Chicken Meatballs (Baked, in Tomato Sauce)

A metal spoon sitting in a large white baking dish filled with small chicken meatballs, creamy marinara sauce, and shredded Italian cheese.

Chicken Meatballs (Baked, in Tomato Sauce)

Baked ground chicken meatballs in tomato sauce, topped with melted cheese. Ready in 30 minutes, no chopping, no pre-browning, meal prep friendly.

Course dinner

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword baked chicken meatball casserole, baked chicken parmesan meatballs, cheesy, comfort food, meal prep friendly, meatball casserole, meatballs, quick, tomato sauce

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 290

Author Robyn Conley Downs

Equipment

Large Baking Dish
2-Tablespoon Cookie Scoop optional

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

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.

Nutrition