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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
The chicken meatballs are delicious. We eat low carb so I tried half of the meatballs rolled in parmesan instead of flour. I did add the panko bread crumbs to the mix.
I also use RAO’s Marinara Sauce and I discovered Sensitive Marinara Sauce. Lower in sugar, although most Rao’s sauces are lower in sugar anyway and it’s a yummy sauce.
I will make these meatballs again.
Oh my.These looks absolutely amazing!! I just love these little stuffed bits of deliciousness!
These were SO good and I even forgot the egg ♀️ Thank you!
I would die for these meatballs. 100% picking it as my last meal on earth. Literally life changing. Also – seriously i’m a notorious meat over-cooker and finishing these in the sauce prevents them from getting dry.
Upon trying one of these, my Irish/Italian husband declared, “I’m not just saying this because you’re my wife, but these are the best meatballs I’ve ever eaten!” I will definitely make these again and again!
My family is hard to please but my five year old and picky husband both had seconds! Thanks for the win Gaby!
These were so delish! The mozzarella in the center puts them over the top – not your boring old meatballs! I used ground turkey because it’s what I had on hand and it was really flavorful.
My top favorite recipe to make and eat. The ease of making it is incredible specially for somebody that always feared to make meatballs. Conquered and in love. Haha
Listen when I tell you that you have to make these. I’m serious! My entire (any picky) family LOVES these. I make at least 3 times a month. They are delicious and are great for leftovers.
I’ve been making this recipe at least once a week for the past 2 years. To lighten it up a little, I will sometimes omit the mozzarella in the middle (even though it’s so, so good).
Was so easy and so delicious! Everyone enjoyed this recipe. I will definitely make it again.
A new family favorite! Thanks Gaby ❤️
We’ve made this multiple times now. Has not disappointed once.
Amazing! These will be on regular rotation now.
Love, love, love!!
This is a family favorite! Requested often! So yummy and quite easy!
Did anyone use a cast iron skillet ?
I do all the time! You’re safe
I used a cast iron skillet too!
Made these this weekend and they were easy to make and turned out so delicious! Didn’t have oregano but Italian seasoning was a perfect substitution. I skimped on the sauce, will def do full jar of marinara next time! Thanks for sharing, this will for sure be in the rotation for meal prepping.
I’m not sure if my skillets are oven safe. Would it be too difficult to just make it in my skillet and then transfer to a casserole dish to bake in? This looks amazing!
That works
So good, so easy, just omg all around. I reduced the Parmesan to 1/3 cup and only used 1 egg and they were so perfect. I used cut up mozzarella string cheese and it worked great! Will definitely make these again and again.
These are so easy to make and SO GOOD! Chicken parm is hubby’s favorite, so he loved this variation (so did I!). We put them over a bit of pasta.
These are soooooooo good! Made them a few times already. Changed it up and stuffed blue cheese in the middle and really liked it!
These are so lovely. Wondering at what step I can freeze them? Before flour and pan fry or after? Unsure how the fry will hold up in the freezer, and if the cheese will as well. Thoughts?
Absolutely amazing!!!
I have a brand new package of the wet mozarella logs from Costco. Do you think I could use those and cut them into smaller pieces similar to the size shown in the video?
absolutely
First and foremost: OB-SESS-ED with these! Like they might actually be my favorite dinner to make!
Second: do you have any tips on how not to kill yourself when pouring the marinara into your hot cast iron after browning the meatballs? Asking for a friend
very very carefully!! turn the heat down and then pour in and increase the heat
Oh my goodness, this is a winner! Oddly enough, I’ve had an easier time finding mozzarella than parmesan during quarantine, so I had to sub nutritional yeast for the parmesan. I’m gluten-free as well so I used gf bread crumbs in the meatballs and cassava flour in place of regular flour. Being that I made so many subs, I was a little worried about how these might turn out but they were AMAZING! The only thing I’ll change next time is the way I fried the meatballs; I fried them in batches and the first batch turned out beautifully golden brown but the second batch started to burn by the end because the oil was getting crazy hot at that point. I’ll be more mindful of this next time.
If I wanted to do this make-ahead for a dinner party, do you think I could do steps 1 through 8, cool, cover, and refrigerate, then bake it when my guests arrive?
yes! I do it all the time
Will be cooking these this week. Wonder what to serve them with? Salad?
this is my go to side for these meatballs https://whatsgabycooking.com/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