These Chicken Meatballs are tender, flavorful, and so versatile. Serve them with bbq sauce, terikyaki sauce, burger sauce, or whatever you’re in the mood for, and they won’t disappoint. Plus, these little balls of deliciousness are made with almond flour, making them gluten-free. Scroll down to the recipe card to see how to easily make them paleo and whole30 compliant as well.
The Best Chicken Meatballs
We love a good meatball recipe around here as they’re simple to whip together, the kids inhale them, and they work perfectly with a plethora of sauces and side dishes. We’re sharing our favorite standard meatball recipe that can be cooked in the oven or over the stovetop to help you come up with delicious weeknight meals that the whole family will enjoy.
Love meatballs – try our Delicious Turkey Meatballs!
What You Will Need
- ground chicken – A mild flavor protein that easily soaks up the rich seasonings to make for a juicy, tender meatball.
- egg – Acts as a binder to hold the meatballs together.
- almond flour – Substitute with cassava flour for whole30/paleo needs. Or feel free to use breadcrumbs if you’re not concerned with whole30 and paleo.
- onion powder & garlic powder – Two powerhouse seasonings that bring out the best in each other with equal parts spice, earthiness, and a subtle sweetness.
- kosher salt and ground black pepper – Just a little bit of the classics for a well seasoned recipe.
- oil – This helps to keep the meatball mixture from sticking to your hands during the meatball making process.
Start by prepping and measuring out your ingredients and place everything into a medium mixing bowl.
Use your hands or a large mixing spoon to thoroughly mix all of the ingredients together. Use a cookie dough scooper to measure out approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture to form a ball. Place the formed meatballs on a clean plate as you go. Continue this process until the mixture is all used up.
Recipe Tip:
Coat your cookie dough scooper with oil to keep the chicken mixture from sticking. Reapply a thin layer of oil whenever it becomes tricky to remove the chicken from the scooper.
Stovetop Cooking Method:
Bring a large cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil, ensuring that it completely coats the bottom of the skillet. Carefully add your meatballs using a tongs and sear them on all sides for about 3 minutes.
Once the meatballs have been seared, reduce the heat and cover, allowing the meatballs to cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to ensure that one side doesn’t get crispier than the other. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature has reached 165 °F before serving.
Oven Cooking Method:
Start by preheating your oven to 375°F. While waiting for the oven to come to temperature, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the meatballs evenly throughout, ensuring that none of them are touching.
How Long To Bake Chicken Meatballs
Place them on the center rack in the oven and let bake for 18-22 minutes or until the center reaches 165°F.
How To Freeze Meatballs
Making meatballs in advance is an excellent way to set yourself up for success later in the week. These meatballs can be frozen raw or after they’ve been cooked. To freeze raw meatballs, simply form them into balls and place them on a freezer-safe baking sheet. Then place them in the freezer for a couple of hours, and once frozen, plop them in a freezer safe bag. To bake them right out of the freezer, preheat your oven to 425°F, evenly place meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. If your frozen meatballs are already cooked, bake them at 400°F for about 15 minutes or until warmed through.
What To Serve With Chicken Meatballs
Whether you’re a planning for a dipping sauce or a slathering sauce, any of these sauces would level up these tasty meatballs in a heartbeat. Feel free to grab a grocery store variety or try your hand at some of these homemade options.
Serve chicken meatballs alongside a hearty helping of noodles or zucchini noodles or some simple Instant Pot jasmine rice. Add a pop of color to your plate with parmesan broccoli, easy grilled vegetables, or our fresh fennel salad. No matter how you serve them, these chicken meatballs are sure to be a hit.
Recipe FAQs
- Almond Flour Substitutes: For Whole30/Paleo you can use cassava flour in place of the almond flour. If you aren’t concerned with Paleo/Whole30/Gluten-Free then you can just use breadcrumbs!
- Can I freeze these: Yes! You can freeze them either raw or after they have cooked. To freeze them raw simply form into balls and place on freezer-safe baking sheet. Place in the freezer for a couple hours and then you can put them in a freezer-safe bag without worrying about them freezing together. To bake from raw/frozen just cook at 425 for about 25-30 minutes. To bake from cooked/frozen just cook at 400 for about 15 minutes.
- Storage: once cooked let cool. Then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Made this chicken meatball recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram account for some behind-the-scenes action! Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!
Other Recipes You Might Like
Easy Chicken Meatballs
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20–24 meatballs 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Oven + Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy Chicken Meatballs (Baked + Stove Top) – a simple, go-to chicken meatball recipe that can be made in the oven or on the stove top! Eat as-is or toss in your favorite sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup almond flour*
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- oil (to help with forming meatballs)
Instructions
Meatball Prep:
- Combine ground chicken, egg, almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in a medium mixing bowl.
- Use a cookie dough scoop to scoop out approx. 1 1/2 tablespoons of meatball mixture, forming a ball, and place on a large plate. Continue until all of the meatball mixture is used. (See Notes)
Stove Top Method:
- Take large/medium cast iron skillet and bring to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and use a spatula to spread evenly to coat the pan. Add chicken meatballs and sear on all sides, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat and cover continuing to let the meatballs cook another 10-15 minutes, stirring quite often, or until fully cooked (165 degrees in the center).
Oven Method:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Place meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet (ensure meatballs aren’t touching).
- Bake on center rack for 18-22 minutes, or until fully cooked (165 degrees in the center).
Serving:
- Serve however you wish! They go great with most sauces!
Notes
- Substitutes: For Whole30/Paleo you can use cassava flour in place of the almond flour. If you aren’t concerned with Paleo/Whole30/Gluten-Free then you can just use breadcrumbs!
- Storage: once cooked let cool. Then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Can I freeze these: Yes! You can freeze them either raw or after they have cooked. To freeze them raw simply form into balls and place on freezer-safe baking sheet. Place in the freezer for a couple hours and then you can put them in a freezer-safe bag without worrying about them freezing together. To bake from raw/frozen just cook at 425 for about 25-30 minutes. To bake from cooked/frozen just cook at 400 for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 195
- Sugar: 0.4 g
- Sodium: 263.8 mg
- Fat: 10.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.4 g
- Protein: 15.5 g
- Cholesterol: 95.2 mg
Leave a Rating & Comment