Busy cooks, you’ll love this easy sheet-pan dinner! These juicy baked chicken meatballs pack big Italian flavor in under an hour.
I think of these baked meatballs as an “anytime” type dinner. You can make them any night of the week, and serve them up however you like–straight form the pan, with a side salad, your favorite grain, or pasta. Or, for sandwich night, make Italian meatball subs!
If you’ve made my baked chicken piccata meatballs or turkey meatballs recently, you’ll want to try these chicken meatballs. An awesome new riff that my family has been absolutely loving!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Red onion: Substitute with shallot or yellow onion.
- Tomatoes: Small firm tomatoes, like Roma or on the vine, work best. Substitute with red bell peppers.
- Fresh thyme: Substitute with rosemary.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I recommend our rich and decadent Private Reserve EVOO with this recipe.
- Ground chicken: Swap with ground turkey, if you’d like.
- Garlic: Substitute with shallot or finely chopped green onion.
- Egg: Holds the meatball mixture together.
- Parmesan: Adds a rich umami flavor, but feel free to leave it out if you avoid dairy.
- Breadcrumbs: Panko works well.
- TIP for gluten free breadcrumbs: Blitz a piece of gluten free bread in a food processor. A gluten free friend of mine also swears by cornmeal. Try just 1/4 cup with this recipe.
- Parsley: Swap with other tender green herbs, like dill, cilantro, or mint.
- Spices: Dried Greek oregano and sweet Spanish paprika give the chicken meatballs a Mediterranean vibe. Kosher salt and black pepper enhance the flavor.
How to Bake Chicken Meatballs
I like to bake my chicken meatballs in the oven at a lower temperature, then crank things up at the end. This ensures you get the juicy center with a golden crust.
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly brush a large sheet pan with olive oil. Cut 1 large red onion and 6 to 7 tomatoes into wedges. Mince 3 garlic cloves. Ready yourself 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, and 1 cup chopped parsley.
- Prep the veggies. Add the sliced onions and tomatoes to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt and about half of the thyme. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat and toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan and spread well.
- In the same mixing bowl, make the chicken meatball mixture. Add the chicken, garlic, egg, remaining thyme, parmesan, breadcrumbs, and parsley. Season with the oregano, paprika, and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Using gloves or clean hands (remove any rings, of course), mix well until the chicken meatball mixture is well-combined.
- Form the meatballs. Divide into small meatballs, about 1 1/2 tablespoons each (whatever size you choose, stick to it for even cooking). Nestle on the sheet pan between the tomatoes and onions.
- Bake the meatballs. Bake until the meatballs begin to turn a beautiful golden brown and the tomatoes collapse, about 30 minutes. If you’d like a little more “crust” or color to your meatballs, remove the meatballs from the oven and turn the heat to 450°F. Brush the top of the meatballs with olive oil. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes or so, watch carefully. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Baked Chicken Meatballs
Of course, you can toss these meatballs with pasta, more parmesan, and red sauce, but don’t limit yourself! Some more ideas:
- Over your favorite grain: Greek Spinach rice would be particularly tasty.
- With a crunchy salad: Go low-carb with traditional Greek salad.
- Make a sandwich: Tuck the meatballs and veggies into focaccia or buns, perhaps with sliced mozzarella and red sauce.
More Ways to Use Ground Chicken
There are so many delicious, Mediterranean-diet friendly ways to use ground chicken! Here are a few recipes to try next:
- Chicken Kofta Kebabs with Harissa and Garlic-Mint Yogurt
- Chicken Stuffed Peppers
- Chicken Burger with Mediterranean-Spiced Chicken Patties
More Baked Meatball Recipes
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Baked Chicken Meatballs
You'll love these easy sheet-pan dinner with Italian baked chicken meatballs, tomatoes and onions. Serve over your favorite grain, toss with pasta, tuck into a sandwich, or simply with a fresh salad!
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion cut into wedges
- 6 to 7 small tomatoes (like Roma or on the vine), quartered or cut into wedges
- 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (divided)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken (or ground turkey)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
- 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs (see notes for gluten free option)
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly brush a large sheet pan with olive oil.
- Prep the veggies. Add the onions and tomatoes to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt and about half of the thyme. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat and toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan and spread well.
- In the same mixing bowl, make the chicken meatball mixture. Add the chicken, garlic, egg, remaining thyme, parmesan, breadcrumbs, and parsley. Season with the oregano, paprika, and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Using gloves or clean hands (remove any rings, of course), mix well until the chicken meatball mixture is well-combined.
- Form the meatballs. Divide into small meatballs, about 1 1/2 tablespoons each (whatever size you choose, stick to it for even cooking). Nestle on the sheet pan between the tomatoes and onions.
- Bake the meatballs. Bake until the meatballs begin to turn a beautiful golden brown and the tomatoes collapse, about 30 minutes. If you’d like a little more “crust” or color to your meatballs, remove the meatballs from the oven and turn the heat to 450°F. Brush the top of the meatballs with olive oil. Return to the oven for 5 more minutes or so, watch carefully. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- Gluten free option:
- Use gluten free bread: Blitz a piece of gluten free bread in a food processor to make GF breadcrumbs, or use a store bought version.
- Use 1/4 cup cornmeal: A friend of mine who specializes in gluten free cooking found that cornmeal makes meatballs with lean meat like chicken and turkey surprisingly tender and flavorful.
- Leftovers? Store cooled leftover chicken meatballs with tomatoes and onions in tight-lid containers. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Warm over medium heat, tossing as needed (adding a little liquid to your heating pan will help.)
