Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
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Winner, winner meatball dinner! Quick, easy, and irresistibly tasty, these baked chicken meatballs with a tangy glaze make the perfect fuss-free family supper.
If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional meatballs or turkey meatballs in marinara sauce, these light and elegant chicken meatballs fit the bill. I love them with mashed potatoes, puréed cauliflower, polenta, or buttered noodles for a quick and easy weeknight meal. They also make a delicious appetizer—just make them smaller and spear them with toothpicks.
Table of Contents
“I made a triple recipe of these for a family dinner…Everyone loved them, especially my younger grandsons.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Meatballs With Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
When purchasing ground chicken, stay away from extra-lean all breast meat; if the meat is too lean, the meatballs will come out dry and lacking in flavor.
Tomato paste can be purchased in a small can or tube. While I use canned here, the tubed variety is more practical because you can use just what you need and store it in the fridge until you need it again. To preserve canned tomato paste longer, freeze it in tablespoon-sized portions (use an ice cube tray or put tablespoon-sized portions on a cookie sheet). Once frozen, transfer these portions into a freezer-safe plastic bag for future use.
The recipe calls for pecorino Romano cheese, a hard Italian sheep milk cheese. It is similar to Parmigiano Reggiano, in that both cheeses have salty, umami-rich flavors, but pecorino Romano is saltier, tangier, and stronger in flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the egg, parsley, tomato paste, garlic, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Mix well with a wire whisk, making sure the tomato paste is completely dissolved.
Add the ground chicken, grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
Use your hand to mix the ingredients together; it will be somewhat wet.
Using wet hands, form medium-sized balls and place into an ungreased 9-x-13-in baking dish.
Next, make the glaze by combining the tomato paste, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Brush the glaze evenly over the meatballs.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball registers 160°F. Remove from the oven and serve.
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Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
Winner, winner meatball dinner! Quick, easy, and irresistibly tasty, these baked chicken meatballs with a tangy glaze make the perfect fuss-free family supper.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground chicken (preferably Purdue, not extra lean all breast meat)
- ½ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs
For the Glaze
- 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the egg, parsley, tomato paste, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wire whisk, making sure the tomato paste is completely dissolved.
- Add the ground chicken, grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Use your hand to mix the ingredients together; it will be somewhat wet. Form medium-sized balls and place into an ungreased 9-x-13-in baking dish.
- Make the glaze by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Brush evenly over the meatballs. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball registers 160°F. Remove from the oven and serve.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked meatballs can be frozen, with their glaze, for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve, thaw them in the fridge and then reheat them, tightly covered with foil, in a 300°F oven, until hot in the center.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 meatball
- Calories: 119
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 4 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Sodium: 161 mg
- Cholesterol: 54 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made these last night and we were very impressed. The texture and flavor are great! Came together in minimal time. Another wonderful “Jenn” recipe! Stay safe =)
WOW! Just made a batch and love the texture and flavor. My local Whole Foods only carries 98% white meat ground chicken so I added a tablespoon of olive oil so it wouldn’t be too dry. Only thing I altered with recipe. Glaze takes it over the top and without the glaze, recipe could easily substitute a typical beef meatball simmered in a red/marinara sauce. I can see how they would be great as an appetizer since the sauce is mildly sweet with a flavorful meatball underneath. Another great recipe for my box!! Keeper for sure. Thanks again, Jenn!
I make these chicken meatballs a lot, I always double the glaze so there is enough of it for us. I use these with spaghetti delicious also great when made for appetizer. i always add some italilan seasoning never have the seasoned bread crumbs.
Love the majority of your recipes, but not a fan of these. They kind of lacked taste and felt undercooked even though I did bake them till 160 degrees. Kids ate them though! Next time I’d maybe make them with half chicken half pork. Do you think that would work?
Yes you could also add some bacon or pancetta for more flavor. 🙂
Hi Jenn-
This is the first comment I’ve made on your blog after two weeks of being obsessed over your recipes snice finding you. These meatballs were awesome! I have six children so I have to double double (sometimes triple) everything, but they were a hit with everyone! 🙂 I’ve loved the naan bread, lentil veggie soup, pumpkin scones, French Apple cake and others. We’re going to gain weight as I can’t stop trying your recipes! It’s awesome how everything I need for your recipes is already in my pantry and yet it all comes out so good! Thank you!
I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes, Stephanie! Thank you for taking the time to write and let me know. 😊
These were DELICIOUS! My son requested spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight – checked the fridge and all I had was ground chicken, so I knew I had to make these. Recipe came together in about 10 minutes of prep work, We are watching our calories so I used half the cheese the recipe called for and I didn’t miss it at all. Flavor is great, the glaze is tangy and sweet. I was already baking Jenn’s chocolate zucchini bread at 350, so I popped these in at that higher temp and used a thermometer to check them to 165. Took about 24 minutes.
Dear Jenn,
I’ve made these already & we loved them. I was wondering if i could prepare the meatballs & freeze them before cooking to use at a later date.
Thanks for so many delicious recipes.
Darlene
So glad you enjoy the recipes, Darlene! I generally freeze meatballs after cooking them, but it’s perfectly fine to freeze them before if you prefer. 🙂
I made this recipe again tonight for the umpteenth time. I leave out the milk and cheese because we keep kosher. If I have non dairy creamer available I’ll use that but tonight I didn’t. I just don’t bake them as long. Served them with green beans and carrots and rice. A perfect weeknight meal.
I have made these a few times now. They are perfect! I double the glaze, add some to the meatballs and save some to “ dip” ……..yummy!
Excellent! I , too, will double the glaze next time!