- 12
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup Pecorino (or Parm)
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 egg, whisked
- zest of half a lemon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 14-ounce can storebought pizza sauce (such as Don Pepino’s)
- 4 about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella (a dozen thin slices; to pile on the cheese would be to cancel out the fact that you were virtuous enough to replace fatty beef with lean chicken)
Preparation
Step 1
This makes 12 large-ish meatballs. My best self would’ve let the meatballs freeze at this point you see above (after initial 15-minute bake) then frozen them for future
use, on which day, my best self would’ve transferred the frozen meatballs to the fridge in the morning, then heated them up in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes (before proceeding with broiling) upon her return later that night. While she was at it, my best self would’ve also ordered all the Halloween costumes and thrown away the sad, dried-out mums in the backyard that have been there since last fall and that perennially remind her of her worst self.
1 egg, whisked
about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella (a dozen thin slices; to pile on the cheese would be to cancel out the fact that you were virtuous enough to replace fatty beef with lean chicken)
Preheat oven to 400°F, setting rack to upper third part of oven. In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together first 11 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be somewhere between golf and tennis) and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove meatballs from oven, spoon some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Heat remaining sauce in a small saucepan. Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce and a raw Tuscan kale salad that has been shredded and tossed with shallots, Pecornio, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
It should be noted that you can probably majorly up the delicious factor by adding a little chopped pork product to the meatball mix (pancetta, prosciutto) but if you’re going to do that, my feeling is that you might as well just make regular old fat-heavy beef/pork/veal meatballs.
My friend pinned this and I got it from her. I plan to make these this week. Cool idea!
These would probably freeze well I’m guessing? I’m always looking for things I can just defrost, heat up, and eat!
My kids both loved these! I will def make them again!
I made these tonight. Absolutely delicious. Will def make again. Thank you so much!
This seems like the perfect recipe for World Pasta Day! My oldest daughter, who is not a fan of beef, even agreed to try the chicken parmesan meatballs with her favorite pasta – penne. Thanks for helping us mix up our pasta night!
Perdue makes ground chicken pre-packaged. No need to go to a butcher.
Esha- I ran across the same problem a few weeks ago for Superbowl, but it was Spinach Balls: Ener G Egg Replacer. Found it at whole Foods, but lots of stores carry it in the baking isle.