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
Will be cooking these this week. Wonder what to serve them with? Salad?
this is my go to side for these meatballs https://dev.afterhoursagency.com/wgc/butter-lettuce-salad/
They really are so damn good! I’ve made them twice and my family loved them! ❤️
You aren’t kidding when you say the whole family will love this meal. We are all (me, my husband and 3 little boys) obsessed with these little balls of deliciousness. They are definitely in regular rotation at our house. Thanks for this amazing recipe 🙂
Can I make with ground turkey?
yes
What is your preferred marina sauce? Just curious since many are hit or miss. Thanks!
Rao’s!!
Can you make with ground veal? or Spicy Italian Sausage?
sure can
Delicious and came together very fast. Will be making again. Great option for busy nights!
got a little heavy handed with the panko, but turned out excellent!
We loved this but how big is a jar of marinara sauce? I think American products are always bigger – am wondering how many UK jars to get as there was nowhere near enough sauce even with me adding passata
24 ounces
Gaby,
Any tips to make the meatball forming stage less of a challenge would be welcome.
I am working my way through your “Eat What You Want” and the chicken parmesan meatballs were a huge hit with everyone. The end result turned out great. Forming the meatballs was a challenge due to the consistency of the ground chicken and the mixed ingredients. Once the less than round glob was dipped in flour they became somewhat easier to shape a bit. Any suggestions welcome.
All of your following recipes have been a huge hit and are now in the “REPEATABLE” category: The Cacio e Pepe Asparagus, Cauliflower Shawarma, Roasted Carrots with Avocado, Pan-Roasted Eggplant with Pecorino, Broccoli Beef (who knew flank steak could be this good) and Stacked Eggplant Parmesan (everyones new most favorite meal).
Thank You for making all these “Real Life Recipes”
Cheers
you can chill the meat mixture before forming, that helps it stick!! and if you coat your hands in a tiny bit of oil, that’s helpful for rolling
We love this recipe! Would you recommend making a large batch and freezing them?
you sure can!
These Chicken Parm meatballs are amazing!!!!
Can you omit the cheese?
sure can
This is one of my absolute favorite recipes. We probably make it every other week. I’m big on meals that don’t take forever to make after work and this is one of them and we always have amazing leftovers.
Made these last night for dinner, they are out of this world delicious! My family loved them so much! Served with Gaby’s Butter Lettuce Salad, also very yummy!
winning combo
My son is allergic to eggs. Any suggestions on a substitute?
I haven’t tested it with an egg substitute! but whatever you normally use should work.Or you can omit them and they will still be delish
Can vouch that you can just leave the eggs out. I’ve made them three times in quarantine (as much as I’ve made any new recipe – they’re THAT good. And once I just had a brain freeze and forgot the egg and quite honestly didn’t even notice.
Believe the hype!! These are just as good as everyone says. They’re stuffed with mozzarella cheese – what’s not to love??
Always a go to, never disappoints.
I made these last night and served them over linguini and it was incredible!! Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Should I use kosher or regular table salt for this?
Thanks!!
always kosher!
My son is allergic to eggs. Any suggestions for an egg alternative??
none that I have tested to say with certainty work!
Hi! Do you need to fry in 1/2 cup of oil or can you do less and just shallow fry to brown them, given that they’ll cook more in the oven?
I like the fry them in 1/2 inch so they get crispy up the sides. But if you want to cut back on oil, you could use less and rotate them a few times to get just as crispy on all the sides
Just made these!!! So delicious! They will be a regular in our house from now on!
Delish!! Easy and so good!
I am so excited to try these! What do you think of cooking in the airfryer before putting them into the skillet /oven stage?
Congratulations on your beautiful baby!!
never tried it but feels like it would work
Love this recipe! Curious though, can I make these a few hours ahead and store in the fridge before dredging in flour, and then proceed?
yes!
In case anyone is wondering, turning these gluten free worked perfectly. I used king arthur 1:1 on the outside and Ian’s gluten free panko and they turned out delicious! Adding to my regular rotation.
These were the perfect weeknight meal for my family but would love to make this for guests too! It was SO GOOD!!
Can you freeze theses meatballs?
yes!
I just pulled mine from New Years Eve out of the freezer (raw) and they were like fresh all over again!
I have made these several times and they are always a hit! I use ground turkey as it’s easier to find, otherwise I follow this recipe exactly as it’s written!
Very tasty! Perfect pairing with a plate of spaghetti.
Love this recipe! Curious though – are we supposed to leave the oil in the pan after browning the meatballs or pour it out before baking? Thx!
I leave it in!
Made this tonight to try something new since my husband and I love chicken parm. It did not disappoint. Will make it again and it was surprisingly easy to prepare the chicken meatballs ahead of time. I was also intimidated by mixing the mozzarella but it was easy
These are amazing and taste just like chicken parm! I am gluten sensitive to I made them exact but swapped the flour and panko for the gluten free versions (I was nervous because sometimes this flops)…but they turned out incredible! My 3, 6 and 40 year old housemates all gobbled them up. Make this recipe!
Freezing a big batch ahead of time for my baby’s first birthday party! How do you recommend cooking from frozen?
I’ve done it both ways but my current fav is to cook them entirely, cool, and then freeze. And then re-heat them in a bunch of red sauce slowly until warmed throughout
Love!!
Great recipe
I’ll be making this again
I loved it is a one pan deal!!
YUM YUM YUM!!! I make these all the time now because they are soooo good!!!
Loved these! I roasted the meatballs in the oven in lieu of pan frying. I skipped the dredging in flour part. Thanks so much for a fantastic recipe.
I’ve wanted to try these but would rather bake. Would you please share your cooking time and temp?
Thank you
One of Gaby’s best recipes. Delicious and so simple to make. Winner for sure!
if i were to freeze the chicken Parmesan meat ball should I freeze them before or after cooking them. If i’m to cook them should they be partially cooked. I am obsessed with them, planning a trip to take them frozen with me.
Thank you!
I would freeze after cooking and then reheat in a bunch of tomato sauce over low heat
These are seriously delish! I would definitely suggest chilling the mixture before forming the balls. Was difficult getting the mozzarella in but worth the effort. I made this to take for my niece who just had a baby. After I browned the meatballs I layered them on top of cooked orzo with Parmesan, then poured red sauce over all. Scattered remaining mozzarella and some Parmesan on top. I know how good it was because a few meatballs didn’t make it into the pan 🙂
My family love this recipe. I think saying the prep time is misleading. I’m usually at the half hour mark when I get to the cooking part. In any event, awesome recipe!!
These were great! Will definitely make them again!
I love this recipe! Tonight is the second appearance of these meatballs and if I weren’t already married I would call them engagement meatballs, lol (sorry Ina). And I’ve already decided we’re having a slider version in a few weeks for my son’s birthday. Thanks so much!
Honestly wasn’t expecting much because I’ve never used ground chicken in a recipe before. These were absolutely delicious! After browning them in olive oil, I let them finish cooking in the marinara sauce. Can’t wait to share this recipe with friends. Thank you!
Great recipe, and pleased the toddlers!
We cannot get enough of these! My young boys and husband assured me this is a “new favorite” I can’t wait to knock the socks off my in-laws when I make them dinner
These were delicious and will definitely be making again. I skipped the mozzarella as I’m lactose intolerant and they were still a hit. The flour dredge added a great texture and kept the meatballs juicy.
This was so delicious! We served over zoodles and a side salad.