Juicy, Tender Baked Chicken Meatballs—Your Newest Weeknight Hero
It doesn’t matter whether they’re served over pasta, tucked in a sub, or added to a salad—I’m always up for meatballs!
But sometimes, I crave something a little fresher than my rich and hearty Italian Beef and Pork Meatballs…and that’s when this recipe saves the day.
Swapping beef and pork for ground chicken doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor. The secret to extra-juicy and tender Baked Chicken Meatballs? Creamy ricotta cheese! It’s the unsung hero of this recipe, ensuring every bite is melt-in-your-mouth tender and delicious. No dry meatballs here!
And while some swear by pan-frying, I think the oven is the best way to cook meatballs to perfection—especially delicate chicken meatballs. Gently baking on a sheet pan keeps them until tender, while the broiler adds a golden-brown finish that rivals pan-fried results—all without the mess on the stovetop!
Plus, less hands-on cooking also means quicker, easier clean-up! 😎
From there, the options are endless. Toss the meatballs in your sauce of choice (try my 5-Minute Homemade Pesto Sauce or Simple San Marzano Tomato Sauce), then serve over pasta, tucked in a sub, or alongside a light and tangy Mixed Greens Salad—you really can’t go wrong.
And for an easy, fresh, & flavor-packed 40-minute dinner? It doesn’t get much better than that! 💜
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Get 5 days of pasta tips learned from my years in a fine-dining Italian restaurant.
Start With Ground Chicken That Delivers Juicy Results
The secret to always-juicy baked chicken meatballs? Using ground meat with just the right amount of fat. Fat = rich, delicious flavor! This is especially important with poultry meatballs—if the meat is too lean, it runs the risk of drying out or becoming tough.
For the best results, choose ground chicken thighs or a blend that’s no more than 93% lean. The extra fat ensures your meatballs stay tender, flavorful, and perfectly juicy as they bake—just the way they should be!
Homemade Meatball Must-Haves
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Buy Now → Mixing Makes the Difference for Extra-Tender Chicken Meatballs
The secret to making the best baked chicken meatballs? Building layers of flavor and handling the mixture with care. It’s an easy, one-bowl operation and the food processor does most of the work! 🙌🏼
First, you’ll mix a simple panade, a paste traditionally made by soaking stale bread in milk. This recipe puts a spin on tradition by using creamy ricotta cheese instead of milk and panko breadcrumbs instead of day-old bread. Ricotta adds richness and flavor, while panko keeps the texture light and airy.
👩🏻🍳Why panade? ⇢ Think of it as a nonna-approved secret for making meatballs, meatloaf, and burgers extra juicy and tender. It fortifies the meat with moisture and richness, preventing it from drying out—especially important when working with leaner meats like ground chicken.
✨No food processor? No problem! ⇢ Finely chop the aromatics by hand or use a mortar and pestle to bring everything together.
Meatball Meal Prep!
To cut down on active prep time at dinner, feel free to make the meatball mixture up to 3 days ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. Check the Recipe Notes, below, for more guidance.
The Best Way to Cook Chicken Meatballs: Shape, Bake, and Broil
As a meatball aficionado, I firmly believe baking is the best way to cook chicken meatballs. It’s much gentler than pan-frying, helping the meatballs stay perfectly juicy and tender—plus, it’s hands-off and mess-free! 🙌🏼
The only catch? Baked meatballs don’t develop the same crispy crust as pan-fried ones. That’s why my foolproof method includes one extra step—baking them until almost cooked through, then finishing under the broiler for a next-level golden brown crust.
👩🏻🍳Pro Tip! ⇢ Generously spritz the meatballs with cooking spray before baking to help them develop a gloriously golden crust.
Storage and Freezing
I love keeping a stash of fully cooked chicken meatballs in the freezer for effortless lunches and weeknight dinners. Store them in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Check the Recipe Notes, below, for more guidance!
I can’t wait for you to try my Best-Ever Baked Chicken Meatballs recipe! If you do, be sure to let us know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. We LOVE seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!
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Extra-Juicy & Tender Baked Chicken Meatballs with Ricotta Cheese
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Pasta Recipes, Main Dishes
- Method: Oven-Baked and Broiled
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Description
Calling all meatball lovers! This easy Baked Chicken Meatballs recipe is the one you’ve been waiting for!
Made with ground chicken, breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, fresh herbs, and ricotta cheese (my secret ingredient for extra-juicy meatballs), every bite is melt-in-your-mouth tender and packed with Italian-inspired flavor—never dry or bland.
