Delicious and easy these chicken parmesan meatballs are perfect as an appetizer, on top of spaghetti, or inside a sandwich. Step-by-step photos help you make this easy ground chicken recipe.

There are few things in life that don't benefit from a thick layer of melted mozzarella, these chicken parm meatballs are not one of those things. Talk about easy, delicious, comfort food.
My boyfriend had these for breakfast, as a sandwich, on a salad, pretty much every way he could, because, these are that good. They are super easy to make and you could prep them ahead of time then bake them just before you want to serve them. They would be perfect for a party because everyone goes gah gah over melty cheese!!
I based the recipe off of my crockpot BBQ meatballs, simple but tasty!
Let's get to the recipe.
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What Ingredients Do You Need?
For the meatballs you'll need:
- Ground Chicken. Keep in mind using chicken breast will produce a drier meatball than using ground chicken thighs. I've always loved using Mary's Chicken. Check out my chicken pot pie recipe next!
- Spices. We'll need salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
- Breadcrumbs. Since this is an Italian themed meal I like to use Italian breadcrumbs but you could use regular. Or use regular and add Italian seasoning.
- Parmesan Cheese. It's important to use the grated kind, this will incorporate with the rest of the ingredients easier.
- Egg. The egg helps bind everything together and stick!
These babies wouldn't be chicken parm meatballs if they weren't coated in bread crumbs, topped with cheese and swimming in marinara sauce.
- Breadcrumbs. To give us the iconic chicken parm look and taste.
- Marinara Sauce. You could use homemade or just use some of your favorite store-bought.
- Fresh Mozzarella. I like to slice my own fresh mozzarella but feel free to use the pre-shredded kind if you like.
- Fresh Basil Leaves. So not necessary but also can you have an Italian meal without fresh basil? I think not!
Another appetizer we love is these pizza puffs!
How do you make the meatballs?
Preheat oven to 350F/ 180c.
In a large bowl mix together all meatball ingredients. Use your hands and mix until it comes together as a ball.
Use a medium cookie scoop to make balls. Roll in your hands to make them round, wet hands if the meat is sticking too much to your hands.
In a small bowl add the Italian breadcrumbs and roll each meatball in to fully coat.
In a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat add olive oil and add half of the meatballs, every minute and a half rotate the meatball so all sides will evenly brown. After 4 turns remove the meatballs and cook the remaining meatballs.
Once all meatballs are cooked remove from the skillet and remove skillet from the heat. Pour out excess olive oil in the skillet.
Add marinara sauce in the dirty skillet and place meatballs on top.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven, I always check my meatballs at this point to see what temperature they are at, then I know roughly how much longer they will need in the oven.
Add slices of mozzarella cheese.
Bake for another five minutes, and check the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165F/ 74C. If the cheese has not browned yet turn the broiler on for a minute or two. Remove from oven and sprinkle fresh basil leaves on top. Serve as is, over pasta, or in a sandwich.
There you have it, Chicken Parmesan Meatballs!! I hope you give this recipe a shot!!
Next time try my friend's Thai Turkey Meatball Recipe, I swear we have made her meatballs at least 8 times in the last 3 months, they're so good!!
Another delicious appetizer/ dinner recipe is my chicken lettuce cups! If you love tomatoes and cheese then you gotta try this easy recipe for caprese skewers!
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Delicious and easy these chicken parmesan meatballs are perfect as an appetizer, on top of spaghetti, or inside a sandwich. Step-by-step photos help you make this easy ground chicken recipe.
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 18 Meatballs 1x
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1lb Ground Chicken
- 1 Teaspoon Each of Ground Black Pepper and Garlic Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Each of Salt, Dried Basil, Oregano, and Red Pepper Flakes
- ½ cup Italian Breadcrumbs (Regular would work- just add some Italian Seasoning)
- ⅓ cup Grated Parmesean Cheese
- 1 Large Egg
Topping
- ⅓ cup Italian Breadcrumbs
- 16oz (2 Cups) Marinara Sauce
- 3oz ish (8-12 Thin Slices) Fresh Mozzarella
- Fresh Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/ 180c.
- In a large bowl mix together all meatball ingredients. Use your hands and mix until it comes together as a ball. Use a medium cookie scoop to make balls. Roll in your hands to make them round, wet hands if the meat is sticking too much to your hands.
- In a small bowl add the Italian breadcrumbs and roll each meatball in to fully coat.
- In a large oven proof skillet over medium heat add olive oil and add half of the meatballs, every minute and a half rotate the meatball so all sides will evenly brown. After 4 turns remove the meatballs and cook the remaining meatballs.
- Once all meatballs are cooked remove from the skillet and remove skillet from the heat. Pour out an excess olive oil in the skillet. Add marinara saue in the dirty skillet and place meatballs on top.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and add slices of mozzarella cheese. Bake for another five minutes, check the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165F/ 74C. If the cheese has not browned yet turn the broiler on for a minute or two. Remove from oven sprinkle fresh basil leaves on top. Serve as is, over pasta, or in a sandwich.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: chicken parm meatballs, baked chicken meatballs, how to make chicken meatballs
Micheal says
Made this for dinner last night and ate them for lunch again today! We will be having this in our monthly dinner rotation!
★★★★★
Angela says
MMMM these are so moist! Loved them!
★★★★★
Alexis says
Made this for dinner tonight, INTO THEM. This will be on our weekly dinner mash up! LOVE!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for the review Alexis, so happy you enjoyed the recipe!! My family loves these. Take care. XX Liz
Madelyn says
MMMM! I made these last week for my boyfriend, we enjoyed them with zucchini noodles! Think I will add this to our weekly round up!
★★★★★