Baked Italian Chicken Meatballs

A close up of chicken meatballs in red marinara sauce and in the center of the picture is a meatball cut in half so you can see the inside of it.

Baked Italian Chicken Meatballs

Learn how to make baked Italian chicken meatballs! These tender and juicy meatballs have all the flavors of Italian meatballs, but instead of beef, they use ground chicken. We use ricotta cheese, soft homemade breadcrumbs, and lots of Parmigiano Reggiano to make them extra moist and tender. They are truly the best chicken meatballs I've had!

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword baked chicken meatballs, Italian chicken meatballs

Freezer Friendly Yes

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Total Time 50

Servings meatballs

Calories 90kcal

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs, see notes
1 egg
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F.
Mix the meatball ingredients: Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large bowl, and use your hands or a spoon to thoroughly mix all the components together.
Roll them into meatballs: Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or brushed with oil, and portion the mixture into smaller meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches) or larger ones (about 3 inches). Carefully form them into a ball shape and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake: Once the meatballs are formed, bake them in the oven - if they're smaller, they'll need 15-16 minutes. And if they're larger, they'll need about 18-20 minutes. The internal temperature should be 165F or above when they are fully cooked. Then serve and enjoy! We love to pair these with marinara and our favorite pasta shape.

Video

Notes

Leftovers - can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. To freeze them, bake the meatballs then let them cool and freeze in ziplock freezer bags! When ready to reheat, thaw for an hour at room temperature, then let them simmer in marinara until hot in the center (test with a fork to know if they're still frozen).

Breadcrumbs - for meatballs I recommend using my homemade breadcrumb recipe. Use any bread you like, but I recommend toasting the bread a little less so it's still soft and has some moisture. This will create an even more tender meatball as the soft breadcrumbs will add to the tenderness!

Nutrition