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
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- â…“ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cups flour
- bocconcini mozzarella balls
- ½ 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
If I don't have an oven proof skillet, is there another way to finish these off?
transfer them to a glass baking dish and finish in the oven!
SO in love with these!!!
All the love for these!!
my love for meatballs just grew stronger!
I buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs and spend some time trimming off all the fat, Then I grind up the thighs in my food processor. The thigh meat sticks together and the meatballs do not fall apart.
It's a classic for a reason! Loving this meatball version.
I mean these could not look more delicious!
These look delicious. But my daughter is highly allergic to tomatoes, tomato sauce! Is there any other sauce they could be baked in? Or no sauce at all? Your recipes all look so delicious but many are with tomatoes / tomato sauce. So disappointing I can’t make them.
you can make them without the sauce for sure!! A butternut squash pasta sauce would work too!
These are stuffed with mozzarella?? Holy cow! YUM! I was already excited about them and got even more so when I saw that they are literally STUFFED with even more cheese!
Genius!
This sounds so yummy - I've got to make tonight! All I have is ground turkey. Should I make any adjustments to the recipe? Thanks for being your perky self 🙂
Can I use almond meal flour to make it gluten free?
Yes!
I LOVE this recipe so much that I always make double and freeze a bunch for later. Goes great with a side of sauteed zucchini and yellow squash
LOVE hearing that! xx
At what point do you freeze them? after browning in the pan but before cooking in the oven or freeze with the sauce after cooking it all together? Thanks!
I'll do it after making it entirely through!
Made this tonight - really flavorful and filling! Will definitely make again.
This recipe is AMAZING! A total family pleaser and just all around awesome. This is now in our regular dinner rotation!!