I first recipe tested these meatballs for National Meatball Day! I was marinating cubed chicken breasts in pesto and was planning on skewering and throwing them on the grill. Instead I grabbed my food processor and with a few extra steps turned them into the best baked meatball recipe ever. My kids gobbled them up alongside a simple Caesar salad, but you could easily toss it with some spaghetti and parmesan. I highly recommend squeezing some fresh lemon juice to bring out the flavor of all the fresh herbs. Enjoy!
PrintHerbed Chicken Meatballs
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 1 tbsp green onion
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- Fresh lemon wedges – optional
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- Heat oven to 375. Trim chicken and cut into one-inch pieces. Pour over the pesto and stir to combine. Let marinate while you prepare the other ingredients (can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance).
- Peel and roughly chop the garlic and onion and wash and chop fresh herbs.
- In a food processor, add the garlic and onion and pulse until finely chopped. Add the marinated chicken and puree until completely fine, stopping to scrape down the sides. Add the green onion, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper.
- Pulse until combined, then pour in the olive oil and panko and pulse a few times just until combined.
- Using a small ice cream scooper, scoop 48 meatballs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and form into circles.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with a salad or pasta and wedges of lemon, if using.
Keywords: Chicken Meatballs
