Basic Chicken Meatballs

Chicken meatballs are a great alternative to beef meatballs and they actually fit into some recipes better than traditional beef meatballs. A lot of my chicken meatball recipes are based on classic or traditional chicken recipes. We have the classic Chicken Wild Rice Soup in Minnesota so I made a Chicken Wild Rice Meatball to honor that amazing dish.

I also just made Chicken Paprikash Meatballs that were inspired by the traditional dish of Chicken Paprikash and I used this basic chicken meatball recipe as the base for that meal. I love my basic meatball recipes because they are a great start to anything you can dream up! You can modify the recipe as you need for whatever you’re thinking of making, the important thing though is to make sure you keep the ratios of meat to breadcrumbs to eggs the same as listed in this recipe. You can always use different kinds of breadcrumbs or add different fresh or dried herbs to kick up the flavor or to match the flavor profile of the recipe you have in mind.

Once you have your meat, breadcrumb, eggs, and seasoning combined well, you can take a scoop of the meat to form a ball. You can either do this by hand and kind of eyeball the amount of meat in each scoop or you can get a meatballer to make sure that each and every meatball is the same size. I personally eyeball all my meatballs but I have made so many meatballs over the years that it seems like second nature to me.

One of the fun things about this meatball recipe is that it is so simple and really easy to quickly throw together if  are short on time or need to get a dish in the oven for an impromptu invite to a friend’s place for a happy hour with snacks. There are so many ways you can customize these meatballs and there are endless options of what you can add to the mix to make this recipe your own. An important thing that you want to make sure happens when making chicken meatballs is that they are thoroughly cooked. No one wants to bit into an undercooked chicken meatball. You can always use a meat thermometer to check the temperature after cooking to make sure they are at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the center.

I love working with ground chicken and I love coming up with different recipes that remind me of everyday recipes but in the form of a meatball. For me, meatballs are the perfect little one bite and if you can get a recipe to pack all the flavors of a main dish that you love or a family recipe into these one-bite wonders, it’s quite amazing.

You can make little chicken meatballs to throw in your chicken noodle soup. You can also make chicken meatballs to add to your chicken wild rice soup – which is a staple in Minnesota in the fall and winter. Meatballs are a great replacement for the ground meat that you would normally put in your favorite chili recipe too!

Chicken is such a nice mild meat and it’s a great alternate protein if you are trying to avoid red meat. When I was younger I didn’t eat red meat so my family always had to use different meat substitutes for things like burgers, meatballs and taco meat. Chicken is a healthier option for those that would like to have a lighter dinner and this recipe is perfect for those times when you’d like to have a nice meatball with fewer calories. 

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