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These Simple Baked Cheesy Italian Chicken Meatballs are best for cold fall and winter nights when you want easy comfort food at home. All mixed in one bowl, these meatballs come together easily and are so flavorful. This dish is warm, saucy, cheesy, and so amazing. Add some crusty bread or pasta on the side for a delicious hearty meal. Perfect as a simple family dinner. Yet equally great as an appetizer for upcoming holiday entertaining.
The thing about this past year and a half that I actually love is the fact that’s it’s made time with our families even more special and more valuable. We’ve been able to spend more time with family than ever before. And personally, I’ve loved having my brothers and cousins around to cook for on a more daily basis.
My oldest brother, who has been living with us since covid began, has inspired quite a few recipes. And to no one’s surprise I’m sure, he very much influenced this meatball recipe.
Creighton loves any form of meatballs, but meatballs covered in sauce and cheese? Oh yeah, I could probably get him to do just about anything for me. When he found out these were for dinner, his excitement was like a kid on Christmas morning.
Meatballs are something I’ve actually come to love to make. I use a trick my grandma taught me to keep them juicy and flavorful…but still super simple.
You guys are going to love how easy these are, and of course how delicious too!!
The process is simple, here are the steps
Start with the bread. My grandma used to wet the bread, then ring out the excess water and tear the bread into super fine pieces. This is the key to a juicy, non-dry meatball.
Add the bread to a bowl along with a mixture of spicy Italian chicken sausage and ground chicken. I love to use spicy chicken sausage for added flavor and heat, but use what you like best.
If you’re having a hard time finding ground chicken sausage, you can of course use regular pork sausage. Or make your own ground chicken sausage, which I often do. It’s simple, just take ground chicken and mix it with plenty of dry spices and herbs. I included my recipe below in the notes so you guys can make it too!
Next, add shallots, garlic, eggs, and parmesan to the ground chicken and spicy sausage. Mix that all together, and you’re ready to roll your meatballs.
Now bake! I love baking meatballs. It’s so much easier and cleaner, not to mention healthier, than frying them up in a skillet.
Once the meatballs are crisp and cooked, I pour over some jarred marinara sauce. Then top with a mixture of mozzarella and provolone cheese and a handful of fresh oregano.
Finish it up
Bake the meatballs until the cheese is super melty and browning on top and the sauce is bubbling.
At this point, your kitchen is going to smell pretty amazing, which always leaves everyone excited for dinner.
It’s such a great dish for an easy family dinner. Or use these meatballs as appetizers for your next dinner party with friends.
I’m already planning to make these again for Halloween night. These meatballs and sauce will be so delicious over a plate of spaghetti with a big side salad. Especially after trick-or-treating in the cold! Crusty bread on the side is also a must for soaking up all that sauce.
Looking for other easy fam dinner recipes? Here are a few ideas:
30 Minute Coq au Vin Chicken Meatballs
Spicy Pumpkin and Pesto Cheese Stuffed Shells
Slow Cooker Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
Lastly, if you make these Simple Baked Cheesy Italian Chicken Meatballs, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Simple Baked Cheesy Italian Chicken Meatballs
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 622 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground spicy Italian chicken sausage (see note)
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 slices soft whole grain bread
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 small shallots, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped pepperoncinis
- 1 jar (32 ounce) marinara sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded provolone
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with olive oil.2. Take the bread and run it under water until dampened but not soaked. Gently squeeze the excess water out of the bread and then crumble the dampened bread into pieces.3. In a bowl, combine the sausage, chicken, bread crumble, eggs, parmesan, shallots, garlic, pepperoncinis, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Coat your hands with olive oil, then roll the meat into 2 tablespoon size balls, and place them into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp on the outside, but not yet cooked through on the inside.4. Remove from the oven and pour the marinara over top the meatballs. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes longer, or until the meatballs are cooked through. Remove the foil and add the cheeses and oregano. Bake until the cheese is melted and golden, about 10 minutes. Serve topped with fresh oregano and your favorite pasta!
