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Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

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This recipe for Chicken Parmesan Meatballs is healthy, tasty, and totally easy enough to throw together any night of the week and special enough for a weekend too! I love serving them over a plate of pasta or in a bun for a tasty spin on a class meatball sub!

plates of spaghetti and meatballs

So excited to share these Chicken Parmesan Meatballs with y’all today. Truth, I don’t use ground chicken very often. It’s not because I don’t like it. I just don’t think of it. I was scavenging through the ice cold dark pit of my kitchen (aka my freezer). I was attempting to use some of the stuff up, so that meat doesn’t become freezer burnt and old. I found two lbs of ground chicken in the way back that I had forgotten about. Chicken Parmesan Meatballs came to mind and sounded like a good plan to me!

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

So amazing how much they remind me of actual Chicken Parmigiana! Even Miss “I don’t eat anything except for waffles & bananas now” was asking for more after she ate up what was on her plate. Honestly, that one felt good. I’ve been fighting with her to eat things other than the previously mentioned food items for the past two weeks. I know all kids go through this, but I was determined to be the mom whose child didn’t. Funny story, that didn’t happen. This little chiquita doesn’t touch any kid-friendly, quick, convenient type of food. She won’t even touch chicken strips anymore. What is going on??

So this past week I’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking up some new (and old) things for this little blog here, and her favorites? Chicken Parmesan Meatballs and Chicken Stew. Whose child is this? I mean, I LOVE both of these things, but I’m fairly positive that at the tender age of 17 months…. I didn’t touch either of them.  But her? She won’t touch macaroni and cheese. Just no interest at all. Did your heart just skip a beat? Mine does every time I think about it.

These babies are just too good, and they’re also super light on calories and totally WW friendly, so you can make some pretty scrumptious meals out of them! So far I’ve done Chicken Parm Meatball Pasta and Chicken Parmesan Meatball Subs! These meatballs would also be good just all by themselves, to be honest. With lots of delcious flavor coming from the garlic and freshly grated parmesan in the chicken and then being topped with my slow cooked flavor packed marinara, these will be a definite crowd pleaser. You could even just stick a toothpick in them, grab a bowl and put some of my delicious marinara sauce in for dipping, and call’m an appetizer for parties!  I love when one simple recipe can be turned into so many good things.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PARMESAN MEATBALLS:

ingredients

What you need to make Chicken Parmesan Meatballs:

  • 2 lbs lean ground chicken
  • one small zucchini grated- you only need about a cup so if you have a large zucchini don’t use the whole thing (run it through a food processor for extra quickness)
  • 1/2 freshly grated parmesan (run this through the food processor too! literally takes seconds) you can use already grated parmesan, but a freshly grated parmesan tastes better.
  • onion- in meatballs I usually use a couple tablespoons of dried minced onion (found with other spices in the grocery store), but you can finely dice about 1/4 cup of onion too
  • one whole egg
  • 3-4 cloves garlic or about 1 tbsp minced
  • Panko breadcrumbs! I like to use panko style breadcrumbs instead of fine breadcrumbs. Be sure you’re using the plain panko ones for best results!
  • 1 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 and 1/2 cups Marinara- of course, I use my super popular and yummy recipe for marinara, but it’s just fine to grab a jar off the shelf at the store too!
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella

All this talk about a food processor, I’m gonna link my food processor here. I was team food processors are unnecessary for a really, really long time. I literally just started using one a lot more this past year after Eric gifted me one hoping that it would help me save time. He was right. They are incredible time savers and I will always have one from this day forward. But I, more than anyone, understand sometimes extra space in the kitchen and room in the budget doesn’t allow for something like that, a good grater will always get the job done! Just takes a little extra time.

bowl of ground chicken, egg, zucchini, cheese, and onion

Grab a bowl and throw in all of the ingredients except for marinara and mozzarella.

ground chicken

Now wash your hands and get in there and mash together! (you can also use food safe gloves)

raw meatballs with sauce

Grab a sheet pan (with sides) and line with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Start to roll your meatballs up then top with about 1 tablespoon of marinara on each meatball.

Tip: to prevent sticking while you roll into a ball spray your hands with just a little cooking spray.

raw chicken meatball with sauce and mozzarella on top

Now top with a pinch or two of mozzarella, about a tablespoon per meatball.

Pop these into a preheated 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Hot outta the oven! Delicious and heathy Chicken Parmesan Meatballs!! Now toss them with your favorite pasta and sauce, stuff them in a warm bun, or stick a tooth pick in them and call it a day.

chicken parm meatballs

Lots of Love from my kitchen to yours..

Star

This post was originally published 10/2016, but I updated 03/2022 to with improved photos and minor recipe adjustments.

