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2009Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
Who doesn’t love meatballs? When I make these, even my daughter — a.k.a. Princess Picky — asks for seconds, and that’s a home-run in my book.
All the flavor comes from a savory blend of tomato paste, garlic, Pecorino Romano cheese and seasoned Italian bread crumbs. The tomato-balsamic glaze is the finishing touch; it’s tangy and slightly sweet, and really dresses these meatballs up.
As for the ground chicken, it’s a great alternative to ground beef, and it’s so much more flavorful than ground turkey.
You’ll love this simple recipe and –- best part –- you won’t be left with a sink full of pots and pans when you’re done. I’d serve this as I would meatloaf, with buttered noodles and a vegetable. You can also make them as an hors d’oeuvre; just make them smaller and spear them with toothpicks.
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Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
Printable Recipe
Makes 14 meatballs (or 28 hors d’oeuvres size meatballs)
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
1 egg
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken, preferably not all breast meat (I like Purdue)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs
For Tomato-Balsamic Glaze:
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine egg, parsley, tomato paste, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wire whisk, making sure the tomato paste is completely dissolved.
3. Add ground chicken, grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Use your hand to mix ingredients together. Mixture will be somewhat wet. Form medium size balls (I think it’s easiest to use a 3-tablespoon ice cream scooper with a wire scraper) and place onto ungreased baking sheet or very large baking dish.
4. Make the glaze by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl, then brush over meatballs. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball registers 160 degrees. Remove from oven and serve.
Memoria
Yummy! These look great; I’m bookmarking this one. What’s the reason ground turkey can’t be used? Just curious…
Susan
Oh my God, these look delicious. And I love the pics!!
Jenn
Memoira – I find that the texture of ground chicken is different from that of ground turkey. Cooked ground chicken can be rubbery, so this recipe calls for a fair amount of milk and breadcrumbs to counteract that. I suppose it wouldn’t be bad with turkey, but this recipe is really made for chicken. Hope you enjoy!
the domestic mama
wow! I must try these!
J.R.
Made these for dinner and they were AMAZING! Seriously, ate seven of them!I paired them with an herb salad w/balsamic dressing, bottle of wine…it was truly perfect. And very easy to make!
Nancy
my husband can’t have beef so i’m always looking for alternatives…what a great recipe. the whole family gobbled these up…tons of flavor and really delicious. definitely a keeper…thanks!
Danna
I can’t get ground chicken where I live… could you put chicken breasts in the food processor?
Jenn
Danna – I believe you can, but I would first ask your butcher if he would do it for you. Good luck!
Alison
Made these for dinner last night, and I thought they were fantastic! I’ve already forwarded the recipe to some friends. Keep the fabulous recipes coming, I’m loving them!
Michelle W.
I love this recipe idea. I don’t mix dairy with meat, so do you have some ideas for a good substitute for the milk and cheese?
Jen
Great recipe–thanks! We have made it twice and used both chicken and turkey. Both were great.
Jenn
Michelle – You can omit the cheese and substitute chicken stock or water for the milk.
R.C.
I made the chicken meatballs the past two nights. They were soooo good. I did a better job the second night. I used a little less cheese. I paired them with the brussels sprouts, which were equally good. My husband said it’s the best thing I ever made. Thanks for all your great recipes!!
Anonymous
my husband can’t have beef so i’m always looking for alternatives…what a great recipe. the whole family gobbled these up…tons of flavor and really delicious. definitely a keeper…thanks!
Katherine
Just made these for Father’s day – WOW. My family was so impressed, everyone asked for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing, I highly recommend fellow readers make these!
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Rachel
Just had to come back 2 years later and say that I am still making this recipe. I’ve made it with chicken, turkey, and my favorite PORK!!
ClubPenguinCheats
My family was so impressed, everyone asked for the recipe!
Lindsay Dianne
I find ground turkey to be so much nicer than chicken, but these look great!
Eliana
could you also cook these on the stove? or oven is best?
Jenn
Eliana, Oven is best.
Megan
I made these for a group potluck after finding this link on foodgawker.com. Amazing!
Linda
Looking forward to making these meatballs. My husband has to limit his beef intake and I think he will enjoy this alternative.
Cheryl Newton
I cannot wait to try these! I am always on the lookout for a new meatball recipe, but from the looks of these, I will be full before dinner is even served.
Stefani
I try not to eat a lot of red meat, so these are a great looking, delicious alternative!
