Chicken Meatballs (Baked, in Tomato Sauce)
Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs
on Feb 10, 2025 (last updated Apr 17, 2026) 
These baked ground chicken meatballs cook right in the tomato sauce with no pre-browning and no chopping, ready in 30 minutes. Juicy meatballs, bubbling marinara, and melted cheese make this a cozy, high-protein dinner the whole family will love; and it’s on the table fast enough for any weeknight.
5 star review
“This recipe is DELICIOUS! I made angel hair pasta to serve with the meatballs and sauce… it was like a healthier version of chicken parmesan! My whole family loved this meal. It will definitely be going in our regular dinner rotation!”
– Melissa
My Favorite Baked Chicken Meatballs for Dinner Tonight!
For this recipe, I wanted to create a simple, flavor-packed casserole that can be made ahead of time, and is exceptionally family-friendly, while also requiring no chopping & no pre-browning. A triple whammy! It’s a great way to use ground chicken without it drying out, annnnnnd a way to get a ton of flavor (no one like a dry or flavorless chicken meatball) without much effort.
Now listen, I am admittedly a big fan of meatballs in general, both for their ease of prep, and the way they fill me up without weighing me down. And I especially love this ground chicken meatball recipe because it’s great for meal prep, and can be made in a big batch for now, or frozen for later. Plus, it’s seriously the perfect recipe to use ground chicken in, because is gives you those meatball parm vibes without feeling too heavy.
I personally love these cheesy baked chicken meatballs over pasta or with my simple garlic bread on the side. Or, for a lower carb option, add a side salad or some roasted veggies and you’re good to go. And for a hands-off version using a similar meatball method, my easy crockpot turkey meatballs cook low and slow in the slow cooker and work well over pasta or with a side of garlic bread.
Welcome to My Kitchen, Let’s Make Ground Chicken Meatballs
Testing Tips to Making Juicy Chicken Meatballs
- Moist Chicken: Don’t over-mix the ground chicken, which can make it dry. That’s why I mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl first, then add the chicken.
- Veg it Up: My pro tip? Add a few handfuls of baby spinach before you add the cheese to create a full one-pan meal, without needing to add a side.
- Perfect Meatballs: I form my meatballs with a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop for consistent sizes to make 6 servings with 4 meatballs each. Of course, if you like your meatballs larger, go big or go home!
Chicken Meatballs (Baked, in Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon no-salt added Italian seasoning
- 1 large egg
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 24- oz marinara
- ½ cup shredded Italian cheese blend
Equipment
- 2-Tablespoon Cookie Scoop optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- To a large bowl, add the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Mix until well combined. Add the egg and mix again until well incorporated.
- Add the ground chicken and gently mix until the breadcrumb mixture is evenly distributed throughout the chicken, being careful not to overmix.
- Prepare a baking dish with olive oil cooking spray. Roll the chicken mixture into small balls, about 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture each. Place each meatball, evenly spaced, into the baking dish.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, flip the meatballs, and pour over the marinara sauce. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese.
- Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
Notes
- Serving Size: This recipe makes about 24 meatballs, so about 5 servings of 4-5 meatballs with sauce.
- Moist Chicken: Don’t over-mix the ground chicken, which can make it dry. That’s why I mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl first, then add the chicken.
- Perfect Meatballs: I form my meatballs with a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop for consistent sizes. Of course, if you like your meatballs larger, go big or go home! You’ll just need to adjust the cook time accordingly.
- Quality Marinara: Any good quality marinara sauce that you like the taste of is a great option, but I’m always going to be partial to my easy homemade marinara sauce. Since there are so few ingredients in this recipe, if you don’t like the flavor of your tomato sauce, you won’t like the taste of the final dish.
Is there a cheese substitute? Can these be made without cheese
You can try substituting my cheese-free meatballs in this recipe and then topping the casserole with dairy-free mozzarella shreds. Hope that helps!
This recipe is DELICIOUS! I made angel hair pasta to serve with the meatballs and sauce… it was like a healthier version of chicken parmesan! For cheese, I used a combination of freshly grated mozzarella and parmesan because it’s what I had on hand, and it was perfect. My whole family loved this meal. It will definitely be going in our regular dinner rotation!
Melissa, yay, and I completely agree – I was definitely going for “healthy” meatball parm vibes with this recipe. Thanks so much for taking the timet o share your thoughts and for leaving a review!
So simple, great flavor, a keeper! Would not recommend using fridge temp marinara, as it really increased the bake time, but it’s what I had on hand.
Lauren, great tip about adding more time if using fridge temperature marinara, thanks for sharing and for leaving a review!
Great recipe! Our kids are beyond picky (sensory issues, autistic) and they loved these meatballs. An easy quick recipe that was also full of protein! Can’t thank you enough!
Kelly, yay, I’m so happy to hear these chicken meatballs were a hit with the whole family, including the one with sensory issues! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and leaving a review!