Italian Baked Chicken Meatballs
This is a basic meatball recipe that uses ground chicken instead of beef and pork - they're lighter but still pack plenty of flavor from the fennel and parmesan. The tomatoes roast alongside the meatballs so you get a simple sauce without any extra work.
Ingredients
Ingredients (~12 servings)
- ~3 lbs Roma tomatoes halved
- 1 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for serving
- 3 lbs ground chicken
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/2 Tbsp dried fennel seed optional
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- Fresh basil optional, minced
- Cooked pasta for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F with rack in center position.
- Toss halved tomatoes with thyme, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/3 cup olive oil.
- Spread tomatoes cut-side up on baking sheet.
- Mix ground chicken, eggs, fennel, parmesan, garlic, breadcrumbs, and remaining salt in bowl.
- Form 36 golf ball-sized meatballs with wet hands.
- Arrange meatballs on sheet pan with tomatoes.
- Roast 20 minutes until tomatoes soften and begin browning.
- Increase oven to 500F.
- Brush meatballs with remaining olive oil.
- Roast additional 5 minutes until meatballs are golden and reach 165F.
- Toss meatballs and tomatoes together on pan.
- Serve over pasta, garnish with basil and extra parmesan.
Notes
Wet hands prevent meatball mixture from sticking. Use fresh herbs if available.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you liked it below!