballs would be a great appetizer at a dinner party or a pot luck but I made them for our main course one night and they were perfect paired up with my garlic smashed potatoes. Your guests will LOVE you for serving these at a party. These meatballs were moist, tender, and best of all – HEALTHY and more lean than most meatballs because they are made with ground chicken! Chicken parmesan ingredients converted into meatballs! It’s the best way to eat it, in my opinion.
You can even use ground turkey if you can’t find ground chicken at your grocery store or if you just prefer it (have you tried these delicious Asian turkey meatballs yet? Those are another favorite meatball recipe of mine). Oh, and if you stuff these babies inside a roll, then top them with some mozzarella cheese, and make meatball subs I don’t think you’d regret that decision…
Enjoy and have a great day!
- 1¼ lb ground chicken
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- zest of half a lemon
- marinara sauce or pizza sauce
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, onion, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic, egg, and lemon zest until well combined. Add the ground chicken and use your hands to gently mix together with the other ingredients (don't overmix or they will turn out tough). Using about ¼ cup of the mixture for each one (I used my ice cream scoop to keep them all the same size), form the meatballs by rolling the mixture into a ball with your hands. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the top of each meatball with a little of the marinara or pizza sauce. Bake for about 14-15 minutes, or until the meatballs are golden brown and cooked through (they should register 165 F on an instant-read thermometer). When you take them out of the oven, brush the tops of the meatballs with a little more of the marinara sauce before serving.
Recipe source: adapted from traceysculinaryadventures.com
Meatballs, meatballs, meatballs *-*
I’ve always wanted to make my own, and this recipe looks amazing! Thanks for sharing, Ashley! x
Try them out! You’ll love them!
My husband’s favorite meal is chicken parmesan, so these would be a great twist to try!
You can even add cheese too! I was just trying to keep them super healthy 🙂
I’ve been meaning to try making meatballs with chicken or turkey to go a little lighter. Plus, it’s just delicious. Your chicken parm meatballs are so cute and they’ve got to be delicious. Those garlic smashed potatoes don’t sound too shaby either! Yum!
Awww thank you, Monica. You’re too kind – as always 🙂
I also am not a fan of chicken parm. I’m more a marsala, french person myself. But my family loves chicken parmesan. Great meal for a busy weeknight. Thanks Ashley.
I also strongly prefer french or marsala when it comes to chicken!
I used to always think that chicken and red sauce were not a good combo – but your chicken paremsan balls sound delectable! Gawsh if only our computers were like microwaves and I could press a button and have these pop out…I would be doing my share of gobbling too 🙂
It’s refreshing to hear I’m not the only one who thought chicken and red sauce should not be together 🙂
Ashley,
This is such a good idea!! Sadly, I love both chicken and red sauce and the two of them together are nothing short of synergistic in my book. I’m pinning these babies!!
I think I’m the only person in the world who is weird about red sauce and chicken!
I think I’m the only person who doesn’t think they go together! Trying to get over that 🙂
P.S. Thanks for the pin!!
OMG I love chicken parmesan. And this meatball version sounds delicious! I love the idea of pairing them with those garlic smashed potatoes.. totally made me hungry right now.
Thanks – I appreciate the nice comment, Ruby!
Marrying the flavor of chicken parmesan with meatballs is genius!
I thought so too! 😉
Yes!! These little meatballs are adorable! And love that you made them healthy too!
Awww thank you Meghan!
Loving these chicken meatballs, I could definitely throw a few of them in my mouth!
LOL Love it.
I’ll eat red sauce on just about anything! Love these Ashley!
I’m getting there! ha ha. Thank you Christin!
Chicken and red sauce isn’t a regular thing for me, but the two do go together quite well. These meatballs look wonderful! The whole dish has tons of flavor. Good stuff – thanks.
these are sooo cute! And they look super tasty!
Thank you, Kayle!
These sound awesome, Ashley!! Yum!
These look like a lovely appetizer or party treat! Really yummy and a nice change from regular meatballs.
Thanks, AMY!
Chicken parmesian is one of my favorite meals and I love how you converted it into these adorable meatballs! I’m always looking for good and easy appetizer recipes. Definitely adding this one to my rotation for when I host my holiday parties. 🙂
Thanks, Tina! I hope you like them!
What a great idea for an appetizer! I need to do a post on appetizers, as they are nearly a lost art…bagel bites don’t count! I had a friend who took brownies to a posh appetizer party…yikes!
WOW!! hahaha!