Our baked chicken and spinach meatballs are tender, juicy, and a more nutritious way to enjoy meatballs in all of your favorite dishes. With lean ground chicken, lots of spinach, and a simple blend of spices, these chicken meatballs are a great alternative to your standard pork or beef meatball recipes.
My family has tried all kinds of meatball recipes over the years in search of the perfect homemade meatball. These baked chicken and spinach meatballs have become a long-time favorite because they taste great while also being a lower calorie and lower fat option than a traditional meatball.
Our easy to follow directions and step-by-step photos will help you make a great batch of chicken meatballs in the oven the first time you try the recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Baked Chicken Meatballs with Spinach Recipe
30-minute meal. Including prep and baking time, you’ll have these meatballs on the table in 30-minutes for a quick and easy dinner.
No searing required. All you need to do is pop the meatballs into the oven and let them bake! No need to heat up oil, constantly flip to sear the outsides, and dirty another dish for this recipe.
Great for meal prep (they’re freezer friendly)! We LOVE making a double batch of these to enjoy throughout the week or to freeze for a later date!
Easy way to eat your veggies. Thanks to the spinach in our recipe, we’re helping you increase your veggie intake one meatball at a time.
Dairy free. Lots of chicken meatball recipes are packed with parmesan, romano, feta, or some other type of cheese. But ours are wonderfully flavorful without the dairy, making them a great dinner for more people.
Ingredients for Chicken and Spinach Meatballs
- Ground Chicken. Ground chicken is the base of these healthy meatballs. Using chicken results in a meatball that is lower in calories and lower in fat as compared to using beef or pork.
- Large Egg. Egg acts as a binder in meatballs, helping them to hold their shape when cooking. They also help keep the meatballs moist, add richness to the flavor, and contribute to a tender texture.
- Panko Bread Crumbs. Panko helps create a nice texture, absorbs moisture from the meat while cooking to keep the meatballs nice and juicy, and also acts as a binder for our meatballs. We prefer to use whole wheat panko, but you can use regular if you’d like.
- Spices. We’re using salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to season our baked chicken meatballs with spinach.
- Fresh Basil. Using fresh basil adds a sweet and spicy flavor to our meatballs. It’s a common ingredient in pasta sauces and soups, making these meatballs a great choice to use in all kinds of recipes!
- Fresh Spinach. Spinach adds another nutritious element to our meatballs, increasing the fiber, iron content, and vitamin content. It’s also a great way to get some extra veggies in.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Helpful Equipment
I’ve found that using a medium cookie scoop makes the perfect sized meatballs!
How to Make Ground Chicken Meatballs with Spinach
Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add all meatball ingredients (except the basil and spinach) to a large mixing bowl.
Mix to incorporate until just combined using your hands or a spatula.
Add in the chopped basil and chopped spinach.
Mix again until just combined.
Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the meatballs onto the lined baking sheet (alternately scoop a 2 Tablespoon sized portion and roll it in your hands).
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 165°F.
How Long to Bake Chicken Meatballs?
Since we’re baking our ground chicken meatball recipe at 400°F, you will bake them for about 20 minutes. They will be starting to brown on the outside and an instant-read thermometer should read at least 165°F.
If you put your meatballs into a preheated oven at 350°F, they will take closer to 30 minutes to be cooked through.
Ground Chicken Meatballs Variations
- Swap out the fresh basil for fresh sage and fresh parsley. Looking for a different flavor profile? Swapping out your herbs is a great way to go! Sage and parsley taste wonderful in this recipe too.
- Use freshly minced garlic in place of garlic powder. If preferred, skip the garlic powder and use up to 3 cloves of minced garlic.
- Use a shallot, white onion, or yellow onion in place of the onion powder. If preferred, skip the onion powder and use 1 small shallot or up to ¼ cup of finely chopped onion.
- Use regular breadcrumbs. If you happen to have regular breadcrumbs in your pantry, feel free to use them in place of the panko. Swap them out one-to-one.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
These baked chicken meatballs with spinach are already dairy free (yay!), but you can make them gluten free with one simple swap too. Select a gluten free bread crumb to use in place of the panko breadcrumbs and you’re good to go! I have also seen the breadcrumbs replaced with almond flour (but have not tried this variation myself).
How to Serve Baked Chicken Meatballs
- Enjoy these chicken meatballs with spaghetti (or pasta of choice). This has been our go-to use of these meatballs! We like to use a simple marinara and top with a little parmesan cheese. But these would also be great with your favorite pesto or alfredo sauce too.
- Make a meatball sub sandwich. Toss in your favorite red sauce, and enjoy them on a toasted bun with some melted provolone or mozzarella cheese.
- Enjoy in a grain bowl. These meatballs are a great protein addition to a grain bowl!
- Make barbecue chicken meatballs. Since we have a pretty simple spice mix in our recipe, you could simply toss your meatballs in your favorite BBQ sauce and enjoy! If you plan to use all of your meatballs in BBQ, I might suggest leaving out the basil.
- Serve your chicken meatballs in soup. Have a soup recipe that uses meatballs? Why not try these baked chicken meatballs in place of the beef or pork meatballs in the recipe? You could also use these instead of chicken breast in a variety of soups for a fun variation.
- Pair with a creamy sauce and gnocchi. You could even use this meatball recipe in place of the parmesan meatballs in our slow cooker gnocchi and meatballs!
- Let them be the star of the show alongside some veggies. We like these alongside some green beans, broccoli, or sauteed kale. Add in a side of roasted or mashed potatoes too to fill our your meal.
How to Store and Reheat Chicken Spinach Meatballs
In the Fridge
Allow the meatballs to cool completely before storing. Chicken meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, or in a pot on the stove with sauce of choice over medium heat, until heated to your desired temperature.
In the Freezer
Allow the meatballs to cool completely before storing. Store baked chicken meatballs in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, place the frozen meatballs in an oven-safe baking dish and cover with tinfoil (to help prevent them from drying out). Bake at 300°F until warmed through (this can vary from 15-30 minutes depending on how many are being reheated at once).
You can also freeze raw meatballs for up to 3 months. To do so, place the rolled meatballs onto a lined baking sheet per the recipe card and then “flash freeze” the raw meatballs for at least 1 hour before transferring them to a labeled zip-top bag to freeze laying flat. When ready to bake, bake at 400°F from frozen until cooked through (about 25-30 minutes).
Expert Tips for Oven Baked Ground Chicken Meatballs
Do not use 99% fat free ground chicken. Using ground chicken with this low of a fat content tends to result in dry meatballs.
Love this Ground Chicken Meatball Recipe? Try One of These Chicken Recipes Next!
Baked Chicken Spinach Meatballs
Equipment
- Chef's Knife
- Medium Cookie Scoop (optional, but helpful!)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken (we use 92% lean)
- ½ Cup panko bread crumbs (regular or whole wheat)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 Cup fresh spinach, de-stemmed and chopped
- 3 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix together (with your hands or a rubber scrapper) until just combined.
- Form the meatballs and place them onto the lined baking sheet. We like to portion them out with a medium cookie scoop, but you could also use 1-2 Tablespoons of mixture and roll them into balls with your hands.
- Bake the meatballs until they begin to brown on the outside and the internal temperature from an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F (this will take 18-20 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and enjoy warm!
Video
Notes
- In the fridge: Store fully cooled meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, or in a pot on the stove with sauce of choice over medium heat, until heated to your desired temperature.
- Freezer option 1 – freezing cooked meatballs: Store baked and fully cooled chicken meatballs in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, place the frozen meatballs in an oven-safe baking dish and cover with tinfoil (to help prevent them from drying out). Bake at 300°F until warmed through (this can vary from 15-30 minutes depending on how many are being reheated at once).
- Freezer option 2 – freezing raw meatballs: You can also freeze raw meatballs for up to 3 months. To do so, place the rolled meatballs onto a lined baking sheet per the recipe card and then “flash freeze” the raw meatballs for at least 1 hour before transferring them to a labeled zip-top bag to freeze laying flat. When ready to bake, bake at 400°F from frozen until cooked through (about 25-30 minutes).
Ana says
These are delicious! They make a great snack as well as a topping for any Italian dish!
Meredith says
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these Ana! And totally agree, these do make a great high-protein snack.
David says
Super good with mashed sweet potatoes (or on their own!)
Meredith says
Yes, we love them that way too! Thanks for giving them a try, glad to hear you enjoyed them too.
Meredith says
We love these chicken meatballs!