Allie
This has become one of my go-to recipes for a weeknight meal that I can make ahead (I make and shape the meatballs earlier in the day) and pop in the oven right before serving. My husband and toddler love these meatballs as much as I do. I’ve made these meatballs with ground turkey in the past when that’s all I had in the freezer, and they’re definitely better with ground chicken, so do search out the ground chicken if you can. Otherwise, I make the recipe exactly as written, and the flavor is outstanding. Thanks for another great recipe, Jennifer!
Heidi
Just made – fantastic!
Elena V
Yummo!! The balsamic glaze was a clever move…The meatballs got a lot of “oomph” from it. I always wonder what to do with my huge bottle of balsamic vinegar other than making salad dressing and you just gave me a wonderful idea.
Ellen
What a clever twist on the classic meatball. Nomnom!
Melody
Hi made these and they were delish!! Was wondering how they would be if you made a patty and put on the grill??
Jenn
Hi Melody, So glad you enjoyed the meatballs. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’d hold up on the grill b/c the mixture is very wet.
Marsha in FL
I made this tonight for the first time and liked it. I’ve never seen 1/2 T. but found it is 1 1/2 tsp. The Pecorino Romano was expensive but I wanted to use what the recipe called for so bought it. I read it is a salty cheese so used 1/4 tsp of salt instead of 1/2 tsp. Also I forgot to get fresh parsley so used 1T plus 1 tsp. of dried. Otherwise I followed the recipe. Next time I would make more sauce and add a bit more on the meatballs. I cooked 30 minutes and they were over 160 degrees but still moist and good.
Claire
These are delicious and the glaze really distinguishes these from other meatballs.
mindy t
Yumm! I love these chicken meatballs. I serve mine with marinated roasted peppers and it is so good.
Vicki Reyes
I thought these were wonderful. I served them as an appetizer at a get-together I hosted at my home last weekend. They were a definite hit. I did add 1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes because I tend to like things a bit spicy and so do my friends.
Rachel
I can’t wait to try these for dinner this week. I’m going to serve a cold quinoa salad with mango and mint along side it. Thanks for finding creative ways even with old standbys like ground chicken.
jenee williams
My husband made a face when I stood in the kitchen making these. Afterwards, he asked for seconds!
Gayle Snyder
This recipe is great for a party. The ladies appreciated the lightness of the chicken and the men just loved the taste.
Katelyn
I made these tonight for dinner and they were absolutely delicious! I didn’t change anything except I made some more sauce for the meatballs. Great recipe!
shelly
looking forward to your great reciepes
Thanks
Diana
Any SUBSTITUTE for the bread crumbs. I am avoiding WHEAT and am looking for something to use instead of wheat products.
Jenn
Hi Diana, Wheat-free bread crumbs should work fine.
Val
Can’t wait to try this recipe. They look and sound soooo good? Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
Catherine
We love this recipe except that we don’t include the balsamic in the glaze because my child is not a fan of vinegar. It still tastes amazing! We usually just serve the meatballs with pasta and tomato sauce and garlic bread.
Winston
I made these for a super bowl party as an appetizer. I found them a tad dry and really needed a sauce to serve with them (I used my own homemade BBQ rather than the balsamic glaze and served extra on the side). I used mixed thigh and breast meat (bought some roasters on sale and boned them all) which I ground in a food processor. I have a party coming up and will likely try again but add about 1/4 cup panade made of panko and buttermilk to add a bit of moisture.
Amy
I’m always on the look out for a good, easy weeknight meal. We really enjoyed these. I double the glaze.
Jennifer Marcus
Have made this many times for my family and friends. Always a hit. I leave off the tomato glaze and serve beside Jennifer’s macaroni and cheese recipe.
Nancy Schneeloch
The chicken tomato-balsamic glazed meatballs were fabulous. Everyone enjoyed them a lot, as they were flavorful and moist for a chicken meatball. I followed the recipe to the dime, but the next time I make these, I will make extra glaze and top the cooked meatballs after they come out of the oven for extra tangy sauce on the finished product. Overall a great appitizer, thanks Jennifer
Jill
These were awesome. Next time I will make more glaze though — can’t get too much of that.
I used a small scoop the size for making melon balls and got 50 that were perfect appetizer size.
Your recipes have been fantastic! I haven’t had one that’s failed yet or that we didn’t like.
Jenn
So nice to hear, Jill. Glad you enjoyed!
marjory
These are delicious with pasta and sauce, but i also made the mixture into a meat loaf. None of the family are big meat loaf lovers, but we all loved this. Served with creamy garlic mashed potatoes and a couple of vegetable sides, it was so comforting on a cold Canadian winter night. Thanks Jenn!