My Chicken Parmesan obsession runs deep. We kicked off the week with a classic chicken parmesan recipe and today we’re getting fancy with Chicken Parmesan Meatballs!!
My cooking skills were somewhat limited in college. If you came over for dinner it was either chicken parm or a roasted chicken with salad. That’s it. The only options you got! You could say I’ve expanded my repertoire a bit since then (with over 1000 recipes on this site I think culinary school has officially paid off), but I always come back to chicken parm. My classic chicken parm recipe is a winner, but I wanted to jazz things up a bit today.
So I took each and every ingredient from the chicken parm recipe, and turned it into mozzarella stuffed chicken parmesan meatballs. So all those herbs – into the meatballs! The parmesan and breadcrumbs – into the meatballs. The mozzarella, well, you get the point! There’s even a bit of flour on the outside of every meatball to give it a bit of a crust.
I kinda of hate myself for not making these earlier, because to say I’m obsessed would be an understatement. I practically licked the skillet clean when I made these. You absolutely, positively, must try these!
Stuck in a dinner rut? Looking for new delicious dinner ideas? Check out my roundup of 50+ easy dinner ideas here.
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cups flour
- bocconcini mozzarella balls
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 jar marinara sauce
- handful of basil leaves torn
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, parmesan, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper, oregano, parsley and red pepper flakes. Carefully combine everything with your hands until the ingredients are evenly mixed.
- Form the ground chicken mixture into small meatballs, each the size of a golf ball.
- Insert a small bocconcini ball in the center of each meatball, taking care to reform the meatball around the cheese once it’s been inserted. The mozzarella should be completely hidden from sight.
- Dredge each meatball in the flour to lightly coat it and gently tap off any excess flour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add half of the meatballs and sauté for a 3-4 minutes, turning every so often to brown the outside.
- Once the meatballs are browned, remove them from the oil and repeat the process with the remaining meatballs.
- Once all meatballs are browned, add the tomato sauce to the skillet and place the browned meatballs on top of the sauce.
- Transfer the skillet, meatballs and all, into the oven and let the meatballs continue to bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and dusting with salt, pepper, freshly chopped basil and extra bocconcini if desired. Serve immediately.
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
Yum….my niece Risa just made your scrumptious Chicken Parmesan Meatballs for dinner….can’t wait to make them myself…..super recipe!!!
Aren’t Bocconcini mozzarella balls the larger sizes, about the size of an egg? It won’t work to slide them into a meatball formed the size of a golf ball as directed in the recipe 😉 Seems like this recipe should be calling for cillegine mozzarella balls. Can you clarify this for me? Thanks!
I dont know where you’re getting your Bocconcini but I WISH mine were the size of an egg. The ones sold in stores by me are a little smaller than the size of a quarter so they are perfect for meatballs. cillegine would absolutely work as well
Only the large egg-size for me too so I didn’t know what to get so I bought pearl mozzarella balls to try this recipe tonight. We’ll see how it goes:-)
Should I have emptied the oil out of the pan before adding the marinara?
personal preference – I don’t. Mostly bc I’m lazy
This is not only a genius idea but it’s absolutely delicious in it’s simplicity!! It hits all the chicken parm notes in a meatball, so creative & perfect!!! I’ve made it many times (as I have so many of Gaby’s amazing recipes) & I never remember to leave a review. If you’re a fan of chicken parm & the idea of this sounds appealing to you DON’T pass it by!! Thanks Gaby; can’t ever go wrong cooking your recipes!!
Hands down one of the quickest and easiest meals for a weeknight but also would be great to serve guests! Meatballs have so much flavor, and sometimes ground chicken or Turkey can be bland, spices were just perfect for it. The side she mentions in comments or above is also a great combo, her butter lettuce salad. Make this meal! Made pasta for my 7 year old, but we were fine with the salad and meatballs, so hearty.
These were so forking delicious. I have one or two go-to meatball recipes but this is a strong contender for when I want to be a little fancier. The flavors are perfection and everyone was delighted by the gooey, melty cheese inside. I esp love the browning step to created a most excellent crust that still manages to survive the oven bake. Now I need to figure out how to large-batch these so I can make multiple meals at a time.
So!
Good!
Such a hit with my family last night! My husband and 5yo son each had seconds and thirds!! Will definitely be making this again – thanks for the great recipe.
