Baked Chicken Meatballs With Hidden Veggies
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
These Baked Chicken Meatballs With Hidden Veggies are a simple recipe that the entire family will love! Great for meal prep and easy dinners!
Easy Baked Chicken Meatballs
If you’re looking for the best chicken meatballs that will also get some extra veggies into your loved ones, you have to try my Baked Chicken Meatballs with Hidden Veggies! Just like traditional meatball recipes, but with a twist!
These tasty chicken meatballs can be served as a main dish or as easy appetizers that people can pick up with a small fork. Chock full of flavor, the zucchini helps to keep the ground chicken meatballs moist, the onion provides more flavor, and no one will be the wiser.
The full recipe ingredient list looks like a lot, but these juicy meatballs are incredibly easy to make. Don’t let the list feel daunting, as you can find everything at your local grocery store. Add it all together in one bowl, shape your meatballs, and bake them to crispy perfection. Easy peasy.
A great recipe that can be served as your main course on pasta, on a meatball sandwich, or your favorite way to eat meatballs, this will definitely become a family favorite – even for the picky eaters!
Looking for some other hidden veggie dishes? Try my Chicken Broccoli Cauliflower Rice Casserole or my Cabbage and Tomatoes with Bacon!
Recipe Notes:
- Be sure to have clean hands while forming your meatballs. If you don’t like to touch meat, have some plastic gloves handy.
- Your delicious chicken meatballs are fully cooked when an internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and you have a nice brown on the outside.
- These pair beautifully with any marinara sauce variety and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
How To Make This Hidden Veggie Meatballs Recipe
1 lb ground chicken
1 cup crackers or panko bread crumbs, crushed
1/2 cup zucchini, grated
1/4 cup onion, grated
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1 tsp garlic, minced
3 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp thyme
1 egg, beaten
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. You can also spray it with nonstick cooking spray if that is your preference.
Put 7 or 8 crackers in a bag and crush them with a potato masher or your hands. See if that fills up 1 cup and keep adding crushed crackers until you reach that level.
You shouldn’t need a food processor for this, but you can use one of that’s your preference.
Take out a large mixing bowl and add your cup of crackers.
Grate your zucchini and your onion and add both to the bowl.
Add your shredded cheese, seasoned salt, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, thyme, egg, and red pepper flakes (optional, but add them if you like spice). Mix all of these until they are well incorporated.
Add your lean ground chicken and combine it with ingredients already in the large bowl.
Be careful not to work this meatball mixture too much or it will make your meatballs tough. Mix it just enough to incorporate everything together.
Using a medium ice cream scoop or cookie scoop, spoon out the meat mixture onto your prepared baking sheet in a single layer, leaving the meatballs approximately 1 inch apart. You’re looking for them to be around the size of a golf ball.
Bake the uncooked meatballs for approximately 15 – 20 minutes and then, with kitchen tongs, turn over each meatball.
Bake for another 15 minutes or until the meatballs show the golden brown outsides you’re looking for.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and move your hidden vegetables meatballs to a plate or serving dish.
Serve these healthy meatballs with pasta and tomato sauce, as meatball subs, or eat them by themselves!
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Can I Make These Gluten Free Chicken Meatballs?
Yes! This chicken meatballs recipe includes crackers, but you can use a gluten free cracker substitute if you want to make them gluten free. To make these keto chicken meatballs, you can substitute the crackers with crushed-up pork rinds. That would make them both gluten free and keto meatballs.
Can I Use Ground Turkey Instead For These Juicy Chicken Meatballs?
Yes! Ground turkey and ground chicken are very similar in the number of healthy fats and lean meat, so turkey meatballs should be an easy swap if you don’t have access to ground chicken. For this particular recipe, either of these ground meat choices will work out better than lean ground beef.
How Do I Get These Healthy Baked Chicken Meatballs Ready To Freeze?
This chicken meatball recipe is an excellent option for your freezer! Make a double batch and allow whatever you intend to freeze to cool to room temperature.
Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place them in freezer safe containers or a resealable freezer bag. Perfect to take out for easy dinners, these frozen meatballs will last up to 4 months in your freezer.
Are You Looking For More Tasty Chicken Recipes? Here Are Some Of My Favorites:
- Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
- Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Easy Cream Of Mushroom Chicken Skillet
- Asparagus Stuffed Chicken with Provolone Cheese
- Chicken Pot Pie Crescent Roll Buns
- Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken
OXO 1169600 Good Grips 3-piece Mixing Set, White Bowls Brown Handles, Blue/Green/Yellow
Mixing Bowls with Airtight Lids, 6 piece Stainless Steel Metal Bowls by Umite Chef, Measurement Marks & Colorful Non-Slip Bottoms Size 7, 3.5, 2.5, 2.0,1.5, 1QT, Great for Mixing & ServingOXO 1057961 Good Grips Box Grater,Silver,1EAGood Cook 3-Piece Mixing Spoons SetPotato Masher Stainless Steel – Food Masher Utensil Hand Masher – Mashed Potatoes Masher Avocado Masher – Bean Masher Stainless Steel Potato Masher Potato Smasher Vegetable MasherGood Living Ice Cream Scoop With Trigger Lever and Comfort Grip Handle, Orange, 1-pack
These Baked Chicken Meatballs With Hidden Veggies are a simple recipe that the entire family will love! Great for meal prep and easy dinners! As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. This calculation is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a doctor or dietician. This calculator is a guide, but makes no guarantee of being exact or fully accurate.Baked Chicken Meatballs With Hidden Veggies
Ingredients
Instructions
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 100Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 403mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 9g 
