These juicy chicken meatballs are baked in the oven and have a golden cheesy topping. They're small, cute and so tasty. It's so convenient to bake them all at once.
Baked chicken meatballs may not seem very exciting, but with golden, crisply melted cheese on top they are so much more special. The meatballs are really moist, flavorful and don't taste heavy at all. I love how cute they look since I make them small. The cheese gives them such a pretty golden color and makes them so much yummier too.
Baking meatballs is awesome. It just makes so much sense. There's no standing at the stove cooking multiple batches of meatballs, they all bake at the same time in the oven. There's no oil splatters either, which is another big plus.
They are also great for meal prepping. You can easily prep them ahead of time, store in the refrigerator, and then bake when you're ready. My favorite times to make prep them is Sundays before church or when we have company for dinner. Put them in the oven, and by the time you make a side dish and salad, the meatballs are bubbling merrily and ready to be served.
They reheat really well too, so feel free to make an extra batch and then all you have to do is warm them up.
Ingredients:
- ground chicken
- a combination of both white and dark chicken is best; ground chicken breast can be too dry. Instead of ground chicken you can also use ground turkey or any other ground meat, like pork or beef.
- panko breadcrumbs
- milk - for soaking the breadcrumbs. You can use any type of milk, even dairy free milk.
- onion, minced or grated
- sour cream
- egg
- salt, ground black pepper, dry herbs, garlic powder
- for the dry herbs, I like a mix of dry chives, granulated onion, dry parsley, thyme, etc.
- mayonnaise
- Instead of mayonnaise, you can use plain Greek yogurt or omit it completely.
- grated cheese
- Use any cheese that melts well. I like using a combination of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, but you can also use monterey jack, colby, cheddar, swiss, etc.
- oil, for brushing on the baking sheet
How To Make Baked Chicken Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Brush the bottom with oil.
- Grate the onion on the fine holes of a box grater or finely mince the onion.
- Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs. Beat the egg.
- In a bowl, combine the meatball ingredients, the ground chicken, onion, breadcrumbs + milk, egg, sour cream, garlic powder, dry herbs, salt and ground black pepper. Mix to combine.
- Form the meat mixture into meatballs. I like to make them small, about 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoons each. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Drizzle the top of the meatballs with the mayonnaise, just enough to cover the top. It's very easy to do that by putting the mayonnaise into a small ziplock bag and cutting off a tiny hole in one of the corners.
- Top each of the meatballs with grated cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, then turn on the broiler to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. (If you make the meatballs bigger, you will need to bake them longer.)
Helpful Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken is such a lean protein, that this recipe would be awesome if you want a healthier option. Don't add the mayo and cheese and brush the meatballs with oil before baking.
Bake them at 425 F for 10 minutes, then broil for 3-5 minutes to give them a bit more color and crispness.
You can skip the mayonnaise completely. I personally like the combination of mayo and cheese, but if you don't, you can either use Greek yogurt or don't use it at all. Just place the cheese on top of the meatballs. The mayo does help the cheese adhere better, so you may want to brush the meatballs with a little bit of oil before adding the cheese.
Store the leftover meatballs in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the microwave, but for the best results, do it on the stove. Cook them on low heat, with a tiny bit of water, just enough to create steam in the skillet, just until heated through.
Yes! Meatballs freeze really well. Freeze the meatballs in a freezer ziplock bag or an airtight container for up to 3 months.
What To Serve On the Side
PrintBaked Cheesy Chicken Meatballs
These juicy chicken meatballs are baked in the oven and have a golden cheesy topping. It's so convenient to bake them all at once.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 30 meatballs 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken (use a combination of white and dark chicken)
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ - ⅓ cup milk
- 1 small onion, minced or grated
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¾ - 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dry herbs (such as dry parsley, chives, thyme, Italian seasoning, granulated onion/garlic, etc.)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup finely grated cheese, such as Mozzarella with Parmesan or any cheese that melts well - Monterey Jack, Colby, cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere, etc.
- ½ Tablespoon oil, for brushing on the baking sheet
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or
- Grate the onion on the fine holes of a box grater or finely mince the onion. Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs.
- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs together, the ground chicken, grated onion, breadcrumbs, milk, sour cream, egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder and dry herbs. Mix until evenly combined.
- Form into meatballs, about 1 - ½ tablespoons each. You should have about 30 meatballs.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet about ½ - 1 inches apart.
- Put mayonnaise in a Ziploc bag and cut a tiny hole in one corner.
- Apply a small amount of mayonnaise to the top of each meatball, then top with the grated cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Then, turn on the broiler (at 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake for another 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown.
- Serve warm. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.
This recipe was originally published on December 30, 2011. I have updated the photos and clarified the instructions, but we are still enjoying this recipe so many years later.
These were great! I made them for dinner last night. Usually chicken meatballs come out much drier, but these were moist and tasted wonderful! I did not have sour cream, so I added the tablespoon of mayo to the meatball mix and it was awesome!!!!! Didn't use cheese, (trying to be healthier) but a great recipe!
I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed them, Kelly:). Thanks for taking the time to write.
Olga. Thank you for the recipe. It's the best I ever tried from chicken. Love to read your blogs. It's like talking to you. Seems like you are an amazing person. Thanks for all your blogs.
Thank you, Olga! That is such a sweet comment:). I love that you enjoy reading this blog and are enjoying the recipes as well.
These are so yummy! I made them with beef instead of chicken and substituted panko for the bread crumbs. AWESOME!
That's awesome, Jacqui!
Glad to hear that you liked them.
Yum! These were amazing! I used dried breadcrumbs instead and they still came out really moist. The only thing I would do differently is that I left them on broil a tiny bit longer than I should have -- oops! But luckily I didn't burn them, just made the cheese a little more crispy than I would prefer. They were still so good! I'm definitely making these again and again! 🙂
I just wanted to say thank you for sharing this recipe my family loved it.
Just a FYI. I used a cookie scoop and it was no problem at all with stickyness. I found them to be less stickier than ground beef:)
I made the meatballs and added shredded granny smith apple to it.(saw that in another meatball recipe) Came out delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
I am totally going to use this recipe! Thanks for the wonderful post. Do you think this will work well in a tagine and with an over easy egg?
I don't see why not! I've never made it this way myself. Let me know how it turns out if you try it:)
I want this recipe
Made this tonight 🙂 It was very tender and yummy! Thank you 🙂
Delicious!!! Perfect lunch meal!!! I had some cheese that also fell onto the aluminum and burned a little.
How do you sprinkle the cheese directly on the meatballs? Every time I've made these, the excess cheese falls onto the aluminum and then ends up burning in the oven
Roza and Mimi,
I've never had a problem with the cheese burning. I just sprinkle the cheese on top of each meatball and then pick up any that fell and put it back on top of the meatballs. Chicken cooks really quickly, so even if I miss some, it doesn't have tine to burn. I don't bake them for more than 15 minutes, and at that point just broil for 2-5 minutes to brown.
We love these... making them for the second time right now. I am buying ground chicken on purpose just for this recipe now. 🙂
My stepkids fought over these. So tasty!
Approximately how many chicken pieces are in a pound of ground chicken?
I'm not really sure. I've never taken note. It really depends on the size of the chicken pieces and how much you cut away(bone, skin, etc) and also the type of chicken (breast vs. thighs, etc). I usually grind a lot of chicken at the same time and portion out the meat into 1-1 1/2 lbs of ground chicken to use in various recipes.