Description
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs combine the best of chicken parm with everything you love about meatballs into a perfectly compact, crunchy, and cheesy version of your favorite Italian foods! They make a delicious appetizer for a big Italian meal at home, or they’re perfect for dinner.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Microplane
- Box grater
- Deep dishes or 1/8th baking sheets for dredging station
- Heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven
- Deep fry thermometer
- Metal skimmer
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 6–8 oz low moisture block of mozzarella, divided
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano, divided
- 1 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 eggs, divided
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 quart vegetable or canola oil
- 2 cups your favorite sauce (like my pomodoro sauce)
Instructions
- Shred and cube the mozzarella. Cut about 1/3 of the block of mozzarella and shred it. Reserve about 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella for the meatball mixture. Cut the other 2/3 of mozzarella into about 10 half-inch cubes. This will be used to stuff the center of each meatball.
- Make the meatball mixture. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan, 1/4 cup panko, garlic, 1 egg, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together.
- Form the meatballs. Take about 2 oz of the meat mixture and flatten it in the palm of your hand. Add a cube of mozzarella to the center, then gently fold the meat around the mozzarella and press firmly to ensure there are no cracks. With 1 pound of meat, you’ll make about 9-10 balls about the size of a golf ball.
- Set up a dredging station. Set up three separate bowls (I like to use these 1/8th sheet baking trays)–one for flour, one for 2 beaten eggs, and one for 1 cup of panko and 1/4 cup parmesan. Season all three with salt and pepper. Then, roll each ball in flour, then egg, then panko, using one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for the egg to try to minimize getting ingredients stuck to your fingers.
- Deep fry the meatballs. Add oil to a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium if the oil is heating too fast. Use a deep fry thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil. Once it reaches 350ºF, gently place 4-5 meatballs into the pot, rolling the meatballs around every few minutes to ensure even cooking. Cook the meatballs for 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Let the meatballs cool on a wire rack. Once you take the first batch of meatballs out of the oil, let the temperature come to 350ºF again before cooking the next batch.
- Serve and enjoy! Add a generous spoonful of tomato sauce (like my easy pomodoro sauce) to a bowl, then add three meatballs to the bowl. Top with grated parmesan and some fresh chopped parsley or basil and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 839
- Sugar: 8.9 g
- Sodium: 1248.3 mg
- Fat: 43 g
- Carbohydrates: 81.3 g
- Protein: 46.6 g
- Cholesterol: 328.8 mg