Chicken Meatballs – little golden balls that are juicy on the inside, bursting with savoury flavour, these are BAKED so they hold their nice round shape and frankly, it’s just way easier than pan frying! Spaghetti and meatballs was never so tasty!
And PS – just wait until you see how soft these are in the video!
Chicken Meatballs
Monday Meatball Mania* is back – and fellow meatball lovers, I have a ripper for you today! Beautiful, juicy, super tasty chicken meatballs that are baked, not fried. No more rolling meatballs around in the skillet, tediously ensuring they brown as evenly as possible all over and praying to a higher power that they stay nice and round.
Forget that. Just spray ’em and bake ’em!
* Monday Meatball Mania is a “thing” that my friend Jo from Jo Cooks and I started at the beginning of 2017. Because we both agree that all ball shaped food is delicious, and there should be more of it in the world, so we’re making our contribution by each sharing a meatball recipe on the last Monday of every month.
Chicken Meatballs MUST be soft and juicy!
Look how soft they are! ↑↑↑ Can’t squeeze dry, hard meatballs like that. You’ll see the squeezing action in the video too. 😉
And here’s a little peek inside. Juicy!
You’ll find that these meatballs are have plenty of flavour so you’ll need to resist the temptation to pop them straight into your mouth from the tray. I say “resist”, but I do insist that the cook does a taste test before plating these up. You know, to check for seasoning… 😉
From a practical perspective, what I was leading to is that these would be great to pass around at a gathering. I’d probably have some kind of sauce on the side – ketchup, or even some of the tomato basil pasta sauce in this recipe.
But I must say that they are absolutely fantastic tossed through spaghetti with a simple homemade pasta sauce. It’s the same one I use in the Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni I shared last week.
What a sight. Hurry up dinner time! I’m in the mood for meatballs tonight! – Nagi x
Love Chicken meatballs? Try these!
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Vietnamese Meatballs – base recipe is pork but it’s so good with chicken too!
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Thai Meatballs – make these with chicken!
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Mexican Meatballs – beef and pork meatballs supercharged with fiesty Mexican spices
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Browse all meatball recipes
Chicken Meatballs
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Chicken Meatballs recipe video!
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BAKED Chicken Meatballs with Spaghetti
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 500 g/1lb chicken mince (ground chicken), or turkey or pork (Note 1)
- 1/4 small white onion , grated into the bowl
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1 large garlic clove , minced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (or 2 tsp dried parsley or basil)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- Olive oil spray (or olive oil)
Pasta Sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , finely chopped
- 3/4 small onion , finely chopped
- 800 g / 28 oz crushed tomato
- 1 cup / 250 ml water (swirl in tomato can to clean out)
- Handful basil leaves , torn, or 1 tsp dried herbs (e.g. Italian mix, oregano, thyme, basil)
Serving:
- 250 g/ 1/2 lb spaghetti or other long strand pasta of choice , cooked per packet
- Fresh basil , optional
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan/convection).
- Place a rack on a tray, and spray the rack with oil.
- Place Meatball ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Scoop up a heaped tablespoon, roll into a ball and place on the rack. Repeat with remaining mixture - should make 25 - 30. Tip: spray hands with oil or wet lightly with water.
- Spray each ball well with oil, then bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Give 'em a squeeze and you'll see how soft they are!
Sauce:
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 - 3 minutes until translucent. Add tomato and water, stir then turn heat down to medium. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper and stir through basil (or use dried herbs).
Serving:
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water. Drain then return pasta to the same pot.
- Add Sauce and meatballs, toss.
- Serve, garnished with fresh basil and parmesan.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
So exhausted after a big beach session, he slept through meatballs….. though you’ll see in the video that I did wake him up for a treat! 😂
I’ve made these meatballs in the past and they are amazing. I’m wonder about omitting the egg since my son has an egg allergy… should I sub with something else or just leave out the egg?
I use 2T of buttermilk to replace each egg when making meatballs (my kid is allergic too)
You might be able to use flax seed and water as an egg replacer.
Yum! These were so good, husband has requested again this week 🙂
Whey can I sub if we don’t like chopped tomatoes? Passata?
This is my fav go to chicken meatballs. It’s got the best texture! I’ve tried several other recipes and this is by far my favorite! Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this meatball pasta for dinner. everyone in my family really enjoying. So delicious. Thank you for sharing.
I made this using store brand sauce and it’s yummy and quick dinner to make!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sumara! N x
Hi Nagi, I’ll be giving this a try tonight but I don’t have panko. I do have old bread though. Would this be better to use, or regular breadcrumbs? Thanks!