 

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Crispy chicken meatballs, topped with a flavorful marinara and mozzarella cheese.
Print Recipe
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:25 minutes
Total Time:35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs lean ground chicken
  • 1 small zucchini (shredded/grated) (about 1 cup total))
  • ½ cup parmesan freshly grated is best, but already grated will work just fine!
  • ¼ cup finely diced onion or two tbsp dried minced onion
  • 3-4 cloves garlic or about 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tbsp italian seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • cups marinara (extra for serving if desired) I use my easy peasy homemade marinara, but store bought is just fine
  • 1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella
  • Cooking Spray

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a large bowl add all of the ingredients except for the marinara and mozzarella cheese.
  • Roll meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball. You should get 24 meatballs. Place onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Top each meatball with about 1 tbsp of marinara and mozzarella.
  • Place in oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Garnish with extra parsley if desired.

Notes

 
WW Points: 2
(Points caluclated for each meatball. They are larger than average meatballs so I find 2-3 is the perfect serving size depending on what I’m using them for.)
260 Calories 11g fat. 4g saturated fat. 4g carbohydrates. 1g fiber. 1g sugar. 28g protein (per 3 meatballs)
 
 
Servings: 24 meatballs
Author: Star @ the skinny-ish dish
Tried this recipe?Mention @theskinnyishdish or tag #skinnyishdishrecipes!

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57 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    So easy and delicious! My husband get excited when I make these and loves the leftovers.

  2. 5 stars
    These are so delicious! We have these with a hunk of bread and extra sauce…..very filling!

  3. 5 stars
    I Meal prepped a bunch of these bad boys, and even by the end of the week my husband and I were still looking forward to eating them. They reheat SO well, and are so filling! Probably one of my favorite recipes!

  4. 5 stars
    I made these last night and we all loved them…even the kids. I love that you’re getting in some veggie while enjoying them!

  5. 5 stars
    I made these tonight. I followed the recipe to the t and they came out absolutely delicious! I served them with spaghetti and more marinara. A definite crowd pleaser! Do yourself a favor and make them asap 🙂

    1. Helen, I’m so happy you enjoyed!! Thanks so much for checking back in and letting me know everyone enjoyed.

  6. 5 stars
    Just made these meatballs last night. Oh my gosh! So good! I actually made half the recipe with chicken and the other half with beef (my husband can be quite picky ) and both were absolutely delish! Thank you so much for your hard work, Star!

    1. Yay! So happy you both enjoyed them and good to know they are also really tasty with beef too! Thank you for letting me know =)

  7. 5 stars
    Loved these! During covid I had the time to cook more which I never really liked to do. Your recipes are amazing. So easy to follow and delicious. I made these tonight for the first time and adding these to my favorites along with your Italian beef crockpot, Greek chicken bowls, baked chicken breast, one pot cheeseburger pasta, egg cheese bacon biscuit bake, marinara sauce, chicken carnitas, taco crunch wrap, Monterrey chicken. Seriously all delicious. Thank you for creating, sharing and helping so many of us with the struggle of what to make for dinner!

  8. 5 stars
    Do yourself a favor and make these. Immediately. I halved the recipe because I have a finicky eater. But, to my surprise, my husband loved them!

    If you can’t find ground chicken or just don’t want to pay that price, just grind some skinless, boneless chix breast in your food processor. I just started doing this and it is super easy.

    Regardless, these chicken Parmesan meatballs are off.the.chain!

    Thanks Star!!!

  9. 5 stars
    These were delicious! It was pretty sticky forming the balls and I didn’t have the patience for 24 so I made 8 large ones, lol! Came out fantastic!

    1. I need to make a note on the recipe! I’m sorry. You can spray your hands with a little bit of cooking spray and that will help or even just wet your hands every so often and that will help too! so happy you enjoyed despite the sticky meatball making!

  10. 5 stars
    These were delicious! Two of us had them in sub rolls. I had mine by themselves. While those were baking I made your crock pot marinara. Looks good so far!

  11. I just made the chicken meatballs. I wanted to freeze some. Should I freeze them before I cook them or cook them with the sauce and cheese and then freeze? They look delicious! I can’t wait to have them for dinner.

  12. 5 stars
    These are AMAZING!! An Absolute favorite! I like to pair them with birdseye rotini marinara pasta!! So delicious!

  13. Texture question – does the zucchini & minced dried onion get soft and meld into the meatballs or do they retain a separate “crunchiness”? Thanks!

  14. 5 stars
    These are so delicious and so great for meal prep! I love to use these to make meatball hoagies or serve them with pasta! They are toddler approved as well! #top2021

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