These Easy Baked Chicken Meatballs tender, juicy, and are so versatile! Great for adding to a meal prep, dinner, or as an appetizer on its own!
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Baked Chicken Meatballs
These meatballs are honestly so easy to make. It’s so easy that you don’t even have to do any cutting or dicing since this recipe uses garlic and onion powder. While I love my meatballs with chunky onions, garlic, and oozy cheese, I know that it is not everyone’s cup of tea so for this baked chicken meatballs recipes, I used onion and garlic powder and finely grated parmesan.
I’ve also been using a lot of turkey in my meatballs recently so I wanted to change it up by using some ground chicken (it was also on sale ha). Down below I’m going to give a quick rundown on tips on making the perfect meatballs – if you’ve read my hoisin sriracha glazed meatball post, then this will just be a refresher for you!
THE EASIEST & SIMPLE METHOD OF MAKING MEATBALLS
The meat: You can use any type of ground meat or a mix of ground meat you’d like. I’ve done 50/50 turkey meat to beef, chicken to beef, etc but for this recipe, I used full chicken here because it was what that was on sale. Keep in mind that if you want super tender meatballs, you should use a fattier meat. Another way to make sure the meatballs stay tender is to make sure to avoid overworking the meat. I very gently squished the meat with my hands as I find using my hands keeps the meat from being over worked.
Spices, Breadcrumbs, & Add ins: I went the simple route with this baked chicken meatball recipe. Think of this as a base – you can add other things such as parsley, oregano, and other herbs to change it up. I went with a simple onion, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, panko (instead of breadcrumbs), parmesan cheese, and one egg. If you don’t have panko, I recommend soaking some breadcrumbs with milk but I had a ton of panko leftover so that’s what I used. I also added a drizzle of olive oil to my meatball mix but that’s optional as well but it makes the ground chicken less sticky when rolling plus adds moisture!.
Shaping the Meatballs: I used my little cookie scooper to portion out my meatballs so they’re the same sized to make sure they cook evenly. As your meatballs will get denser as they cook, avoid overpacking/over-rolling your meat.
Cooking Method: You can cook meatballs via braising on the stovetop or in the oven. I personally find the oven method the easiest because it doesn’t require me babysitting the meatballs on the stove. I recommend baking the meatballs for around 25 minutes at 400F.
Making These Baked Chicken Meatballs into a Meal
To make this meatball recipe into a meal prep or dinner, I served the meatballs with a garlic, basil, and butter spaghetti. Other things you can serve this meatball meal prep with are…
- rice
- turn it into a sandwich/sub with some marinara sauce
- mashed potatoes
- in a lettuce cup
- rice noodles
- on a pizza
- in a salad
- mushroom cream sauce
- whatever your heart desires!
Freezing and Reheating Instructions
- From frozen, bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
- You can also bake them first and freeze cooked. When reheating, keep in mind that you don’t want to actually cook them any further as they were already cooked, they just need be heated to the point where they’re warmed through, so as not to dry them out. You can cover them with foil to prevent drying and heat in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Is It Better to Freeze Cooked or Raw Meatballs?
It’s up to you! It saves you time upfront to freeze the meatballs raw and cook them later but then it saves you time later if you cook them now and freeze them so you’ll only have to reheat them in the oven.
Easy Baked Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup panko
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- 1 drizzle olive oil, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400F.
- While the oven is heating, mix together the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, panko, parmesan cheese, and one egg (optional: drizzle of olive oil) together and then mix it into the ground chicken. Do not over mix.
- Shape the meatballs (I used my little cookie scooper to portion out my meatballs so they’re the same sized to make sure they cook evenly). As your meatballs will get denser as they cook, avoid overpacking/over-rolling your meat.
- On a sheet pan, place a piece of parchment paper or spray with non-stick, then place your meatballs on the sheet pan without over crowding them. Pop them into the oven for around 25 minutes or until they're cooked through.
Nutrition Per Serving
RESOURCES AND TIPS FOR MEAL PREPPING
- How To Cook Chicken Breasts Perfectly
- What Is An Instant Pot
- Tips To Help You Meal Prep For The Week Successfully
- Tips for Meal Prepping on a Budget
- 7 Freezer Friendly Chicken Marinades
- 5 Freezer Friendly Marinades
- Meal Prep Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mealprepsupport/
More Delicious Meatball Recipes
- Hoisin Sriracha Glazed Meatballs
- Vietnamese Bun Cha Inspired Meatballs Meal Prep
- Honey Sriracha Turkey and Mushroom Meatballs
- Salisbury Steak Styled Meatballs Recipe
- Meatball and Couscous Meal Prep
Other places to connect with me
Instagram: @carmyshungry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmyycom
Email: [email protected]
Vlogs/Recipe Videos: Youtube
Chantel says
Mmmmmm this looks yummy!!! What would you recommend for freezing these little suckers and reheating them? I’m thinking meal prep ;-)
Carmy says
Thanks!
I just updated the post to include instructions for freezing! It’s up to you if you want to freeze them raw or cooked.
– From frozen, bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
– You can also bake them first and freeze cooked. When reheating, keep in mind that you don’t want to actually cook them any further as they were already cooked, they just need be heated to the point where they’re warmed through, so as not to dry them out. You can cover them with foil to prevent drying and heat in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Chantel says
Thank you soooo much!!! I’ll be prepping raw and freezing…. I’ll leave some to enjoy too ;-)