Ground chicken meatballs are moist, juicy, and ready in just 15 minutes. These delicious gluten-free meatballs are perfect for serving with spaghetti, salad, or as a healthy appetizer for your next game day party.
Once, not too long ago, when I made these ground chicken balls, I was on auto-pilot and instead of grabbing Worcestershire sauce, I picked up the soy sauce bottle and liberally poured it into the meatball mixture.
I saw what I had done and nearly poured it out of the mixture, but instead thought to myself, “Hmmm, this could be interesting.” Sure enough, the flavor of these moist chicken meatballs, I decided it wasn’t a mistake but a delightful inspiration disguised as an error. I continue to make these meatballs just like this and haven’t looked back.
The other secret ingredient is almond flour. I wanted to lessen my gluten and carbohydrate intake but if you don’t have almond flour, you can use either regular breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs and still get moist and flavorful meatballs!
Be warned that Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce usually have gluten so this easy recipe is not gluten free.
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Helpful tips
- You can substitute any ground meat like ground turkey, ground beef, and ground pork for this recipe but I’ve found that when I use chicken, it makes for the moistest meatballs.
- I use dried basil and tarragon for the herbs but if you’d like to substitute oregano or parsley instead of basil, go for it.
- Even though I add soy sauce which has sodium, I find that I need to add ½ teaspoon of salt.
- You could use a spatula to mix the ingredients together, but I use my hands because I want to feel the texture as I work with the meat.
- The meatballs tend to be somewhat sticky when you form the balls. It makes for moist meatballs.
- To make this truly gluten free, use a gluten free Worcestershire and soy sauce.
- These meatballs keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Just place them in an airtight glass container. You can even freeze them for up to 3 months.
How to make ground chicken meatballs
Pre-step
Get out a large mixing bowl, sauté pan and spatula.
Step one
Gather the ingredients – lean ground chicken, almond flour, flax seed, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, tarragon, an egg, mustard, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
Step two
Grab a large bowl and place all the ingredients in it. I start out with ½ a cup of almond flour/or breadcrumbs but I usually have to add more. All told, it probably ends up being ¾ of a cup.
Step three
Take a dollop of chicken mixture in your hands, roll it between your palms and place each meatball on a large plate until all the mixture is gone. The meatballs should be about 1 and ½ inches in diameter.
Step four
Heat up a heavy sauté pan and put a few tablespoons of olive oil in it. Once the oil has heated up place all of the meatballs in the pan and start frying them.
Step five
Stand there as they cook and turn them every few minutes so each side browns up. They take around 10 minutes to fully cook.
All that is left is to plate them and serve them. This chicken meatball recipe is perfect with garlic pasta or zucchini noodles to make it even healthier.
I hope you enjoyed this ground chicken meatballs recipe.
Do you prefer chicken, turkey or beef meatballs? Leave me a comment to tell me.
Other popular meatball recipes
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!
Ground Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ½ cup almond flour (½ – ¾ cup – depending on the consistency)
- 1 tablespoons olive oil (for sautéing)
Instructions
- In a large bowl place ground chicken and add the rest of the ingredients – start with ½ cup of almond flour, add more if it is too wet.1 pound ground chicken, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried tarragon, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 egg, ½ cup almond flour
- Mix with hands, then roll chicken mixture between palms into 1 ½ inch in diameter meatballs.
- Heat heavy sauté pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil and once that has heated up, place the meatballs in the pan.1 tablespoons olive oil
- Stand over them and flip as it browns, browning all sides. Cook for 10 minutes total.
- Serve
- Bite
- Enjoy
Equipment
See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!Notes
Nutrition
Originally published in March of 2016.
Joyce
Haha! I reached for the wrong bottle recently but mine didn’t come out good. I look forward to trying your recipe!
Elaine
Oh no, Joyce! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Jill
Great flavor in these meatballs. They do look especially delicious!
Elaine
Thank you Jill! 🙂
Sharon
I”m always looking for new and exciting meatballs recipes, this one will be a hit with my family!
Elaine
Thank you, Sharon! I appreciate it! And I bet they will be a hit with your family! They are with mine.
