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Easy Baked Chicken Meatballs

baked chicken meatballs on a plate with zucchini noodles
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These baked chicken meatballs are the best anytime meatballs. Packed with layers of flavor, baked at a high temperature, and brushed with a lemon garlic herb butter sauce to finish them off. Pair them with spaghetti, add them to salad, or enjoy all on their own! Bonus: these chicken meatballs are a perfect make-ahead recipe and can be easily frozen before or after baking.

Ingredients

Units

Meatballs

  • 2 pounds ground chicken
  • 1 large egg, whisked
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
  • 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 Tablespoons dried parsley

Lemon Garlic Herb Butter Sauce

  • 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
  • 3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • optional: 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients until just combined.
  3. Scoop 2 Tablespoons of the mixture, gently roll into a ball with your hands, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all meatballs are formed– there will be about 30-35 meatballs.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165°F. 
  5. Make the sauce: Add the butter, lemon juice and grated garlic in a sauté pan over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted and the garlic becomes fragrant. This will take about 3-4 minutes, keep an eye on it to not let the butter or garlic burn. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the fresh herbs and red pepper flakes, if using. Remove from the burner.
  6. Add the meatballs to the sauté pan, gently stirring and spooning the sauce over the meatballs or brush the meatballs with the sauce on the baking sheet.
  7. Serve meatballs warm with a side dish of your choosing. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to 5 days.

Notes

  1. Make Ahead Instructions: To make ahead, follow through step 3, then cover the unbaked meatballs tightly and refrigerate for up to 1 day. The day of, continue with step 4.
  2. Freezing Instructions & Reheating Instructions: To freeze, you have 2 options: 1) freeze baked meatballs or 2) freeze raw meatballs. To freeze baked meatballs, allow the meatballs to cool completely, then place in a freezer-friendly container or airtight bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To freeze raw meatballs, place the meatballs on a baking sheet, plate or tray lined with parchment paper and freeze for an hour to prevent them from sticking. Then, place in a freezer-friendly container or airtight bag for up to 3 months.
  3. Reheating Instructions: For frozen, you have 2 options: 1) thaw overnight in the refrigerator or 2) bake frozen (pre-cooked or raw.) For both, preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the meatballs on a prepared baking sheet. Bake thawed meatballs for 10 minutes. Bake frozen meatballs for 15 minutes, if raw, making sure the the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Then, continue with step 5.
  4. Meat Options: You can substitute ground turkey or beef for the chicken, if desired.
  5. Breadcrumbs: You can use panko, regular, seasoned, homemade or gluten free.
  6. Herbs: You can replace any of the fresh herbs with dried, if desired, or replace any of the dried herbs with fresh herbs. Keep in mind that dried herbs are more potent. The rule of thumb: for dried herbs to fresh herbs is double (2 Tablespoons dried parsley → 4 Tablespoons fresh parsley)  and for fresh herbs to dried herbs cut in half (2 Tablespoons fresh thyme → 1 Tablespoon dried thyme.)
  7. What to serve with chicken meatballs? There's tons of options: 1) pair with your favorite pasta or lighten it up with zucchini noodles, 2) serve alongside asparagus, quinoa patties, brown butter garlic mushrooms, roasted potatoes, kale and quinoa salad or quinoa.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://runlifteatrepeat.com/baked-chicken-meatballs/