Chicken Meatballs Recipe

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Have you ever made a chicken meatballs recipe? They’re a lower-fat version than meatballs made with beef and pork. Chicken meatballs are available now in most grocery stores’ meat or frozen food sections. To me, that signals a shift in the way we think about spaghetti and meatballs.
Subbing in chicken (or turkey) for beef and pork is budget-friendly, plus you get the benefit of lean protein for better health.
I’ve been testing recipes for poultry meatballs and think I’ve finally nailed it, flavor-wise. My advice when switching out beef and pork with poultry is to up the herbs and spices a bit since poultry is mild flavored.
Here are some family favorite chicken meatballs recipes to try: simple, classic chicken meatballs for a weeknight meal or Florentine meatballs for casual entertaining.

Simple Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Recipe can be doubled. Use this recipe as a guide. To see if you need more flavoring, put a small meatball in the microwave and cook. Taste and go from there.
Yield: About 20 or so small meatballs.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken — boneless, skinless breasts, thighs or a combination of both
- 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs or more if needed
- 1-2 tablespoons Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional but good)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper or shake of ground cayenne pepper
- 1 nice clove garlic, minced
- 1-2 tablespoons minced parsley
- Several leaves basil, minced
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Stir together bread crumbs and cheese. Set aside.
- In large bowl, gently mix chicken, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, basil and egg.
- Mix in bread crumbs and cheese. Don’t overmix.
Roll into 1-1/2-inch balls again using a gentle hand to keep meatballs from turning too dense as they cook. - I use a 1-1/2-inch melon scoop. You can also make them larger if you like.
- Add olive oil to skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place meatballs in oil, and cook until golden brown on the outside. Don’t crowd them or they will steam instead of brown.
- Turn heat to simmer, cover and cook until done.
- Remove and let cool on rack, or add to tomato sauce for spaghetti.
- The meatballs can be frozen up to six months.
TIP:
Turkey can be substituted in chicken meatball recipes.
Florentine Chicken Meatballs Recipe
When something is “Florentine” it usually includes spinach.
These are yummy served over buttered noodles and a drizzle of Alfredo sauce. They’re equally as good, though, in a tomato sauce.
This makes a lot of meatballs. You can divide recipe in half.
As mentioned with simple chicken meatballs, use this recipe as a guide. Cook a small meatball in the microwave to taste, and go from there.
Yield: 16 large meatballs, or 40 small meatballs.
Ingredients
- 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 2 generous pounds ground chicken (boneless skinless breasts, thighs or a combination of both)
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 4 nice garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Wring spinach completely dry in towel.
- Stir together bread crumbs and cheese. Set aside.
- Place ground chicken in large bowl.
- Stir in spinach, onion, garlic, egg, milk, salt and pepper.
- Mix in bread crumbs and cheese. Don’t overmix.
- Roll into balls. You can make large, medium or small meatballs.
- Add olive oil to skillet over medium heat.
- Place meatballs in oil, and cook until golden brown on the outside. Don’t crowd them or they will steam instead of brown.
- Turn heat to simmer, cover and cook until done.
- Remove and serve as desired.
- Can be frozen up to 6 months.

Master Recipe Tomato Pasta Sauce
There are so many variations to this theme. Check out my good “add-ins” below the recipe.
Easily doubled or tripled. Can be frozen up to 1 year.
Use a large skillet to cook the sauce quickly.
Ingredients
- 1 can, 28-ounce whole Italian plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water or more if needed
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons shallots or onions, finely chopped
- Minced garlic to taste — start with 2 large cloves and go from there
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon dry oregano
- Handful fresh basil, torn
Instructions
- Smash tomatoes to break up; I put them in a bowl and use a potato masher.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into the tomato can and stir. Set water aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Stir in shallots and garlic and cook until fragrant, but not brown.
- Add tomatoes, water, salt, pepper and oregano.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. You may need to add a little more water.
- Stir in basil and cook another few minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasonings.
Tasty Additions:
- A squeeze of anchovy paste (yep, it’s a “secret” ingredient and adds depth of flavor)
- Crushed red pepper flakes instead of pepper (if using this, cook with shallots and garlic to allow pepper flake flavor to bloom).
- Fresh parsley — a tablespoon added with the basil adds color and nutrients.
Marcella’s Four Ingredient Tomato Sauce
Adapted only slightly from a recipe by Marcella Hazan, the famous Italian cook. When I first saw it, I was intrigued but a bit doubtful.
No garlic? No pepper? No basil? I decided to make it and I’m sure glad I did. This is a wonderful sauce for a beginner. The long cooking time and butter make it a silky, very flavorful, sauce for chicken meatballs or simply as a vegetarian sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 can, 28-ounce whole Italian plum tomatoes in juice
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 smallish onion, peeled and cut in half
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine tomatoes, their juices, butter and onion in a large saucepan.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook over medium heat just until it starts to bubble, then turn down to a simmer.
- Cook, uncovered, giving it a stir now and then, for 45 minutes. As it cooks, smoosh the tomatoes down.
- Remove onion after cooking (but I like to eat it alongside).
- Makes enough to sauce 12-ounce or so pasta.
Gilding the lily:
After saucing pasta, give it a shower of Parmesan.
Maybe you have your own poultry meatball recipe to share. Let us know!
Originally published in the August/September 2022 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.