Sophia
These look so easy and tasty! And healthy! I love the use of almond flour instead of breadcrumbs. Yum!
Elaine
Thanks so much Sophia! I love swapping in almond flour!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
I have never used almond flour in ANY meatballs. Sounds like a plan. I can see how the soy sauce would pair so well…almonds and soy do work well together. I would stuff these in a sub and call it dinner.
Elaine
Thanks, Gloria! Yes a sub with these meatballs are perfect! I love dipping them in a pesto sauce too!
Roxana
Love this recipe. Definitely a must try. Your instructions are so simple too. Would be great for a snack or even in a gravy.
Elaine
Thanks Roxana! Mmm. A gravy would be perfect!
Monica | Nourish + Fete
I love the flavors here, and the idea of swapping in almond flour for a small way to reduce carbs and gluten! Such an easy thing I just never thought of before. These are a great easy dinner, especially since my little one loves meatballs!
Elaine
Thanks so much, Monica! They are so tasty!
Dan from Platter Talk
We are huge fans of meatballs and I’m always looking for new ways to use ground chicken and so your recipe is definitely a keeper in my book. Looking forward to trying and thanks so much for sharing!
Elaine
Thank you Dan! I appreciate it.
Carrie | Clean Eating Kitchen
These look like some really flavorful meatballs, and a great alternative to red meat! So versatile, I’ll give these a go in the next couple of weeks!
Elaine
Yay!! Thanks Carrie!
Denise
I love meatballs, they are so versatile. They can be the main dish, or a snack! This recipe sounds delicious.
Elaine
Thank you Denise!
Analida Braeger
Very unique and tasty recipe i am always looking for ways to spice up and put a change on the age old classic meat ball ! Also great description !
Elaine
Thanks Analida! I love changing up recipes too!
Lorie
All I need is some ground chicken and these meatballs will be mine!!! Any recipe with Worcestershire sauce is an instant fave of mine!!
Elaine
Hehe. Thanks Lorie!!
JO
Meatballs looks absolutely delicious! A huge meatballs fan here and I can’t seem to have enough of meatball recipes to try. Saving this version to try later
Elaine
Thanks so much Jo!
Betty Gabriel
These look so tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Elaine
Thanks Betty!
Aleksandra
I made them and they were delicious and simple. Definitely will make it again! Thank you for the recipe
Elaine
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Aleksandra!! I love to hear when people make my recipes.
Marisa F. Stewart
LOL! Some of the best recipes comes from mistakes. I would have done the same as you — continued on and see what turns out. We’ve gotten on a kick of using more chicken as in chicken sausage. We haven’t done the meatballs yet. Your recipe is going to be the first one we do.
Elaine
Thanks so much Marisa! Isn’t it the truth! Sometimes food mistakes become my favorites!
Natalie
My kid loves meatballs for dinner. This chicken version sounds so delicious and flavorful. I must save this recipe and give it a try. It’s perfect healthy and quick family meal.
Elaine
Thanks Natalie! It definitely is quick and easy! 🙂
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
Meatballs are always a favourite in my house. I have never made chicken meatballs before, but I am definitely interested now!
Elaine
They are so good Cathleen! So delicious!
Daniela
Loved reading this post Elaine and I love when a happy accident turns out deliciously! Thanks for sharing this meatball recipe I’m super inspired to try it :).
Elaine
Thank you Daniela! I appreciate it. I hope you enjoy it if you do try it.
Jagruti Dhanecha
These low carb meatballs packed with flavours, loving all the herbs gone into making this recipe, such a great recipe to keep.
Elaine
Thanks so much Jagruti! 🙂
Restaurants in Baguio by Mae
Tried making chicken meatballs however the outcome is disaster. Gonna try making them again following your recipe. Thank you for sharing this one.
Elaine
I hope you enjoy them Mae!
sheenam | thetwincookingproject
Love chicken meatballs. This looks so yumm.
Elaine
Thanks so much Sheenam!
Suzanne Rogers
Hi there, do you mean dry mustard or prepared yellow mustard? Thank you.
Elaine
Suzanne, I use Gulden’s prepared mustard, but yellow works fine too.