Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
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These balsamic-glazed chicken meatballs are what weeknight dinner dreams are made of: minimal effort, maximum flavor. Bonus–they’re also great served cocktail-party style with toothpicks.
If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional spaghetti and meatballs or turkey meatballs in marinara sauce, this light and elegant chicken meatball recipe fits the bill. I love them with mashed potatoes, puréed cauliflower, polenta, or buttered pasta for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
You can also make these chicken meatballs as an appetizer—just make them smaller and spear them with toothpicks.
“I have MANY meatball recipes – this one ranks high! Sometimes I make a double batch and use leftovers for meatball subs and meal-prep.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Meatballs With Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
- Egg: Helps bind the meatball mixture together for a cohesive, tender texture.
- Fresh Parsley: Adds freshness and a pop of color to the meatballs.
- Tomato Paste: Adds rich, concentrated tomato flavor to both the meatball mixture and glaze. I recommend buying the tomato paste that comes in a tube, which is nice because you can use just what you need and store it in the fridge until you need it again.
- Garlic: Brings bold, savory flavor to the meatballs—just one clove goes a long way.
- Milk: Adds moisture to the meatballs and helps keep them tender.
- Ground Chicken: The base of the meatballs. Choose a variety with a bit of fat for moist, flavorful results—skip the extra-lean breast meat. You can substitute ground turkey, just make sure it’s not too lean.
- Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese: Adds salty, tangy richness to the meatballs. Similar to Parmesan cheese/Parmigianno Reggiano, but sharper and more robust in flavor.
- Italian Bread Crumbs: Help hold the meatballs together while adding texture and herby flavor. If you’re cooking gluten-free, a number of brands make gluten-free versions that work well.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Used in the glaze to bring everything together and add richness.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Adds a tangy-sweet note to the glaze that balances the tomato and sugar.
- Sugar: Rounds out the glaze with a hint of sweetness.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the base. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, parsley, tomato paste, garlic, milk, salt, and pepper until the tomato paste is fully dissolved.
Step 2: Add the meat and fillers. Add the ground chicken, grated cheese, and breadcrumbs.
Step 3: Combine. Use your hands to gently mix everything together—the mixture will be a bit wet.
Step 4: Form the meatballs. With damp hands, shape the mixture into medium-sized balls and place them in an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish.
Step 5: Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sugar.
Step 6: Glaze the meatballs. Brush the glaze evenly over the meatballs. It may seem like it’s not enough, but a little glaze goes a long way (it’s boldly flavored) and too much will overpower the flavor of the meatballs.
Step 7: Bake and serve. Bake in a 325°F oven for about 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of a meatball reads 160°F. Serve the meatballs hot and enjoy!
More Meatball Recipes You May Like
Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb ground chicken (preferably Purdue, not extra lean all breast meat)
- ½ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs
For the Glaze
- 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and set a rack in the middle position.
- In a large bowl, combine the egg, parsley, tomato paste, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wire whisk, making sure the tomato paste is completely dissolved.
- Add the ground chicken, grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Use your hand to mix the ingredients together; it will be somewhat wet. Form medium-sized balls and place into an ungreased 9 x 13-in (23 x 33-cm) baking dish.
- Make the glaze by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Brush evenly over the meatballs. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball registers 160°F (71°C). Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Jenn, if all I can find is ground breasts and I grind my own, what should I use…breast. thighs or a combo? Would I still use one pound of meat or a little more? Last question, can i sub Panko?
Hi Carol, I’d use a combination of breast and thigh meat and I’d stick to a pound. And, yes, panko should be fine. Enjoy!
I am unclear about your instructions for freezing; do I defrost first or go directly from freezer to oven? Thank you.
Hi Andi, Sorry it’s not clear – you should thaw them first. I will add that to the freezer-friendly instructions. Hope that helps!
Jenn,
These chicken meatballs are extraordinary with your BBQ sauce (half of ingredients for sauce) from your turkey meatloaf recipe. Simply delicious with egg noodles and vegetable side.
Cheers!
Great idea!!!
🙏 Thank you !!!😊
Made the meatballs ..so tasty … we loved them.
With Dutch potatoes with sour cream and spinach ..from my garden… and a glass of Chardonnay
I plan to make this for my family and am bringing to another family for the first time. I see in your new cookbook there is similar recipe (with pancetta)- which version do you suggest for my first time?
They’re both good, but I’d probably go with the pancetta as it gives an additional punch of flavor. Hope you all enjoy!
We are always excited when this comes up in our food rotation, and honestly something has to be really really good to make it into the rotation. We have to double the recipe to have leftovers and even the leftovers go fast. Thank you Jen for sharing such an amazing recipe.
Can I prepare the meatballs the night before and then put into the oven the next day. Perhaps using the glaze right before they go in the oven?
Sure, Michelle, that’s fine. Hope you enjoy!
Made these meatballs tonight as my husband has had some health issues and not eating much and thought he might enjoy them. Well I certainly guessed right as he actually ate the best meal in many weeks. They were so moist and delicious. Love all your recipes & I recommend them to my daughter for her family. Thanks Jenn.
These were excellent! My only regret is that I haven’t made these sooner for my family. I served the meatballs paired with your string beans and shallot recipe. Another one of our favorite sides!
Thanks once again, Jenn, for a delicious recipe! After sampling the first few meatballs, I have put the rest in the freezer for family visits. I really appreciate that many of your recipes can be made ahead! I know everyone will be happy with these yummy meatballs!!
FYI — No one had any Purdue chicken & I searched at several stores but was unable to find ground chicken thighs of any brand! I requested that the butchers grind up the packaged thighs that they had for sale but they said they aren’t allowed to grind it because of cross-contamination. One of the butchers offered to take a package of thighs & put it through his tenderizing/cubing machine several times, but the unhappy result was mashed-up meat full of tendons etc. that was impossible to use. I managed to free up a small amount of actual thigh meat from that process, but had to add it to the regular lean ground chicken (breast?) meat that was available. After all that, however, the result was amazing!
I have a question about the Tomato Balsamic Sauce. I made double to have extra for dipping, & I prepared it exactly as you direct in your recipe, but the sauce seems much thicker than what is shown on your website. I used extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, & canned tomato paste, & sugar. It’s very thick, not at all pour-able, mounding & almost standing up on its own, & it is somehow separating from the oil. I even tried whirling it in the blender. Do you have any suggestions on how to remedy this situation? Should I use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste? And if we want less tart flavor, for the children’s sake, would you recommend adding some cream or using more sugar or less balsamic vinegar, or ???
Thanks again for being such a ready help in time of need !!
Hi Toni, Glad you like the meatballs, Regarding the sauce, the texture that you’re describing is really just the nature of the glaze. It’s thick by design so that it will stick to the meatballs and not really intended for dipping. That said, you could try thinning it out with a little bit of water. That will serve to thin it and also temper the flavor a little bit. Hope that helps!
Can I use the beef turkey meatballs I made and froze last week …or will that combo alter the taste too much? If so I will get ground chicken!
Thanks
If you already have meatballs, made, I’d go for it. Please LMK what you think!