The meatball mixture comes together in one bowl: ground chicken, breadcrumbs soaked in milk for tenderness, egg to bind, Parmigiano Reggiano, parsley, and the spice blend. The milk-soaked breadcrumbs are the detail worth not skipping, they keep the meatballs moist from the inside in a way that dry breadcrumbs cannot, and chicken needs that help more than beef does. Rolled into balls and baked in the oven until cooked through, they go straight into the red pepper sauce to finish, absorbing its smokiness and sweetness as they warm through together.
The roasted red pepper sauce is the same recipe from elsewhere on the blog, deeply colored, slightly sweet, and built on a base of roasted peppers that gives it a flavor no fresh pepper sauce can match. Find the full sauce recipe here. Together with the meatballs it makes a complete dinner for two, served over pasta, polenta, or with bread alongside to make the most of the sauce in the pan.
Why This Works
Ground chicken is lean enough to dry out quickly, which is why every ingredient in the mixture is doing more than one job. The milk-soaked breadcrumbs add moisture and act as a panade, so the texture stays tender rather than rubbery. The egg binds, but it also adds fat that the lean chicken lacks. The Parmigiano Reggiano adds salt and umami, but its fat content also contributes to the moist crumb. Baking rather than frying means the meatballs cook evenly from all sides without the risk of a burnt exterior and raw center that comes with pan-frying ground chicken. Finishing them in the sauce for five minutes is not just about warming through, the meatballs absorb the smoky sweetness of the red pepper sauce and the sauce picks up the roasted flavor from the meatballs, and the two become more cohesive than either would be served separately.
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Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
- Ground chicken
- Breadcrumbs – binds the ingredients.
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese – adding flavor to the meatballs
- Parsley
- Egg – to bind the ingredients together.
- Milk
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Onion powder
- Paprika powder
- Red pepper flakes
- Black pepper
FOR THE RED PEPPER SAUCE
- Roasted red bell pepper
- Onion
- Garlic
- Butter
- Basil
- Vegetable broth
- Cream
Before you begin, watch this quick video below, it shows how the chicken meatballs recipe comes together.
How to Make Chicken Meatballs with Red Pepper Sauce
Step 1 – Combine ground chicken, breadcrumbs, milk, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, egg, parsley, herbs, spices and salt in a bowl. Mix until just combined.
Step 2 – Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and place each meatball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray or brush the meatballs with some olive oil.
Step 3 – Place the baking sheet in a 400°F oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn them half way through the baking time. They will not be totally done; they can continue simmering in the red pepper sauce to reach in internal temperature of 165°F.
Step 4 – In the meantime, make the red pepper sauce, by combining all ingredients (roasted red bell peppers, sautéed onion, sautéed garlic, basil, broth, and cream) in a food processor or blender and process until you have a smooth sauce. Find the full recipe details here.
Step 5 – Pour the sauce in a skillet, deep enough to also hold the meatballs and warm it. Add the meatballs straight from the oven into the sauce and allow to finish cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
Alternatives & Substitutes
- Ground turkey is the most likely alternative to ground chicken.
- Add some garlic to the meatballs.
- Instead of making a homemade red pepper sauce, use a store-bought marinara sauce.
- Add some red pepper flakes for a spicy kick.
- Replace onion powder with finely chopped onion.
Ways to Serve Chicken Meatballs with Red Pepper Sauce
As the red pepper sauce brings considerable flavor of its own, I like to serve this dish with simple side dishes, like polenta, mashed potatoes or a simple pasta. Alternatively, a vegetable side or a refreshing salad would do the trick as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
With any type of meatballs you want to be careful about how much you mix everything together. The more you mix, the denser they will be. You can avoid that by spreading the meat in a larger bowl and placing all additional ingredients on top, so you can combine them easily with the ground chicken.
Ground chicken is very lean meat and thus the moisture that’s in the meat evaporates easily. The addition of egg and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese adds some fat back into the meat. But the more likely cause of dry meatballs is overcooking. Check regularly to make sure the internal temperature does not surpass 165°F.
You can store the baked meatballs in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
To reheat them:
1. Oven – Warm the oven to 350°F, place the meatballs on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil to trap the steam.
2. Stovetop – If served in a sauce, warm the sauce in a saucepan or skillet and transfer the meatballs into the sauce. Cover pan and simmer until warm.
3. Microwave – Place meatballs in bowl with sauce or chicken broth. Cover and heat in small burst until warm.
Other Meatball Recipes to Try
Chicken Meatballs with Red Pepper Sauce
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Combine ground chicken, bread crumbs, milk, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, egg, parsley, herbs, spices and salt in a bowl. Mix until just combined.
- Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and with wet hands, roll each portion into nicely formed balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Spray or brush the meatballs with olive oil.
- Place the baking sheet in a 400°F oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn them half way through the baking time. They will not be totally done; they can continue to cook simmering in the sauce.
- In the meantime, make the red pepper sauce, by combining all ingredients (roasted red bell peppers, sautéed onion, sautéed garlic, basil, broth, and cream) in a food processor or blender and process until you have a smooth sauce. (NOTE 2)
- Pour the sauce in a skillet, deep enough to also hold the meatballs and bring the sauce to a slow simmer. Add the meatballs straight from the oven into the sauce and allow to finish cooking for another 5 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
Notes
- This recipe is made from 1 pound of ground chicken. I prefer to make a pound at a time and freeze what I don’t serve that day or use it the next day in a meatball sub. Each meatball is about 2 inches in diameter when raw, about 1.75 inches when cooked.
- Find the full recipe details for the red pepper sauce here.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.