With just four simple and affordable ingredients, you can make tender Baked Chicken Meatballs to share with the kids. Bonus: You can tuck a veggie into the mix, and they are perfect to batch-cook and stash in the freezer!
Baked Chicken Meatballs
Meatballs are one of the foods I grew up eating regularly and turn to as easy comfort food. I like all kinds of healthy meatballs (and my kids do, too!), and these basic but delicious chicken meatballs are often in our meal plan. They use super simple ingredients, are easy to mix together, and are a wonderfully easy-to-eat texture for little kids.
I love to double this recipe and stash half of them into the freezer for a future meal. Cook once, eat twice, my friends!
(You may also like my Pesto Meatballs, which is a variation on this recipe with zucchini and pesto.)
My kids are big fans of these meatballs since they’re packed with flavor AND they’re easy to eat. With super simple and healthy ingredients, these are a favorite that I like just as much as they do. These are also a great prep food since they work well as a freezer meal and taste just as good once they’re warmed up again.
(You may also like Baked Chicken Nuggets, Turkey Baby Meatballs, and Lamb Meatballs.)
Table of Contents
Your toddler won’t eat? Help is here!
Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent to your inbox.
Ingredients You Need
To make this recipe, you’ll need these ingredients on hand and ready to go.
- Ground chicken: Look for ground chicken near the other cuts of chicken in your supermarket. It’s really easy to make chicken meatballs when you start with it already ground.
- Italian-flavored bread crumbs: This adds nice flavor without any extra work. I use regular-style bread crumbs here, not Panko, for a texture I prefer.
- Grated Parmesan: This style of Parmesan typically has the most flavor, so I prefer to use it here. You can use shredded Parmesan if that’s what you have.
- Egg: I use an egg to help bind the meatballs and add moisture. If you need to make these egg-free, omit it and add a splash of milk instead.
- Carrots: Shredded carrots are optional as the recipe works well without them, but they are an easy way to add a veggie to this recipe.
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’m breaking down the steps to make these chicken meatballs here so you know what to expect, but be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page for the full recipe including the amounts and the timing.
- Shred carrots into a medium bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix together the ingredients with clean hands.
- Using a tablespoon, roll together 2-tablespoon meatballs and place on baking sheet, evenly spread apart. Bake until golden brown, and serve or store!
TIP: You can make a double batch and freeze half for later.
Freezer-Friendly Chicken Meatballs
These Baked Chicken Meatballs freeze well. Let cool fully, store in a freezer bag, and freeze them for up to 6 months. You can warm them in tomato sauce or heat them individually in the microwave in 15-second increments until warmed through.
TIP: Either thaw the Baked Chicken Meatballs in the fridge, simmer them in tomato sauce to warm, or microwave them in 15 to 30-second increments.
Easy Meal-Prep Meatballs
I love making these meatballs to have on hand to meal prep lunch for myself and for my toddler, especially the version with the carrots. I dice them up and store them in the fridge in a heat-safe container, then warm just briefly before serving to him. You could also pack them in a thermos to send to day care as an easy hot lunch idea.
Best Tips for Success
- Add ½ cup shredded carrots (I prefer the thinner texture from grating them at home with a box grater) to the mix of the Baked Chicken Meatball batter to add a veggie.
- You can use gluten-free bread crumbs if needed.
- Double the recipe to make more meatballs at once.
- Use 1 tablespoon mixture to make mini meatballs and bake for closer to 18-20 minutes.
- Serve with Easy Marinara Sauce, Spinach Pesto, Cauliflower Cheese Sauce, Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce, Cauliflower Alfredo, or a side of ketchup or any other favorite dip.
- Dice for older babies or younger toddlers as needed.
- Let them cool fully, and you can freeze in a freezer bag for up to 6 months.
- Thaw overnight in the fridge, simmer in tomato sauce to warm, or warm in 15 to 30-second increments in the microwave.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it so please comment below!
4-Ingredient Baked Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ⅔ cup Italian-flavored bread crumbs
- ½ cup shredded carrots (optional)
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Coat with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, mix the ingredients together with clean hands. Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to measure out 2-tablespoon-size meatballs. Roll into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 24-26 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
- (You can also make them smaller as 1-tablespoon balls and bake for 20-22 minutes.)
- Serve warm or set aside to cool and freeze.
Equipment
Notes
- Let them cool fully and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or freeze in a freezer bag for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, simmer in tomato sauce to warm, or warm in 15 to 30-second increments in the microwave.
- Use store-bought ground chicken to make this easy.
- I prefer the thinner texture from grating a whole carrot on a box grater.
- Serve with Marinara Sauce, Pesto, Cheese Sauce or a side of ketchup or any other favorite dip.
- Dice for older babies or younger toddlers as needed.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free bread crumbs if needed.
- Dairy-free: Use vegan Parmesan cheese.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg and add 1 tablespoon milk.
Nutrition
This post was first published August 2020.
So yummy! I used Panko instead of the Italian breadcrumbs and it was good.
Has anyone tried shredded zucchini? I know I’d need to squeeze out the liquid. Just wondering if anyone has had success with zucchini added. Thanks!
It should work fine as long as it’s squeezed very dry!
Yes! I just did since that’s what I had on hand. I did squeeze all the extra water out & probably used 3/4 cup since zucchini is more water than carrot. They were delish!
These meatballs are a favorite in our house! They’re easy to make and my husband, toddler and four year old love them.
How long do these keep in fridge?
Up to 5 days
So easy and delicious!
Could I use ground turkey instead?
Sure
Delicious! My picky toddler loves these. I thought they were pretty tasty as well!
I make these a couple times a month and freeze them for a quick dinner or lunch. They are really good and my toddler likes them a lot. I use plain breadcrumbs but then add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and dried basil and oregano. I also baked them on parchment paper. These come out really good and they even make a quick dinner for myself. Thanks for the recipe
Can you use nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan? These sound great, but my baby is allergic to dairy.
Sure!
Another amazing recipe! We had this last night (with the addition of shredded carrots per your insta story) and the whole family loved them! I trust your recipes so much that I doubled the batch without trying them first and I’m so glad I did since I have another batch ready to go in the freezer now. Thanks for all you do!
Can’t wait to make these! What texture is the breadcrumb you used? Does it matter? I have plain panko bread and also plain breadcrumbs, the latter being almost like flour. How much italian seasoning if using plain flavour breadcrumbs?
I would use the regular breadcrumbs. If using plain breadcrumbs, I would add 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning I think!
Thanks for sharing this. As I was thinking the same thing as we only have the plain bread crumbs too. I’ll be making this soon for our little family of four (9 month old and 5 yr old).
These were delicious and so easy to make.
Seriously the best meatballs I have had!! I changed the recipe a little cause my son is allergic to eggs. I used 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, and mixed turkey and pork ground meat together. I used both parmeson and mozzarella cheese. I also added salt and pepper for extra seasoning. Will definitely be making these often. Thank you for such great recipes!
Can I make this with no egg? My son has an egg allergy.
I think you should be able to—if they don’t seem to be holding together well enough to roll into balls, I’d add 1 tablespoon milk to see if that helps.
Big hit! My 17 month old has very few teeth (four front, one molar), and he did great with these meatballs! I used ground turkey and added shredded carrot, and they turned out great! Very happy that I made enough to freeze some, but I’ll definitely be making more. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad!