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    Home » Recipes » Gluten-free Quick Weeknight Dinners

    Gluten-Free Baked Chicken Meatballs

    Published: Nov 28, 2018 · Updated: Jul 14, 2022 by Katie | Wheat by the Wayside · This post may contain affiliate links, through which I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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    A bowl full of gluten-free baked chicken meatballs on white wooden surface next to a bowl of pasta.
    A bowl full of gluten-free baked chicken meatballs on white wooden surface next to a bowl of pasta.

    These gluten-free baked chicken meatballs are easy to make and freezer-friendly! These delicious, tender meatballs can be made ahead and are perfect for quick weeknight dinners the whole family will love.

    A bowl full of gluten-free baked chicken meatballs on white wooden surface next to a bowl of pasta.
    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Meatball Ingredients and Substitutions
    • Instructions
    • How to Serve Chicken Meatballs
    • Make Ahead and Freezing
    • Recipe
    • Comments and Ratings

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    This easy recipe for baked chicken meatballs will surely become a dinner staple in your house. They are a fun way to take an ordinary spaghetti night to the next level.

    Serve with your favorite sauce, freshly made spaghetti sauce, or even homemade gluten-free pasta and your family will flip for this dinner! If you need more convincing, here are a few more reasons why I think you'll love them!

    • Ground chicken meatballs are quick to throw together, start to finish in under an hour. You can prepare some pasta while the meatballs bake.
    • This recipe uses simple ingredients and items readily available at the grocery store.
    • Easily make a double batch and save some for later with this freezer-friendly recipe! Great for meal prep and last minute dinners!
    • Using ground chicken makes this delicious recipe a cinch to make!
    • These healthy chicken meatballs use lean protein instead of beef or pork.

    Meatball Ingredients and Substitutions

    Ingredients to make baked chicken meatballs on marble surface, ground chicken, almond flour, parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, spices, garlic
    • Ground Chicken: Using ground chicken is part of what makes these meatballs so simple to whip up, but if you can't get your hands on it, you can use ground turkey as well. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken breast and grind everything up in a food processor.
    • Dried spices: Italian seasoning, parsley, and red pepper flakes.
    • Worchestershire sauce: There are many gluten-free Worcestershire sauces, such as Lea & Perrin's brand. Always check the label.
    • Egg: Helps hold the meatballs together and makes them a little less dense. It can be omitted if necessary.
    • Gluten-free panko breadcrumbs or almond flour: Pretty much any gluten-free breadcrumbs will work here. Even almond flour or almond meal will work as well!
    • Ricotta cheese: This ingredient is optional but I'd suggest giving it a try! It makes the meatballs so light and fluffy!

    The best part about this easy meatball recipe is that you can change things up based on the ingredients you have on hand and how much effort you want to put forth. Here are some variations I often make:

    • Mince a small shallot and use that instead of onion powder.
    • You can use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
    • As noted above, ricotta cheese is a surprisingly nice addition, but not required. It does make them even more tender though!
    • Sometimes I'll add in a tablespoon or two of refrigerated pesto.
    • You can add dried fennel for that classic 'Italian sausage' flavor you often find in pork meatballs.

    Instructions

    hand-mixing baked chicken meatballs in white bowl on marble surface
    1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, Worcestershire sauce, oil, and remaining wet ingredients.
    2. Stir in the spices and parmesan cheese.
    3. Using a spoon or your hands, mix in the ground chicken. Blend until the mixture looks evenly mixed.
    4. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the meatball mixture and roll into a ball.
    5. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
    6. Bake meatballs until golden brown and an internal temperature of 165°F. While they bake, the delicious smell coming from the oven will tell you all you need to know!
    baked chicken meatballs scooped out onto parchment lined baking sheets

    How to Serve Chicken Meatballs

    There are many ways to turn these tasty gluten-free chicken meatballs into a complete meal.

    • Once removed from the oven, serve the baked chicken meatballs with your favorite pasta (or even zucchini noodles) and your favorite homemade or store bought sauce.
    • Make them into a meatball sub with melted cheese and pesto or pasta sauce.
    • Enjoy them plain straight from the pan!
    • These meatballs are also delicious dunked in tomato sauce, buffalo sauce, or even ranch or barbecue sauce! The perfect lazy dinner or lunch for when you just can't muster up any more energy!
    A bowl full of gluten-free baked chicken meatballs on white wooden surface next to a bowl of pasta.

    Make Ahead and Freezing

    These gluten-free meatballs can easily be made ahead. Here are some options:

    • You can refrigerate formed meatballs up to 24 hours before baking.
    • Baked or leftover meatballs can be refrigerated up to 3 days. Enjoy cold or reheated, either in sauce or in the microwave.
    • To freeze meatballs, bake the meatballs for half of the indicated time in the recipe card. Allow them to cool and then place the meatballs in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months. Frozen meatballs can then be bake until browned, right from frozen, when you're ready to eat them!

    Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Find even more great gluten-free recipes here!

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    If you made this recipe, leave a comment and add a star-rating below!
    Thank you for your support! ♡

    baked chicken meatballs in red spaghetti sauce over gluten free penne

    Recipe

    A bowl full of gluten-free baked chicken meatballs on white wooden surface next to a bowl of pasta.

    Gluten-Free Baked Chicken Meatballs

    Katie | Wheat by the Wayside.com
    These gluten-free baked chicken meatballs are easy to make and freezer-friendly! These delicious meatballs can be made ahead and are perfect for quick weeknight dinners.
    5 from 3 votes
    Pin Recipe Print Recipe Save Saved!
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 40 mins
    Course Main Course
    Diet Gluten Free
    Servings 40 meatballs
    Calories 37 kcal
    Prevent your screen from going dark.

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 lb ground chicken, or turkey
    • 1 egg
    • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • ¼ cup Ricotta Cheese, optional *see notes
    • ¼ cup gluten-free panko breadcrumbs, gluten-free Italian breadcrumbs, or almond flour
    • ½ cup parmesan cheese
    • 3 cloves garlic , minced
    • 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
    • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • ¼ teaspoon dried fennel, optional
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 425°F. (Use convection setting if you have it.). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    • Whisk the egg, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and ricotta cheese together in a large bowl.
    • Whisk in the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, minced garlic, herbs and spices.
    • Mix in the ground chicken with your hands or a spoon until mixture is evenly combined.
    • Scoop 1 Tablespoon-sized portions of the mixture and roll into a ball. Place the meatball on a parchment lined baking pan. Continue forming meatballs until you've used up all of the mixture.
    • Bake the meatballs at 425°F, 20-25 min, or until the meatballs are golden brown and cooked to 165°F internal temperature. 

    Notes

    *Ricotta cheese: Adding ricotta cheese is optional but it is a total game changer! The ricotta makes these meatballs super light and fluffy!
    To freeze meatballs, bake the meatballs for half of the indicated time in the recipe card. Allow them to cool and then place the meatballs in an airtight freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months. Finish baking, right from frozen, when you're ready to eat them!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1meatballCalories: 37kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 3gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 54mgPotassium: 70mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 28IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 0.2mg
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and star rating below!

    More Gluten-free Quick Weeknight Dinners

    • Quick and Easy Gluten-Free French Dip Sandwiches
    • Gluten-Free Tortellini Soup with Spinach: Easy 30-Minute Recipe
    • Gluten-Free Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
    • Gluten-Free Chili with Beef and Beans

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    1. Nichole

      April 28, 2019 at 7:46 pm

      5 stars
      Came out perfect with gf pinko breadcrumbs ??

      Reply
      • Katie Olesen

        April 28, 2019 at 7:54 pm

        Glad to hear! Thanks for sharing!

        Reply
    2. Audrey

      July 07, 2019 at 4:35 am

      5 stars
      I made these tonight. I loved how quick and easy they were to make and the flavour was fantastic, I ate three straight from the oven!! I did notice that my chicken was high in fat and that affected their finished size as it melted and ran out of the balls leaving me with “mounds” ?.

      Reply
      • Katie Olesen

        July 07, 2019 at 8:48 am

        Lol! That’s ok! The taste is all that matters. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!!

        Reply
    3. JT

      July 10, 2019 at 9:38 pm

      5 stars
      I made this low fodmap by using garlic infused oil and left out the garlic and the onion powder. I used gf breadcrumbs. It was so good and easy! Thanks so much for sharing.

      Reply
      • Katie Olesen

        July 11, 2019 at 5:36 pm

        So glad you liked the recipe! Great substitutions!

        Reply
    4. Julie Ann

      December 22, 2019 at 3:45 pm

      How many meatballs does this make?

      Reply
    5. Susan McCoy

      September 28, 2021 at 8:19 pm

      These are the BOMB!!
      I made mine without the parmesan cheese because I can’t have dairy. I wasn’t even done with dinner before I sent the recipe to my bang and both my sisters. Froze what was leftover for another night.

      Reply
      • Katie | Wheat by the Wayside

        October 10, 2021 at 1:58 pm

        So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing, too!

        Reply

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    Katie Olesen headshot.

    Hi, I'm Katie! I'm the blogger behind Wheat by the Wayside. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2018 and have been following a strict gluten-free diet ever since. The goal of WBTW is to share tried and tested, easy, and delicious gluten-free recipes to give you confidence in the kitchen! 

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