Notes
Ground Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage: I buy ground chicken sausage at Whole Foods. If you can’t find it, you can make your own by adding the following spice mix to 1 pound ground chicken:
1 tablespoon each of fennel seed, dried thyme, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, and pepper; 2 teaspoons each of cayenne (or less, if you don’t want it too spicy), paprika, and garlic powder; and 1 teaspoon each of smoked paprika and crushed red pepper flakes.
This post was originally published on October 7, 2021
I just made this dish tonight and the chicken meatballs were delicious! I usually make meatballs with turkey so this was a nice change. I used the spices suggested for the chicken but I only used 1t of the cayenne (not 2 T) and 1/2 t salt. It was perfect! The fennel adds a unique flavor. I used 3 pieces of sourdough bread too. I actually froze half of the meatballs before cooking the other half. I made more sauce as I served it over noodles. The directions don’t say to add the parmesan to the meatballs but it does say it in the earlier description. I could easily have made this with just 1 pound of chicken but by freezing 1/2, I have meatballs ready for another dish sometime!
I agree, I could not figure out if you were supposed to add parmesan or not because it was not in below instructions and now I am sad I did not!
Made this tonight and loved it! I used two pounds of ground turkey with the spices that
you suggested for making your own sausage.
How could I make it gluten free? What can I substitute for the bread?
You could use gluten free bread. That’s what we used and it worked great.
This was so so yummy and super easy!! I served it over pasta and added roasted broccoli on the side 🙂 Will definitely make again!
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so happy to hear you enjoyed it! xTieghan
Made this for our Sunday Family dinner last night! So easy and Sooo good! Thanks for sharing the recipe, definitely going to make it again!
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so happy to hear you enjoyed it! xTieghan
Wow!! These were so delicious. I did a mild version because…kids. But they were winners. My only question is how do you fit them all in the dish? I ended up having to use 2 dishes.
Same! I was coming on here to a if anyone else had that issue.
I used ground beef and Italian seasoning because that’s what I had on hand but it was a simple, classic and easy dinner.
Hi there! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Did anyone do this with only the 1lb of ground chicken sausage that they made or did everyone use two pounds of two diff kinds of stuff
I used 1 lb. of pork and 1 lb. of chicken. To fit in one baking dish, the meatballs were very large. If I make them again, I will make smaller meatballs.
I wanted to make these a freezer for later in the week. At what point would you suggest freezing?
Linda
Hi there! I would complete all of the steps for making/forming the meatballs and then freeze them! 🙂 xTieghan
These meatballs were delicious!
I used breadcrumbs instead of the bread because that’s what I had. I followed the spice recipe and that was delicious! It was the perfect kick.
I wasn’t sure if the Parmesan was suppose to be added to the meatballs because it wasn’t in the instructions but that’s what I did.
Will make again!
HI Brianna! So glad you enjoyed these meatballs! Yes, the parmesan was supposed to be added to the meatballs! I’m so sorry for the confusion! xTieghan
Could you use ground pork sausage and mix with ground pork or ground beef?
Hi there! Yes, you could definitely use that mixture 🙂 xTieghan
Could you do this with Ground beef?
I think this is my husbands new favorite! Made for company last night & there was nothing left! Easy and just the best!
Made this today! Used ground turkey. Couldn’t locate ground chicken in my area. Used your spice recommendation less 1 tsp cayenne. Turned out very good! These will make excellent meatball sandwiches for future meals!
Another great recipe. Thanks.
Looks so yummy! Is the grated parmesan cheese supposed to go in the meatballs? I don’t see where it is used in the instructions.
One of the best recipes I have made from your blog! Even the baby ate it all!
Hi!!! Bought the ingredients to make this! But I noticed in your video on Instagram you used peperochinis… it’s not listed in these ingredients? Let me know if I’m missing it! Can’t wait to make tonight 🙂
Hi!!! Bought the ingredients to make this! But I noticed in your video you used peperochinis… it’s not listed in these ingredients? Let me know if I’m missing it! Can’t wait to make tonight :))))