This simple chicken meatball recipe requires no pre-cooked onions, no parmesan (or any cheese!), and no frying in oil. They come together with 5 main ingredients and are baked for an easy fuss-free dinner.
I tend to eat more poultry than any other meat so I knew off the bat that I wanted meatballs that used either ground chicken or ground turkey. For personal tase, I also wanted to avoid adding any cheese to the chicken meatball mix. I think cheese is a flavor booster but it can be overdone so quickly. See any of the recipe video content mills (SoYummy, Tasty, Buzzfeed, etc) for proof of just how overdone cheese is in recipes. As a bonus, these chicken meatballs are now naturally dairy free!!!
Grating the onion adds a ton of moisture and supreme onion flavor without leaving chunks of raw, uncooked onion. My black bean burgers use the same technique. You can thank the Pioneer Woman for that technique, I first saw her do it.
Anytime you make multiple mini versions of something, it always takes longer. This is partially a reason I dislike recipes for those mini cheesecakes. Just…such a waste of time. BUT, I am gonna give you some food service prep tips to help you ball these up in 20 minutes. That should be enough time even for slow preppers. Thanks to plenty of food prep experience, I can prep these in less than 10 minutes.
First off, do one task completely before moving onto the next thing. Form all of the rough “prototype” chicken meatballs first before worrying about getting them into their classic shape. (I place these rough shapes onto the sheetpan so they hold their shape) After that step is done, then finish rolling them gently between your hands to get that spherical shape. (This is when I move the chicken meatballs onto the oiled baking rack) Basically, whenever you wanna prep fast, it is easier to DO ALL of Step A, before moving onto Step B. You wanna be a mean lean, food prepping machine!
Oh, and another thing. These chicken meatballs are endlessly customize-able. Wanna make ’em more Italian? Add plenty of dried herbs and red pepper flakes. Want some Vietnamese? Add more garlic and some extra minced ginger and lemongrass. If I was gonna make these more Romanian style, I would add a bunch of finely diced parsley and dill, a generous sprinkling of paprika, and triple the garlic. Whatever you fancy on eating, you can turn these into that.
Here are some of my other fave chicken/turkey dishes:
Green Bean and Turkey Casserole
3 Ingredient Russian Apricot Chicken Thighs
Garam Masala, Curry, and Honey Roasted Chicken Thighs with Veggies
No Fuss, Minimalist Chicken Meatballs
This recipe delivers perfectly tender chicken meatballs with minimal ingredients. The perfect base meatball that can be jazzed up with any flavor or left simple to let that meaty goodness shine.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken (or turkey) Note 1
- 1/2 large onion, grated roughly 1/3 cup grated onion, Note 2
- 3 large garlic cloves, finely minced
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon table salt Note 3
- a few cranks of fresh black pepper optional
- spray oil
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°. Meanwhile, add all of your ingredients to a mixing bowl and thoroughly mash them all together using your clean hands. Beating the egg beforehand means it will incorporate much easier into the mixture.
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Clean your hands and assemble your parchment paper lined sheet pan, tablespoon, and spray oil. Spray your hands with the oil to keep the meat from sticking. Now, using the tablespoon, measure out the meatball mix and place in rough shapes on the parchment paper lined sheet pan. You should get around 28-30 meatballs.
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Now we begin rolling the meatballs! Wash your hands again. Bring out your baking rack and spray with oil, now set it aside. Spray your hands with oil again. Begin rolling the meatballs one by one in a gentle 2 handed fashion. Use the hearts of your palms and roll the meatball to get it into the desired spherical shape. When finished place the meatball onto the oil lined baking rack. You can place the meatballs close together because they will shrink a bit while baking. Continue until all the meatballs are rounded and on the baking rack. Now place the baking rack onto the parchment paper lined sheet pan and bake on the middle row for 20 minutes.
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Every time I made these they were done at the 20 minute mark, but I always temp poultry to be sure. Temp them at 165° (it should hold that temp for 15 seconds minimum). Serve warm or cold. Enjoy! See Notes for storage.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: I like to use a ground mixture that has 15% fat. Not all ground poultry will list the fat %, instead they will say if it’s ground white meat (very lean) or ground white AND dark meat (more fatty). I opt for the latter.
If you happen to buy especially lean ground chicken, don’t fret! Just add a tablespoon of mayo (or oil- you choose!) to make up for the loss of fat.
Note 2: Do not skip grating the onion! Grating the onion does two things. 1) adds a ton of moisture and 2)eliminates the need to precook the onion!
Note 3: I normally double the salt because I am a dang salt fiend, but starting off with 1 teaspoon of salt is respectable for normal people.
Storing the meatballs: Serve the fresh baked meatballs immediately or you can place them in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or you can freeze them in an airtight bag/container for up to 4 weeks. To re-heat from frozen, baked at 375 for 12-15 minutes.
I have not attempted to freeze these raw and then bake as needed, but I’m sure it would work. Let me know if you try it.