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
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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.
What can I use in place of egg or egg products? My toddler is allergic. Thanks.
You could use 2-3 tablespoons milk
How many days can refrigerate for?
About 5 days in a container.
Made thee tonight for my 8 month old and my 6 year old and both were super happy! 6 YO is an extremely picky eater too!!
Hello! I haven’t tried this recipe but really want to for my kids! Would you by chance have the temp and cook time if using an air fryer?
I’ve done 375 for 10-12 minutes. Works well!
Could I use blitzed up oats instead of breadcrumbs?
I haven’t made them that way, but I bet it would work.
Looks great! We’re going to try this tonight. I’m wondering if these are also okay to serve cold. We haven’t used a thermos for school yet, but I use ice packs, so we can keep things cold.
Yes, that should be fine to serve them cold.
Absolutely beautiful!
I made mine into patties as my toddler isn’t into ball shaped foods (lol I know).
I used plain breadcrumbs and seasoned with my own spices because I couldn’t find Italian breadcrumbs (Australian).
These are super fantastic. If you made these in advance and made them into a pattie shape they would be great as a chicken burger too !
Such an amazing recipe! THANK YOU for making cooking easy, simple and NOT overwhelming! I’ve made this with both chicken and ground beef, and I added onions for a little extra taste. Deeeeelicious!
This is my son’s all time favorite! It’s really easy to make, and stores extremely well!
my 16mo at these right up! she’s allergic to milk & egg, so i substituted egg for non dairy milk & left out the cheese. thanks for the recipe!
These are amazing! My 14 month old loves meatballs so I decided to give these a try. They are incredible and so easy to make! Will definitely double the batch next time to have extra in the freezer! Thanks Amy!
This is a simple recipe that I keep coming back to because it pleases everyone in my family! I have a chicken lover and a meatball lover, and they both love this recipe. Thank you!
Need them dairy free? Use vegan Parmesan which cost twice as much as the regular stuff. Need them egg free? Use dairy. Need them egg free and dairy free, sorry you’re sol.
You can use plain nondairy milk. I do actually try hard to make most of my recipes adaptable for more families, but it’s really impossible to make every one work for every kid since no kiddo is the same.
Hi Lindsay, my son has an egg allergy too. I feel your frustration. I typically substitute Bob’s red mill egg substitute in all recipes that call for egg. That works really well for me. I’ve also read that nutritional yeast can be a go substitute for parmesan. Hope this helps! Erin
Super easy and SO SO GOOD! My son is 22 months old and asked for more. I’ve been looking for easy, toddler friendly recipes and so grateful I stumbled across this on Instagram. I may even try using beef next time. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that!
I just made this today and made a bunch of changes! Ground turkey was on sale, so I used that. We had lots of leftover cheese- Mexican blend and pizza blend, so did a mix. Added a carrot, egg, and Italian bread crumbs as called for. These were AWESOME. Such an easy and versatile recipe. Will definitely make again (differently for fun).