Can these be made in advance / frozen? If so, any tips for prepping process or post removing from freezer?
yes!!
I haven’t been to the store to look but online it says the bocconcini balls are the size of an egg. Can you find them smaller or do you cut off pieces? This recipe sounds so good. I can’t wait to make it.
you want mozzarella balls about the size of a dime!
Can these be left to warm in a crock pot until ready for dinner?
totally
I made these for the first time last night. Absolutely delicious! The only change I made was I added some garlic powder to the meat mix, and because I had ground turkey which tends to be leaner, I added two Tbsp basil olive oil to the mix (I doubled the recipe). Thanks Gaby!
This is DELICIOUS!! So so so good, I will be making this often!
This was as delicious as promised. I followed the recipe as shown on the video, except I drained out much of the oil before adding in the sauce. I served over bucatini with roasted broccoli on the side. My husband made “that sound” when he was eating that is indicative of utter bliss. Thank you, Gaby!
My husband wants me to make this every Sunday night- it’s that good!! We love this meal.
Any suggestions for making these ahead of time? I want to make them on the 23rd to serve for Christmas Eve! Thank you
I jumped on the bandwagon and made these meatballs – WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG?! These are so so good! They’re also the perfect dish to bring to someone for a meal train and always get rave reviews. Will make on repeat for years to come!
YUM! So so good.
I didn’t add cheese in the center so it was simpler to make and easier to cut up for little ones, but just added some extra mozz on top, I also made some orzo to serve with, Delicious!
I thought this recipe was delicious and very easy. I used panko crumbs on the outside instead of flour and it left a beautiful crust. I also used RAOs marinara sauce. It was very easy, quick and delicious.
I am shook at how perfect these are. Never cooked with ground chicken before because it always weirded me out as a concept, but when Gaby posted this on her Insta it looked so good I had to try it. They are SO good. And so easy. Just make them.
Amazing recipe can’t wait to try it! I’m an awesome cook and absolutely love you! Xoxo
Awesome weekend recipe on a rainy night! Added a little garlic powder and dried basil to the meatballs along with other seasonings for more flavor. Red pepper flakes provided a nice pop of heat!
This will be made many more times in my future!
I made these last night and they were delicious ! I didn’t have a skillet so I just browned them and moved them to the sauce in a baking dish to cook (and sprinkled a little more mozzarella on top) and that worked perfectly ! Thanks Gaby!
These were amazing! They came together quickly and we’re just as quickly gone. I will be making these again
Can the meatballs be baked?
sure can! skip the dredging in flour step
Made this for my birthday dinner and it was great! The entire family loved it. Will be making it again!!
Another favorite! Love your recipes!
This was SO good. Very quick and easy to make. Each one of my kids (8, 10, 11) said they thought it was really good. Love it when you can make an easy weeknight dinner to please the entire family. It will most definitely be in our rotation.
My whole family loved this!!! It was easy, fast, and most importantly delicious! Thank you so much for sharing. My only regret was not doubling the recipe.
Simple & so delicious! A new favorite — this recipe is perfect for chicken parmigiana lovers.
These are wonderful!!!
Such a great twist on the traditional chicken parm!
Gaby…I think I have a new recipe for you. I had all of the ingredients in my cart at the store and when I got to the ground chicken I decided it was just unappetizing looking. Sooo, I got ground sausage and made the same recipe and YUM!
I get it. These are amazing. They were fun to make. Make these!!
My family and I love this recipe! Is it an option to use ground Turkey if I ran out of ground chicken?
absolutely
Definitely one of my favorite/go to Gaby recipe. So yummy!!
OMG!!! Just made these tonight…and this was insanely so good!!! I will be making this again!!! Love your recipes!!!
Please suggest how to make ahead and finish in oven. Better to brown meatballs, freeze, defrost or make day ahead and reheat?
I bake them, add extra sauce, let them cool and then freeze. To re-heat, let thaw in the fridge the day before and then reheat in a non stick skillet over medium low heat
I make this recipe often as it’s one of my family’s favorites. I always double the recipe so I can give a pan to my daughter and SIL. I buy a block of mozzarella and cut it into small cubes instead of buying bocconcini mozzarella balls. This recipe is absolutely delicious!
Can I make and flour these the night before, then cook them the next day?
I could flour them right before you sear rather than the night before!