Hi Jenny, you could use either, just blitz your old bread to make homemade panko! N x
Hi Nagi, love your recipes… but just a quick question what’s the best substitute for parmesan cheese..? Or can I just leave it out for this recipe?
Hi Shana, the parmesan gives these a great flavour – you can leave it out if you prefer but just add another 1/2 tsp salt to counteract not having the salty cheese – N x
Would nutritional yeast work as a substitute for the cheese? Need to make this without dairy.
Thank you.
thank you so much for adding the sub.for fresh herbs. i rarely have fresh. wish all recipes did.love your recipes and dozer.
You’re so welcome – it’s hard to always have access to fresh herbs!
Hi Nagi
Is the recipe meant to be watery? I think 1 cup water was too much, next time may halve. Thanks for your recipes – love them! My international student last night said “I should go on Masterchef!” He he! I used to be petrified to cook for others – now look at me and all thanks to you! 🙂
Hi Haylie, no it’s not supposed to be watery, you may need to simmer it a little longer if you’re finding it watery – N x
I am your little secret fan. Always enjoy reading your recipes and watching your videos 🙂
Just made these chicken meatballs as our dinner tonight. Wow, these chicken meatballs are soooo tender, juicy and delish!!!!
Have tried some of your recipes and they are ALL really good.
Keep creating and posting :))
Made these with Turkey Mince and Zoodles. So good!!
I’m so glad you loved them Vera!! Thanks so much for letting me know!
Made these the other night- really good, and didn’t miss the beef at all!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them Mia, great for a change from the standard Beef meatball!
So I have made quite a few of your recipes, and they are all really good, but these are AMAZING! I have made dozens of different ‘chicken meatballs’ but nothing comes close to these moist and tasty ones, will never need to try another chicken meatball recipe. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that Andrea!!!
Made these last week. Best meatballs ever. So light and soft . Will make again. Thanks Nagi another great recipe.
I’m so glad you loved them Jackie!
I made just the meatballs to go with lemon & garlic linguine for a big birthday celebration dinner and they were excellent! I used Pecorino Romano instead of parm and added 2 tablespoons of olive oil because the ground chicken was all white meat,. I used a #30 scoop and got 26 meatballs, then refrierated them for a couple of hours so all I had to do was slide them into the oven while the pasta cooked.
They were juicy and flavorful and everybody LOVED them!’ Thanks, Nagi!
That’s great MaryJo! I’m so happy they were loved!
These are amazing! I don’t think I will ever use beef again! I don’t love grating onion so a little tip is to put the onion into the food processor with the garlic, blitz, add the egg and blitz again. Add this plus all other ingredients to the meat. Amazing!!
Ah great idea Danielle!!
Hi Nagi, I made these chicken meatballs with pasta last night, all I can say is, yum, yum, yum
Thanks for such a wonderful blog. ❤️❤️
You’re so welcome Gerhard, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment ❤️
I followed the recipe exactly. When I tasted the sauce, it tasted like water with tomatoes in it. I let it simmer for a while longer but that didn’t work so I added tomato paste, part of a jar of tomato sauce and a half tsp. of sugar and it came out not good, not delicious but just edible. For the meatballs I used ground turkey. Although it came out perfectly after baking and the flavor was good, I thought that the meatballs tasted a tad mushy. It could have been the brand of panko that I used, I don’t know, but all was not lost. I put my ok sauce in the freezer and for the next two days ate the meatballs smothered in the sauce from the jar and the meatballs tasted better.
As always, thanks for your lovely recipes and I will continue my cooking journey thru your website.
Meatballs have a terrific taste! I baked them on parchment paper and they turned out perfect!
Sauce is plain but I really like it. Will stir in fresh basil when serve for dinner tomorrow night! Having baked spaghetti squash with oregano and sautéed asparagus and garlic on the side. No noodles. I’m excited about this recipe! Think our guests will enjoy those lucious meatballs and sauce as well!
That’s so great to hear Donna! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
Our guests really enjoyed the meatballs and sauce for dinner tonight! We literally scraped the pan clean! Not one bite was left! Even my husband remarked that dinner was delicious. Thanks so much for a scrumptious recipe! I look forward to making it again!
That’s wonderful to hear Donna! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x
Hi! Do you think they would come out right if I don’t use a wire rack? Looking forward to making these tonight. Thanks!
Yes they will be fine! 🙂 N x