These Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are the perfect family dinner – easy to make and loved by all! This healthy dinner is great for all ages – baby to adults! Made in 30 minutes with only 5 simple ingredients!

Graphic for Post - family favorite chicken parmesan meatballs - one family meal in under 30 minutes. Images are of baby, toddler and kids plate with how you could serve them to each member.

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs for the Entire Family

To say these meatballs are my 5-year-olds favorite dinner is kinda an understatement. She’s obsessed with them 🥰!

If she got her way, we would be having this meal every-single-night of the week 🗓.

And luckily for her, these meatballs are super easy to make, with only 5 ingredients and done in 30 minutes ⏰, and are usually on our weekly meal plan.

Reasons to Love these Meatballs

  • family-favorite: great for baby, toddler, picky eaters, kids and adults
  • 5-ingredient meal
  • great for leftovers
  • made in 30 minutes
  • great for baby-led weaning
  • perfect for meal planning
  • full of protein
  • healthy
  • homemade
bowl filled with ingredients for chicken parmesan meatballs.

Ingredients

  • Ground Chicken: either light or dark meat ground chicken or turkey works great.
  • Parmesan: I prefer to use grated parmesan for this recipe, but shredded would also work if that is all you have on hand.
  • Breadcrumbs: you can use regular, panko or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
  • Egg: one egg is used to bind the mixture together.
  • Spices: we use a combination of Italian seasoning mix, garlic powder and a little salt and pepper. If serving to baby, you can omit the salt on their portion and add a pinch to your portion either in the mixture or on top of the meatballs. If you don’t have an Italian seasoning mix on hand you can use a combination of dried basil, oregano and thyme.

How to Make these Meatballs

  1. In a large bowl, add in all of the ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
  2. Roll the mixture into 1″ round balls.
  3. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or pan fry the balls in batches.
  4. Serve and enjoy!
  • Ingredients for chicken parmesan meatballs mixed together.
  • chicken meatballs on a cutting board rolled into balls
  • Chicken Parmesan meatballs cooked on the stove top.
  • chicken parmesan cooked in the oven.

Substitutions

Dairy-Free: you can use a dairy-free parmesan for this recipe.
Gluten-Free: feel free to use gluten-free breadcrumbs in this recipe (that is what I used above).
Ground Meat: you can use either ground chicken or turkey for these meatballs.

How to Serve these Meatballs

  • Pasta Night: simmer the meatballs in your favorite tomato sauce and serve with pasta.
  • Pizza Night: chop and add to the top of your favorite pizza.
  • Sammie Night: make an Italian sub sandwich, preferably toasted with lots of cheese.
  • Dipping Dinner: serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
  • An image showing you how you can serve these chicken parmesan meatballs to baby, especially if you are doing baby-led weaning.
  • A plate with these meatballs and sides for toddler.
  • Picky Eater plate on how to serve these chicken meatballs to a kid that isn't into them.
  • A kids plate showing how you can serve this meal to a kid or adult.

How to Serve this Meal to the Family

Of course, there are so many ways you can serve these meatballs to your family. Here is just one example of how you can take this one meal and serve it to your entire family.

Baby-Led Weaning or Finger Foods

Slice the meatballs into strips or chop into “pea” size pieces. Serve with plain pasta, butter pasta or pasta with a little sauce. Serving noodles with a sauce can sometimes be hard for baby to grip as they are slippery, so go with whatever works for your baby. Another tip is to serve baby shaped pasta and not spaghetti, as shapes are easier to pick up and eat. Add in a few quartered blueberries to round out the meal.

Toddler

Chopped meatballs, pasta with sauce with a pinch of parmesan and sliced blueberries. A fun way for toddlers to get involved with this meal is to have them add a pinch of parmesan to the top of their pasta and meatballs (and all over their plate 😜). This small action can engage them with their food and make it less scary and intimidating.

Picky Eater

Plain or butter pasta with a tomato dipping sauce, meatballs with a fun food pick and a big serving of blueberries. This is the same meal as the family, just with different elements to make it feel not overwhelming for a picky child.

Kids

Pasta with whole meatballs and a pinch of parmesan, green salad and a cup of blueberries. This plate is looking exactly like an adult plate. My oldest loves salad so she usually asks for a big portion. If your kid is new to salads you an put their portion in a small flower cup to make it look special. We always have balsamic vinegar and ranch on the table for our kids to add on their own.

Adults

My plate would look exactly like the kid’s plate with just more food on it.

Tools I used

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Get the recipe: Chicken Parmesan Meatballs for the Whole Family

5 stars (31 ratings)
These Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are the perfect family dinner – easy to make and loved by all! This healthy dinner is great for all ages – baby to adults! Made in 30 minutes with only 5 simple ingredients!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Author: Michele Olivier
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Print Recipe Leave a Review

Ingredients 

Instructions 

Baking

  • If baking, preheat oven to 400° F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and coat with a little cooking spray.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients. Mix together with your hands or a spatula until just incorporated.
  • Roll the mixture into 1" balls – roughly 25 balls. Place on the baking sheet.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until done all the way through.

Pan Frying

  • In a medium mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients. Mix together with your hands or a spatula
  • Roll the mixture into 1" balls – roughly 25 balls. Place on the baking sheet.
  • Heat 1-2 tbsp oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, cook 9-11 meatballs at a time for 3-4 minutes per side or until they are all the way cooked through. Repeat the process until they are all cooked.

Notes

Age: 6 months and up (see pictures above)
Yield: roughly 24-28 meatballs depending on size. 
Notes on Italian seasoning: if you don’t have Italian seasoning you can use a mixture of dried oregano, basil and thyme. 
Notes on Chicken: you can also use ground turkey in this recipe. I prefer using the dark meat for both chicken or turkey as it has more flavor. 
How to Freeze and Thaw: there are 2 options for freezing. Option 1 – after rolling the meatballs, you can place the raw meatballs onto a baking sheet and place in freezer until frozen before moving them to an air-tight container. To thaw, you can simply place the frozen meatballs on a baking sheet and bake as directe above. Option 2 – bake the meatballs, let cool and then place in an air-tight container. You can thaw the frozen meatballs by placing them into simmering tomto sauce, mircrowave for 1-2 mintues or until warm, or bake at 350 degree F for 8-10 minutes or until warm. 
 
Serving: 1meatball, Calories: 58kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 6.9g, Fat: 2.5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 66mg, Potassium: 52mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 0.2g, Calcium: 38mg

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