Simply bake them on a sheet pan and finish under the broiler for a golden-brown crust—just as good as pan-fried, with none of the mess!
Ingredients
- nonstick cooking spray
- 1 pound 93% lean ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- ⅓ cup whole milk ricotta
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
- ½ medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves and tender stems
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- optional: up to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, ensuring one rack is positioned in the center of the oven and a second rack is positioned directly under the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Prepare the ricotta panade: To a large bowl, add the egg, panko breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, and ricotta cheese. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Set aside.
- Finely chop the aromatics: To the bowl of a food processor, add the remaining listed ingredients (onion – red pepper flakes). Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor, you can finely chop the aromatics by hand.
- Mix the chicken meatballs: Transfer the aromatic mixture to the mixing bowl with the ricotta panade. Add the ground chicken turkey. Using your hands, mix just until combined—take care to avoid over-mixing.
- Form the chicken meatballs: Divide the chicken meatball mixture into equal portions slightly larger than the size of a golf ball. Gently form each portion into a meatball, rolling just until smooth. For quickness and ease, I like using a spring-loaded scoop. The mixture yields about 16-18 2-inch meatballs. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the chicken meatballs: Lightly spritz the chicken meatballs with cooking spray for a golden finish, then transfer the baking sheet to the oven. Bake 12-14 minutes, until nearly cooked through. Remove from the oven and carefully slide the parchment paper off the baking sheet. Spritz the meatballs once more with cooking spray. Switch the oven to broil on its highest setting and transfer the meatballs to the oven rack directly below the broiler. Broil 3-4 minutes for a golden brown crust—be sure to check them every so often and rotate the sheet pan as needed to broil evenly.
- Serve: Serve the chicken meatballs immediately as desired. Feel free to toss them into a quick pesto or simple tomato sauce, then serve them with pasta or in a meatball sub, etc. A Caesar Salad and a few slices of Garlic Lover’s Garlic Bread on the side never hurt either. Enjoy!
Notes
Jess’ Tips and Tricks:
- Ground chicken: The secret to seriously juicy and tender chicken meatballs is using the right ground chicken—it needs a decent fat content, otherwise the meatballs will dry out. I like to use ground chicken thighs or dark meat, which is typically available at the butcher counter at most conventional grocery stores. If you’re purchasing packaged ground chicken, look for 93% lean at most, though if you can find 90-92%, that’s even better! These meatballs also work beautifully with ground turkey if that’s what’s most readily available to you—similar to chicken, opt for ground thigh or dark meat or 93% lean at most.
- 15-20 Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for this recipe comes from prepping and forming the chicken meatballs. Take care of some of this in advance and you can jump straight in to cooking during the week:
- Mix and form the chicken meatballs according to Step 2-5 of Recipe Directions, above. You can roll out the meatballs immediately or save the rolling for dinnertime; either way, the mixture will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (15 minutes active for meatball mixture prep, 5 minutes active for forming the chicken meatballs)
Storage and Freezing:
- Storage and Reheating: Transfer cooled chicken meatballs to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, adding a splash of water or chicken stock as needed to help them steam up and loosen any sauce that may be on the meatballs.
- Freezer Instructions: These chicken meatballs are also incredibly freezer-friendly. To freeze, transfer the baked and cooled meatballs to a freezer container or divide between multiple freezer containers for smaller portions. Freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen chicken meatballs in the refrigerator overnight. Easily reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, adding a splash of water or chicken stock as needed to help them steam up and loosen any sauce that may be on the meatballs.
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These are amazing! They have great flavor from the herbs and are truly moist and tender. Such a great and versatile recipe!
So happy they turned out great for you, Adrienne! Thanks again for being part of the PWWB community!
As per usual, Jess created the most herbaceous recipe of all time. The parsley and basil really sing in the meatball while the ricotta keeps it from being dry.
Thrilled to hear you loved these meatballs as much as we do, Anna! The ricotta really is such a game-changer!
Really good! I actually used cottage cheese because I realized I didn’t have ricotta but looking forward to trying with ricotta next time.
These meatballs are very good. They were very tender and flavorful. I skipped the broil since I was just mixing them in with tomato sauce and pasta. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear you loved the meatballs, Rebecca! 🙂
These are so easy to make. I got 19 meatballs out of this recipe. They are moist and remained that way. I used these for meal prep week and they were perfect. The herb combination added so much flavor.
So glad you enjoyed the meatballs, Kira! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!