Name: Easy Chicken Meatballs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Yield: 16 meatballs (4-5 servings)
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs ground chicken (or turkey); 1 large egg, beaten; ½ cup grated parmesan or pecorino, plus more for serving; ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs; 1 tsp sun-dried tomato pesto OR chopped sun-dried tomatoes; 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tsp kosher salt; ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 (32 oz) jar of marinara, or about 3 cups of homemade sauce; ½ cup mascarpone cheese; ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, ripped or finely sliced; 1 lb pasta, cooked

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Easy chicken meatballs with sun-dried tomatoes are a quick and simple weeknight favorite that pairs perfectly with your favorite red sauce and a big bowl of pasta! These meatballs can be prepped in 5 minutes (seriously!) and are broiled, which means no standing over a stove constantly flipping them. Three cheers for easy weeknight meals!

Around here, I am always in need of a quick, simple weeknight meal. Thankfully, meatballs are lovingly embraced by 2 out of 3 of my kiddos (honestly, that’s good enough for me…), so they make an appearance almost weekly on our menu rotation. What I love so much about these chicken meatballs is that, well… they really are easy. When I say 5 minutes prep time, I mean it. For working parents, that is GOLD.

Ingredients for chicken meatballs

The recipe for my chicken meatballs is the same standard one I use for all of my meatballs with simple additions of sun-dried tomatoes and Worcestershire – so delish!

ground chicken (totally fine to substitute turkey or other ground meat)
1 egg per lb of meat
freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, whichever I happen to have on hand at the moment
breadcrumbs (there’s a time and a place for panko breadcrumbs, and meatballs ain’t one of ’em)
kosher salt + black pepper
sun-dried tomato pesto, such as from California Sun Dry
Worcestershire sauce

While the meatballs are cooking (more on that below), make this super simple sauce. I use 1 (32 oz) jar of Rao’s marinara sauce — it’s my absolute favorite jarred red sauce. Heat sauce in a large pan until simmering. Next, add a big scoop of mascarpone cheese. Seriously creamy, seriously addictive! But also, if you’ve been following me for a while you know that I add mascarpone cheese to just about everything. Sorry, not sorry.

Baked chicken meatballs? Pan-fried? NOPE – broiled!

How to cook: don’t hate me for veering from the traditional here, but my favorite way to make meatballs is to broil them. Combine ingredients in a large bowl, mix gently, form into 1 ½” – 2″ balls, then broil on high for ~12 minutes. (Beef meatballs are done in 10 minutes!) This is how I make literally all meatballs in my house. Beyond simple, and the clean up is practically non-existent. I’m telling you guys, this is the easiest way to make homemade meatballs, bar none.

What to serve with these cuties

Obviously pasta is a great choice. Who’s gonna say no to spaghetti and meatballs? I also love to serve these with homemade zucchini noodles, or zoodles. You will hardly miss the carbs, promise!

In the winter I serve meatballs over warm creamy polenta. These are also perfect as is in a large bowl with an extra helping of marinara and a generous sprinkling of parmesan. Don’t forget the crusty baguette to sop up all that glorious sauce!

Can chicken meatballs be frozen?

Hell to the yes! I am never, ever, EVER without meatballs in my freezer. These are honestly one of the most freezer-friendly foods out there. Once cooked, allow meatballs to cool completely, then store in an airtight bag until needed.

When ready to heat, just pull out however many meatballs you’d like and either defrost overnight in fridge or heat in a microwave until defrosted, usually about 1-2 minutes on high.

Personally, I love to reheat refrigerated meatballs by slicing them in half and pan searing cut-side down in a nonstick pan with a little olive oil. They get SO crispy, which I absolutely love!

Why I love this recipe so much

No brainer: these easy chicken meatballs are healthy, quick, comforting, and so flavorful! I love the intense flavor that the sun-dried tomato pesto adds; it’s both super garlicy and yet vibrant! I think if I had an Italian grandmother, she’d be proud of me for this weeknight staple.

Serious question: why haven’t you made these yet?!

If you make these Easy Chicken Meatballs, please let me know by leaving a review below!

And make sure to sign up for my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more Well Seasoned recipes!

For more simple weeknight meals, check out the following recipes:

Weeknight slow baked salmon with herb-shallot butter
Asian stuffed peppers
Chicken milanese with fennel salad
Accidental vegan roasted vegetable salad
Crispy pan seared salmon with lemon parmesan sauce

This post was sponsored by California Sun Dry. All text and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Well Seasoned possible.