Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
A Delicious Twist On Chicken Parmesan
This recipe for Chicken Parmesan Meatballs is crazy easy to prepare, and they also taste great. It’s made with ground chicken, crushed croutons, cheese, and a few pantry staple seasonings that add even more flavor to the juicy chicken and creamy cheese.
We are a big meatball loving family. I make my Best Ever Meatballs recipe as least once a month and I am always looking for new ways to make a meatball.
One of the things I love about good meatballs is that they can easily be frozen and eaten later. This makes for great meal prep, especially for very busy families.
These Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are going to be loved by grown-ups and children. They do not need a lot of special ingredients and they can also be made ahead of time and reheated very easily.
Serve these meatballs up with some green beans or a delightfully delicious salad. I think my Pizza Salad Recipe would be the perfect pairing for this dinner.
This is also a thoughtful meal to bring to a friend or family member in need of some dinner help.
Simple Ingredients Yet Complex Flavors
This recipe requires very few ingredients. The croutons add some bulk to the ground chicken but also add a lot of the seasonings and herbs.
Therefore, you do not need to add a ton more seasoning and you do not need to add any more salt.
I used the pre-shredded cheeses to mix into the meatball mixture, but I grate my own mozzarella to top the whole baking dish with. The mozzarella on the top needs to bubble up and bake and I think that when you shred it yourself it melts better.
I also try not to buy a low-fat mozzarella anytime I need the mozzarella to melt on top of something.
In the picture above I show a can of tomato sauce. I did not end up using it.
It was my first time using that brand of Cento Marinara and I wasn’t sure how “saucy” it would be so I had the can as back up. The Cento marinara ended up being perfect so I needed no more sauce.
The Cento was on sale so I gave it a try. I definitely will be buying it again.
Mixes Up Quick
You will see how quickly this recipe whips up. I use the Caesar croutons because they add great flavor.
They are also the perfect dried texture to make the juiciest and softest meatballs. Be sure to crush the croutons up really well.
If needed you can pulse them through a blender or food processor. You want to make sure there are no huge chunks left of the croutons when you mix it in with the ground chicken.
Let Them Rest
You should always let the meatballs rest before any method of cooking them. This gives all the components time to bind together so the meatballs will not fall apart when cooking.
You can also par bake these balls so they kind of ‘seal up” before you add the sauce that could break them apart if you bake them the whole time in the sauce.
Seems Like A Lot, But It Is Not
It may seem like a few too many extra steps to making these Chicken Parmesan Meatballs, but it is all very easy. This dinner can be prepped and made and cooked in about one hour.
That being said, you can make these ahead of time and reheat on a busy weekday.
Turn It Into A Sandwich
You can eat these meatballs as they are, but you can also serve them with a pasta. I also recommend making yourself a chicken parmesan meatball sub sandwich!
Any way you eat them, they are going to be extra delicious. Truth be told, I served these with my leftover creamy mashed potatoes and it was super delicious!
Many, Many Meatballs
If you are a meatball lover like we are, I have many meatballs recipes that you can also make. I have created a list of some of my other favorite recipes that are for everyone’s favorite rolled meats:
- Best Ever Meatballs
- Meatloaf Meatballs
- Meatball Skillet
- Meatball Soup
- Au Gratin Meatball Bake
- Italian Beef Meatballs
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs Recipe
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are sure to be a family favorite. Easy to prepare using ground chicken, crumbled croutons, and some pantry staple seasonings. The meatballs are baked up in your favorite marinara and then topped with cheese and finished all bubbly.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. of Ground Chicken
- 1 package of Caesar Croutons (5 ounce package)
- 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella Cheese + 3 cups of shredded mozzarella (divided)
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 tablespoon of Onion Powder
- 1/2 tablespoon of Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tablespoon of dried Italian Seasoning
- 3 cups of your favorite Marinara Sauce
- 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
Instructions
- Add your ground chicken to a bowl. Finely crush the Caesar croutons and add to the ground chicken along with the garlic and onion powders and dried Italian seasoning. Mix well.
- Whisk the egg and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella to the chicken mixture.
- Mix the chicken and ingredients well, preheat your oven to 375°.
- Roll your chicken mixture into 3 inch balls, you can make them smaller or bigger.
- Add the olive oil to a 9 x 12 inch baking dish. As you roll the balls, add them to the baking dish.
- When all the balls are rolled (I was able to get 12 balls with the size I rolled) let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes while your oven heats.
- Add the chicken balls to the oven and par bake for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the chicken balls and add your sauce to the baking dish. I use a jar sauce and add a little water to the jar, shake to get the rest of the sauce out and also add this to the baking pan. Do not forget the dish is hot and place it back in the oven to bake for 25 minutes.
- As the chicken balls bake, shred the mozzarella cheese yourself if possible so it melts better.
- After the 25 minutes, remove the pan carefully, top with the mozzarella cheese, then place back in oven and bake for 15 more minutes or until the cheese is all bubbly.
- Reminder that all ovens bake differently, and the size of your balls will make a difference in cook times. Keep an eye on this the first time you bake it.
*any ingredients you may have a question about should be pictured and/or linked in the post before the recipe card.