Marry Me Chicken Meatballs are juicy, tender and golden brown baked meatballs coated in flavorful but lighter Tuscan inspired sauce. Perfect for a healthy dinner!
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After making the viral marry me chicken and marry me cauliflower, I realized the sauce is the real star. As I started planning what to serve my chicken meatballs with, the idea clicked – marry me chicken meatballs!
They’re similar to my Thai meatballs with their creamy sauce but perfect for anyone who wants something milder. They’re a lifesaver for busy weeknights, yet impressive enough for date night or feeding a crowd.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Lighter but flavorful: This recipe uses just the right amount of sauce, not heavy, but enough to coat each meatball.
- Quick and easy: Ready in under 1 hour, it suits busy weeknights and last-minute plans.
- Customizable: Pair with pasta, rice, or salad, each option gives you a healthy dinner.
- High in protein: Packed with 31 grams of protein per serving.
Ingredients for Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
Here’s a breakdown of the simple ingredients for the chicken meatballs and the marry me sauce.
For Chicken Meatballs
- Ground chicken: Use lean or extra lean ground chicken.
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
- Panko breadcrumbs: I like Panko’s light and crispy texture, but you can also use regular, whole wheat, or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan helps keep the meatballs moist and adds flavor.
- Seasoning: You only need salt, pepper, and fresh garlic cloves to season the meatballs.
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil works best for a golden, crispy finish, but avocado oil will work too.
For Marry Me Sauce
- Butter: Just a tad for frying and to make sauce more rich.
- Minced garlic: Adds a punch of savory depth and enhances the rich, creamy flavor of the sauce.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: These tomatoes pack a tangy, intense flavor that becomes the heart of the sauce.
- Chicken broth: Low sodium chicken broth adds depth and richness to the sauce, but you can easily swap in vegetable broth.
- Heavy cream: Just a little heavy crem makes the sauce wonderfully creamy. For a lighter version, substitue with half and half.
- Parmesan cheese: Helps thicken the sauce and adds flavor.
- Spices: Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
- Fresh herbs: Parsley or basil for garnish.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
This marry me chicken meatballs recipe has 2 parts, the meatballs and the sauce, and the sauce cooks while the meatballs bake for a quick meal.
Make Chicken Meatballs
- Preheat and prep: Preheat oven to 400 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the meatball mixture: In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with a spatula until combined.
- Shape the meatballs: Use a small scoop to form about 26 meatballs, dipping your hands in cold water as needed, and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs: Bake for 15-20 minutes, flip with a spatula to remove any ground chicken residue, and bake for another 5 minutes.
Make Marry Me Sauce
- Make the sauce: While the meatballs bake, heat a large skillet over medium-high and melt the butter. Add garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring a few times.
- Simmer the sauce: Add chicken broth, heavy cream, and Parmesan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces a bit.
- Combine and simmer: Add the baked meatballs to the skillet and coat them in sauce, then cook 5 more minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and meatballs to soak up the flavor.
Tips for Best Results
Here are my expert tips for making the best meatballs in marry me chicken sauce!
- Grate your own cheese: Grate Parmesan cheese at home. It will melt better and has more flavor. Don’t use red and green shaker or store-bought shredded Parmesan in a resealable pouch please.
- Don’t overwork the mixture: Gently mix the ingredients to keep the meatballs tender. Overmixing the meat mixture can make them tough, so just combine until everything is evenly distributed.
- Wet your hands: When rolling meatballs, dip your hands into a bowl with cold water between rolling, to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Adjust the sauce consistency: If the sauce is too thick, add more broth to thin it out. If it’s too thin, let it simmer a bit longer to thicken up.
- If you don’t like sun-dried tomatoes: Use chopped fresh tomato or 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes from a can.
Serving Ideas
Serve these meatballs with short or long pasta, Instant Pot jasmine rice, mashed potatoes, or your favorite green salad. For an extra cozy touch, add some crusty bread to soak up all that creamy sauce.
You can also make it lower carb by swapping in cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash noodles. This healthy chicken recipe is perfect for any night of the week!
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. They’re great for a quick meal later in the week!
Freeze: Transfer meatballs with the sauce to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then thaw in the fridge, reheat, and enjoy.
Reheat: You can reheat in the microwave for a few minutes or simmer in a skillet with a splash of broth while covered.
FAQs
Absolutely! If you’re serving more than 4 or want more leftovers I highly recommend doubling the recipe.
Yes, you can double the sauce if you like your meatballs in a lot of sauce and want more for serving over the starch.
Yes. You can always swap ground turkey for ground chicken, and vice versa.
You can use coconut milk, just keep in mind it will give the dish a slightly different taste as it will add a subtle coconut flavor.
More Meatballs Recipes to Try
- Sweet and sour meatballs
- Mexican meatballs
- Turkey meatballs
- Instant Pot meatballs
- Cranberry turkey meatballs
Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 small garlic clove grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon butter for frying
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil drained and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons parsley or basil finely chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix with a spatula until combined and do not overmix.
- Using small trigger scoop, form about 26 meatballs (it helps to dip hands into a bowl with cold water occasionally) and lay on previously prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, turn and toss with spatula (mostly to get rid off of that ground chicken residue) and bake for 5 more minutes.
- While meatballs are baking, preheat large ceramic skillet on medium-high heat and melt the butter. Add garlic, sun dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken broth, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until golden edges form and sauce starts to reduce a bit, stirring occasionally.
- Remove meatballs from the oven and add them to the skillet. Stir to coat in sauce and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or until sauce has reduced a bit and meatballs had a chance to simmer in it for flavor.
- Garnish with parsley or basil and serve hot.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months, thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
- Reheat: Reheat in a microwave for a few minutes or simmer in a skillet with a splash of broth while covered.
