Parmesan chicken meatballs in a flavorful marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella are great for a healthy weeknight dinner. Coated in panko crumbs for that crispy exterior you love in traditional Chicken Parmesan.
After all the wonderful food over the holidays, we needed something simple and less rich for dinner, and chicken parmesan meatballs were the perfect solution. While I love pork and beef meatballs, I wanted a ground chicken meatball and I’ve eaten too many Marsala Meatballs.
I got the idea for chicken parm meatballs from Alton Brown’s cookbook but some of his suggestions, while I’m sure they would add more flavor, were more work than I wanted to take for a weeknight dinner, so I came up with a recipe for chicken meatballs that you can easily make on a busy weeknight.
Most of the time when you make meatballs, the panko or bread crumbs is mixed with meat like in Chicken Marsala Meatballs and Swedish Meatballs. But for these tasty chicken parmesan meatballs, they are also rolled in panko and parmesan which gives them a crispy texture on the outside.
These healthy chicken meatballs are then nestled on top of the marinara sauce and sprinkled with cheese before baking in the oven.
They’re crispy on the outside and full of flavor from both the meatballs themselves and the marinara which is cooked with anchovies. Anchovies add a salty savory flavor that brings a complexity to the sauce. Make a double batch so you can freeze a meal for later.
Why you’ll love oven baked chicken meatballs
- This is a simple Italian recipe that is also healthy!
- Changing up meatballs from beef to chicken is a nice change.
- Traditional chicken parmesan flavors with little work!
- You’ll enjoy making your own marinara sauce for a delicious, healthier change up.
- It’s a restaurant quality meal that you can make on a weeknight.
What you’ll need
- Ground chicken – if you can’t find this packaged, the meat department in most groceries will grind it for you.
- Panko breadcrumbs – these are super crunchy
- Parmesan and mozzarella cheese – you’ll need both
- Egg – to hold things together
- Seasoning– dried basil, parsley, oregano and garlic salt.
- Canned tomatoes – San Marzano are the best
- Anchovies – these really up the flavor for the marinara sauce
How do you make parmesan chicken meatballs
Step 1: Make the meatballs. Combine ground chicken with an egg and part of the panko and parmesan. Form into balls and roll in a mixture of panko and parmesan cheese.
Brown in a skillet and remove to a plate.
Ground chicken is a little more delicate than beef or pork, so you need to be careful when cooking the meatballs themselves so they stay together. The goal is to just brown them but don’t worry about cooking them all the way through, you’re going to bake them and they’ll finish cooking in the oven.
Pro tip: For chicken meatballs, I’ve found that if you leave them alone in the skillet until they start to brown then they’ll stay together. If you try to move them before they have browned on one side, they can easily fall apart.
Step 2: Make the Marinara sauce. The skillet will have lots of flavor from the chicken meatballs you just cooked so add some San Marzano Tomatoes and crush them with your hands and add a couple of anchovies. Add the meatballs back to the skillet and then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Step 3: Bake this amazing dish in the same skillet for about 10 minutes to finish cooking the meatballs and melt the cheese.
I’ve covered everything you need to know about cooking chicken so you can get perfectly cooked tender chicken on my post about how long to cook chicken.
Recipe Notes
- Try using San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them.
- Leftovers freeze great, just thaw and reheat in the oven.
- You can use ground turkey or ground chicken.
- It’s great served over pasta
- This meal freezes and reheats great!
If you love crispy chicken parmesan, then you’re going to love chicken parmesan baked chicken meatballs. Easy enough for a weeknight meal but perfect for dinner with friends.
What to serve with parmesan crusted baked chicken meatballs
- Toss up a strawberry spinach salad
- Parker House rolls, an easy yeast roll to clean up the last of the marinara sauce.
- Roast up some asparagus and mushrooms for an easy combination to go alongside the chicken.
What’s the difference between marinara sauce and tomato sauce
For this recipe, I used a marinara sauce with a couple of anchovies thrown in. A marinara sauce is a quick cooking sauce made with canned San Marzano tomatoes that you crush with your hands and cook for just a few minutes for a chunky sauce. While a tomato sauce can have meat or meat stock, cheese, olives or capers and is cooked slowly to develop more complex flavors.
For a weeknight meal, marinara is the way to go. For why you should use San Marzano tomatoes, check out Lidia’s video and while you’re there, she gives tips for the day! I love her restaurant in NY, Becco. Check it out next time you go to a show, it’s in the theater district.
FAQs and tips
Yes, this meal is healthy. Each golf size meatball has a little over 100 calories and about 4 grams of carbs. Not too bad in my book.
Whether you’re making meatballs or fillets, you want to use parmesan cheese for the flavor and crispiness and mozzarella for the gooey topping.
Add them to a skillet and don’t move them for a couple of minutes. This will allow one side to brown and that will help hold them together.
Panko is a Japanese style breadcrumbs made by lightly baking breadcrumbs to give them more of a crunch. You’ll find them next to the traditional breadcrumbs in the grocery store.
Due to bacteria carried in chicken, you need to wash the surface area with hot soapy water and then sanitize with a sanitizing solution or wipes.
More recipes that use marinara Sauce
If you’re looking for more chicken recipes, you’ve got lots to choose from, but here are some favorites
- Easy chicken & tomatoes made in one pan
- Try a creamier dish with sun dried tomatoes
- Make it savory with Marsala and prosciutto
- Roast it with dates
- No time, try easy queso chicken
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Parmesan Crusted Baked Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
MEATBALLS
- 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- 2 cups parmesan cheese grated
- 1 ½ lbs ground chicken
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
SAUCE
- 28 ounces canned whole tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 anchovies
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º.
- In a small bowl, combine ½ cup of panko with ¾ cup of parmesan.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, egg, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 cup of panko, 11/4 cup parmesan, and seasonings. Using your hands, gently combine until incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop, form into 28 golf size balls. Roll each into panko parmesan mixture.
- In a large oven proof skillet, Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, about 5 minutes, working in batches if needed. Remove to a plate.
- In the same pan, add some additional oil if needed and add the canned tomatoes and salt, crushing the tomatoes with your hands. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until they are soft. Reduce heat and add anchovies and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add meatballs back to the sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Place in oven and bake for about 10 minutes until chicken has cooked through.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- When cooking chicken meatballs, place in the hot skillet and leave them alone for a couple of minutes. This will help them stay together.
- Try using San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them.
- Leftovers freeze great, just thaw and reheat in the oven.
- You can use ground turkey or ground chicken.
Nutrition
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Delicious! The key are the anchovies in the sauce. Don’t leave them out! They add a savory flavor that is wonderful!
Isn’t it amazing how much flavor the anchovies add.