Nutrition
Calories: 79.4kcalCarbohydrates: 4.1gProtein: 7.9gFat: 3.9gSaturated Fat: 1.3gCholesterol: 39.6mgSodium: 75.3mgPotassium: 300.2mgFiber: 0.9gSugar: 1.3gVitamin A: 627.3IUVitamin C: 10.1mgCalcium: 44.1mgIron: 0.9mg
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Making tonight! Just curious what the serving size would be.
79 calories for 1 meatball? veggies extra?
Thanks!
The nutrition information is our best estimate using a nutrition calculator. This recipe will give you 20 meatballs and the calories would include 1 meatball plus a bit of the veggies.
This is amazingly delicious and healthy to boot! I used ground turkey and dried thyme, but all else as written. I will making this often in the future. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! ☺️
My pleasure, Kari! So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi. I’m becoming a big fan of your recipes and dishes. Question…for this meatball recipe, do you know now the nutrition breaks out per serving? And, how many meatballs constitute a serving? (I think you specify 20 total meatballs over all).
Thank you.
Rick
Hi Rick, the nutrition facts are divided by the number of meatballs plus some of the veggies. As mentioned, this is really a best estimate from the nutrition calculator used here. For my family, we budget about 3 to 4 meatballs per person with some of the veggies included.
I am looking forward to making this this week. I have a question, we’re probably serving over pasta. Do you think drizzling some balsamic over the dish might be a good addition?
Hi Valerie! I haven’t tried adding balsamic, but it sounds wonderful. I’d start with a tiny amount and see how you like it.
Suzy, this was a slam dunk! We made homemade fresh fettucine and served the meatballs over it. The flavor of the meatballs is delectable. I wish I could isolate exactly what makes them taste so good, but my palate isn’t that advanced. Even my meat eating husband was raving over the taste of these. With the noodles, this was a very complete meal, though I can see myself just munching on it straight out of the fridge. I did make my balsamic butter reduction and ate it here and there but it was a very sweet addition. I found instead that I really liked a big squirt of lemon over my plate as a nice burst of acid.
This would make a fantastic potluck dish.
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the recipe, Valerie!
Suzy, as always YOU ARE AMAZING !! Made this recipe, but subbed roasted chicken meat, instead of making the balls. Yummy !! Threw on some sliced avocado after taking from oven. Thanks again so much, love your channel ❤??
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.
I have used this recipe with a few changes…I mix breadcrumbs with corn meal or corn flake crumbs and also add a little basil to the fresh spices…there is a South African Smoke Seasoning I use to provide a robust flavor…
I also make meatballs for my dog, using little if any crumbs and substituting a little flaxseed instead…I use them for treats, as well as making her chick breast chips slow roasted in the oven…she is addicted to those…generally we all eat well with Italian recipes being my natural go to for meals…you presented a lovely cookie sheet dish that all can enjoy…my thanks…
Thanks for sharing, Robin! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I have tried this recipe for the first time . Instead of bread crumbs I used wheat ritz crackers ( I forgot about picking up corn meal at the grocery store). I also used 2 lbs of chicken and kinda 3/4 the seasonings for all the meat. I also used more smoked paprika in the meat, I love this seasoning and more garlic! It’s going to be delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Jean!
HI. This sounds great. Where do we use the second 1.5 tsp of thyme? It’s not mentioned in the recipe.
I have the same question. I believe it goes in the meatball mixture (the thyme sprigs are pictured next to the meatball bowl) but I’m not entirely sure.
Hi Valerie, the remainder of the thyme is used in the meatball mixture
Hi Marc! Thanks for catching that…the remainder of the thyme is used in the actual meatball mixture. We’ve made the correction.
In the Italian Chicken meatballs What do you suggest I use in place of cheese I have a friend who is dairy/lactose intolerant and wonder what I can use if I serve these to her
Thanks Wendy I in Qld Australia
Hi Wendy, the cheese is optional for flavor here. You can omit the cheese and add more herbs, for example. You can also try a different combination of flavors to use in the chicken mixture… like in this Greek meatballs recipe: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/greek-meatballs-recipe-keftedes-lemon-sauce/
I really want to try this, I have one question- on the fb video to which this recipe was linked, it looked like you used two eggs for binder to scramble but the recipe calls for one. Which way does it turn out better, or am I wrong about what I thought I watched? Thanks for any clarification. Your recipes and pics are outstanding.
Hi Valerie! The recipe uses 1 egg. Enjoy!
I stumbled on this recipe tonight searching for a “chicken meatball recipe.” So glad that I did! My husband and I both enjoyed these very much. I confess that I left out the garlic… My husband doesn’t like it. A little crazy, right?
Anyway, these meatballs were flavorful and delicious even without garlic! Well done! Thank you!
So glad you both loved these, Julie!!
Really good and easy. I added 1T of spicy Italian Bomba (fermented chili garlic sauce) from Trader Joes and cooked them at 450 for 20 min….fantastic,
Also I tried making some of them a bit bigger and flatter for sliders–worked great.
~Thanks Suzy!
Thanks for sharing your tips and suggestions, Carey! So glad you enjoyed them!
After many a spaghetti and meatball dinner for my family, this hands down the tastiest, juiciest and easiest of them all. Winner!
Thank you so much, Sam!
One of our go-to recipes about once per month. Healthy and tasty!
Same here! It’s a definitely a family favorite. Thanks so much!
This is the best sheet pan recipe I have made yet. I followed the directions exactly. I had boneless, skinless thighs. I ground them up in my food processor. The chicken balls are very flavorful. I served it over whole wheat angel hair pasta. So healthy and good. Easy too.
Sounds like a yummy meal!!! Thanks, Hailey!
is the fat high in this recipe. thanks
Hi Mary, the nutrition label is provided right below the recipe. Enjoy
The nutrition information is not listed as you stated.
Right after I replied, the nutrition label popped up – go figure
very yummy. my children also like this. And it is too simple to made it.
wonderful, Haley! Thanks for sharing.