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These chicken parmesan meatballs are the perfect healthy, cozy weeknight dinner that your whole family will love. They’re a lighter twist on a comfort food classic and perfect for serving over pasta, in a roll, or straight from the pan.
This is one a simple weeknight dinner that will never let you down. It’s quick and easy, absolutely delish, and your whole family will be happy. It’s one of my favorite lightened up comfort meals, alongside my High Protein Baked Ziti and Marry Me Chicken Pasta.
Why You’ll Love These Meatballs
- Classic comfort food flavor. These juicy chicken parm meatballs have all of the delicious flavors of traditional chicken parmesan like marinara sauce and melted cheese, but made a bit lighter with oven baked meatballs.
- Protein-packed. One serving packs 34 grams of protein for a really filling and satisfying meal.
- Cheesy and delicious. There’s plenty of bubbly, melty cheese, just like the classic.
- Family favorite. This is an easy meal that both kids and adults love, making it great for everything from busy nights to meal prep or even casual entertaining.
It’s perfect for serving with my Cheesy Cottage Cheese Bread or Chopped Caesar Salad (just leave out the chicken!), or garlic bread.
Ingredients
For full recipe instructions and complete list of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Ground chicken: You could also use ground turkey or ground beef.
- Panko breadcrumbs: To help bind the meatballs together and keeps them tender instead of dense.
- Egg: Helps bind the meatballs together so they stay tender and hold their shape.
- Oil: I like to use avocado oil or olive oil. Adds back a little bit of moisture and richness that lean ground chicken meatballs can lack.
- Garlic and spices: Fresh garlic cloves, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Tomato sauce: Any jar of marinara sauce will work but my favorites are Rao’s or Carbone sauce.
- Mozzarella and parmesan cheese: There’s parmesan cheese right in the meatballs as well as some sprinkled on top along with the melty mozzarella cheese.
Variations
- Chicken parm meatball sub. Instead of serving over pasta, scoop meatballs into a sub roll.
- Pesto twist. Dollop a few tablespoons of basil pesto on top right after baking for a rich, herby upgrade.
- Make it creamy. Stir a splash of heavy cream into the tomato sauce before baking for a creamy style sauce.
- Chicken parm meatball flatbreads. Chop up the meatballs and pile them onto a naan or flatbread with sauce and cheese. Bake until bubbly.
How To Make Chicken Parm Meatballs
- Add meatball ingredients. Add ground chicken, egg, olive oil, panko breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, garlic and spices to a bowl.
- Mix. Using a spoon or clean hands, mix well until combined.
- Pour sauce. Add a jar of marinara sauce or pasta sauce to a 9×9″ baking dish or large oven proof skillet.
- Add meatballs. Form meatballs using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop or lightly rolling with clean hands (makes ~16 meatballs). Place into baking dish in a single layer and spoon a light layer of sauce over them.
- Top with cheese. Top meatballs evenly with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Bake. Bake for 25-30 minutes until meatballs are completely cooked through and sauce is bubbly (should reach 165 degrees F). Top with fresh basil or fresh parsley before serving!
How To Store
- Fridge: Store leftover chicken parm meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze fully cooked meatballs with sauce in a freezer-safe bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Jamie’s Tips
Recipe Tips
- Use a cookie scoop. Make your life easier and save time by using a cookie scoop for the meatballs! You can scoop your meatball mixture right into the dish for the easiest (and quickest) meatballs ever.
- Choose a sauce you like. Make sure to use your favorite pasta sauce that you’d typically go for. You can even use homemade (like my Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce!).
- For toasty cheese. For a bit of extra browning on your cheese, broil for the last 1-2 minutes (just keep a close eye on it!).
More Easy Dinner Ideas
If you’ve made and love this Chicken Parm Meatballs or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 rating and comments below!
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Tasty chicken meatballs baked in marinara sauce and topped with melted parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
Ingredients
Chicken meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or microplaned
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Sauce + cheese
- 24 oz. pasta sauce or marinara sauce, I like Rao's or Carbone
- 3/4-1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
- pasta for serving
- optional: chopped basil for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, egg, olive oil, panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, garlic, and spices. Mix until well combined.
- Add jar of tomato sauce to a 9×9” baking dish or a large oven proof skillet.
- Form meatballs using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop or lightly rolling with clean hands (makes ~16 meatballs). Place into baking dish with sauce. Spoon a light layer of the sauce over the meatballs.
- Top meatballs evenly with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake on middle rack for 25-30 minutes or until the middle meatballs reach at least 165 degrees F.
Nutrition
Serving: 4meatballs with sauce | Calories: 397kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 161mg | Sodium: 1585mg | Potassium: 1181mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1027IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 354mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
Did you try this recipe?Leave a comment + star rating below!
This looks wonderful but I don’t eat meat. Could I sub tofu for the chicken and make a tofu ball?
I haven’t tried so unfortunately I can’t say!
Would these freeze okay in smaller portions?
They should for sure!
This was so good! The best combo of chicken parmesan and spaghetti and meatballs combined! Normally I shy away for the messy work of mixing and forming meatballs, but when you just use a scoop to plop them in the sauce before baking, it is so much easier (perfection not needed!).
I’ll be making these again and again.
So glad you loved them! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Delicious!!! Forgot the garlic 🤦♀️, but still very good and super easy for a weeknight meal!
Thanks Danielle!
So easy to make and they smell like heaven!
These were awesome! Delicious and easy to make. I have two small children who are very skeptical of meat, and one of them ate them without hesitation and wanted second helpings! I will be making these again often.
Another delicious husband and teenager approved recipe! So easy and so yummy! Great Sunday dinner served over some protein pasta, and with a side of garlic bread. These would make great chicken parm meatball sandwiches too!
10 out of 10 would eat again! I made this for lunch and served it over angel hair and it was so good we made homemade sub rolls and ate it as meatball sub for dinner the same night. I’ve been sharing this recipe with everyone. Thanks for this!
Thank you for your kind review! This is one of my new favorites!
I loved this recipe so much that I ate it 2 weeks in a row. Even fed it to my 8-month-old with some modifications. I shared this recipe with my cardiac patients and even adapted it for them since I’m a cardiac dietitian. I love the recipes on the site and for my patients. Thank you, Jamie!
Love that so much, thank you so much for sharing it! I’m so glad you love it!
I doubled the dry spices and cooked a little longer. Excellent! Quick and easy. Served over protein penne pasta.
Thanks Jessi!