Ground Chicken Meatballs in Sauce

by Killing Thyme // January 24, 2022 (updated January 13, 2023)

These Ground Chicken Meatballs are simmered in an easy marinara and come out extremely tender and flavorful.

Ground Chicken Makes a Damn Good Meatball.

Eating less red meat shouldn’t feel like a punishment, and you certainly don’t have to avoid the meaty recipes you love. Just adapt!

Because anything ground beef or pork can do, ground chicken can do, too. (These chicken burgers are another fine example of that.)

I’m thrilled to share these tricks with you, because seriously, these saucy and nutritious meatballs are a treat!

Your Grocery List.

Ground chicken
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Onion powder
Garlic cloves
Fresh thyme
Sweet/yellow onion
Worcestershire sauce
Egg
Panko breadcrumbs

The Marinara.

Making the marinara from scratch is optional.

If you prefer to keep things super simple and use your favorite jar sauce, go for it. That’s exactly what I do when I’m in a pinch or feeling lazy.

Luckily this marinara is as simple as it is delicious.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Olive oil
Yellow onion
Garlic
Crushed tomatoes
Sea salt
Fresh oregano
Fresh basil
Bay leaf
Red pepper flakes

Here’s the full recipe for the marinara.

How to Make Chicken Meatballs in Sauce.

If you’re making the sauce, do that first and when done, leave it on a low simmer.
Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper and set it aside.
Pop all of the ingredients for the meatballs into a large mixing bowl blend the mixture until it’s well mixed. Note: The mixture will seem wet and trickier to work with than beef and pork meatballs, but that’s normal.
Wash your hands and lightly oil them with olive oil—this helps form the meatballs much better.
Take a heaping scoop of the mixture, roll it into a ball that’s about 1 x 1 inch, and place the meatball onto the parchment paper. Repeat this until you’re done—there should be about a dozen meatballs.
Place the tray of meatballs into the fridge and let them chill for at least 30 minutes.
When it’s time to cook the meatballs, heat a bit of olive oil in a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan.
Place the meatballs into the pan one by one and let them simmer for about 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip the meatballs and let them simmer for another 3-5 minutes until the other side is golden in color.
Add the sauce to the pan, covering the meatballs, and let the meatballs simmer on medium-low, covered, for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 165º F.
When the meatballs are ready, garnish with chopped fresh basil and serve them with pasta or on fresh hoagies with mozzarella cheese!

Equipment You’ll Need:

Recipe Tips + Tricks:

Letting the meatballs chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes is really important. It helps them set and will keep them from falling apart when you’re cooking them.
If you want to bake your ground chicken meatballs, you can skip the step of chilling them in the fridge and just pop them straight into an oven preheated at 400º F. Bake them for 25-30 minutes. They should be golden in color and register an internal temperature of 165º F.
Grating your garlic cloves offers much better flavor distribution than simply mincing them. A microplane is the perfect tool for grating garlic!
If you don’t have panko breadcrumbs, you can use Italian.

More Easy Chicken Recipes:

Have You Made This Recipe?

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