These chicken meatballs in homemade marinara sauce are succulent, tender, and full of flavor! They are healthier and leaner alternatives to conventional beef or pork recipes and can be made in just a few minutes! Serve them on their own or top your favorite pasta. It’s a quick, easy, and delicious main course!
These chicken meatballs recipe uses almond flour and nutritional yeast to make it grain-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. However, if you prefer, you can also use parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs for a more traditional taste!
Table of Contents
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN MEATBALLS IN MARINARA SAUCE
In general, these chicken meatballs are straightforward to make. It is just a matter of adding all the ingredients into a large bowl and mixing until sticky and well combined.
These chicken meatballs are perfect for a quick and easy family dinner that everyone will love!
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them well using your hands to ensure all the spices are fully incorporated.
- Once mixed, roll the mixture into 3-5 cm balls. (Use wet hands (with water or oil) to form the mixture into meatballs. This makes it much easier to handle the meat mixture without your hands becoming a sticky mess!).
- After shaping the meatballs, place them carefully in the heated olive oil in a large pan. Cook each side of the meatball for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown. You don’t need to fully cook the meatballs, as they will cook in the marinara sauce. Make sure to brown the outside of each meatball to create a tasty crust. It adds so much more flavor to the chicken meatballs.
- Next, add the marinara sauce. Stir in the sauce to coat the chicken meatballs, then simmer for about 15 minutes to fully cook the meatballs. Feel free to use store-bought marinara sauce. If you’re following a Whole30 diet, check the label for hidden sugars, or make your sauce at home using my recipe Homemade Marinara Sauce.
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS RECIPE
- If you would like, you can use other type of meat. For example, ground turkey, pork or beef. Depends the type of meat you choose will change the flavor, so make sure you choose something you like!
- You can also use other type of meat if you would like, for example ground turkey, pork or beef. The meat you choose will of course change the flavor, so make sure you choose something you like!
- Use your hands to combine the chicken mixture. Your hands will mix the ingredients much more efficiently without over-mixing them.
- I use almond flour to make these chicken meatballs compatible with Paleo, Whole30 and Keto, however, you can use either breadcrumbs, gluten-free breadcrumbs or Panko.
- Nutritional yeast is a dairy-free way to infuse these chicken meatballs with a light Parmesan-like cheese flavor, but you can swap it for parmesan. No problem!
CAN I BAKE THE MEATBALLS INSTEAD OF FRYING
Yes! I recommend baking them for about 30 minutes at 400°F/200°C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Be sure to turn the meatballs halfway through cooking time.
HOW TO SERVE CHICKEN MEATBALLS IN MARINARA SAUCE
Enjoy these chicken meatballs served with your favorite pasta. You can’t go wrong with a traditional spaghetti or penne. I also like to serve these chicken meatballs in marinara sauce with some cooked gnocchi.
If you want to stick with this Paleo/Low Carb dish, these chicken meatballs in marinara sauce are also great served with a bowl of zucchini pasta, quinoa, cauliflower rice or roasted vegetables.
HOW TO STORE THE MEATBALLS
Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 3-4 days in the fridge.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 3-4 days in the fridge.
You can also freeze the chicken meatballs before or after cooking them.
- To freeze them prior to cooking, lay the formed balls on a flat baking dish in the freezer for at least 4 hours. When frozen, place them in an airtight bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight and cook per instructions.
- To freeze them after cooking, simply store them in an airtight bag after they’ve cooled. To re-heat, thaw in the fridge overnight and re-warm for a few minutes with the marinara sauce on the skillet when ready to eat.
MORE DINNSER RECIPES
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin With Honey Garlic Sauce
- Honey Orange Glazed Salmon
- Beef Stroganoff With Tomato Sauce
Chicken Meatballs In Marinara Sauce
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Large Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 900 g/2 lb ground chicken
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast, or grated parmesan
- ½ cup (40g/1.4 oz) almond flour, or breadcrumbs or panko
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried parsley, or a few chopped fresh parsley stalks
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsps salt
- 3 tbsps olive oil, for frying
- 4 cups marinara sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine: 900 g/2 lb ground chicken, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, ½ cup (40g/1.4 oz) almond flour,1 large egg, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried parsley, ½ tsp ground black pepper and 2 tsps salt. Use your hands to mix everything together until well incorporated.
- Once mixed, roll the mixture into 3-5 cm balls. You should end up with about 20-30 balls or so, depending on how big you make them.
- After shaping the chicken meatballs, place them carefully on the heated olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook each side of the chicken meatballs for about 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. In fact, you don't even need to fully cook the meatballs at this point, as they will cook in the marinara sauce. Make sure to brown the outside of each meatball to create a tasty crust, it adds so much more flavor to the chicken meatballs. Next, just add the marinara sauce.
- Pour the marinara sauce over the meatballs. Stir the chicken meatballs in the sauce to fully coat them. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are fully cooked.
- Serve over traditional noodles or some cooked gnocchi.If you want to stick with this Paleo/Low Carb dish, these chicken meatballs in marinara sauce are also great served with a bowl of zucchini pasta, quinoa, cauliflower rice or roasted vegetables.
