If you’ve been around for a while then you probably know how much we love meatball recipes over here at Budget Bytes. And for good reason. They’re easy to make, extremely versatile, budget-friendly, and perfect for meal prep. And with grocery prices still rising, I’ve been leaning even more towards cheaper ingredients that I can turn into a delicious meal. Which is why these chicken meatballs made with ground chicken and served in a delicious cream sauce were a huge hit! They’re tender, flavorful, and quick enough to make any day of the week.
Ingredients For Chicken Meatballs
These chicken meatballs are easy to make and are made similar to our turkey meatballs. However, I wanted a creamy sauce to go with them to add more moisture and flavor to the meatballs. So here’s all the ingredients that you’ll need:
- Ground Chicken: I used 92% lean ground chicken, which keeps the flavor light but still has enough fat to keep the meatballs from drying out. I don’t suggest using 98% lean ground chicken breast – it is too lean and does not have enough fat to keep the meatballs tender and moist. So be careful when you’re buying your meat so you don’t accidentally pick up the wrong package.
- Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs combine with the egg to help bind the ground chicken together to keep the meatballs from falling apart. They also hold moisture, which helps keep the meatballs tender.
- Egg: The egg combines with the breadcrumbs to bind the meatballs together and prevent them from falling apart.
- Seasoning: The meatballs are seasoned with a blend of Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Parmesan Cheese: Parmesan gives an extra boost of rich umami flavor to the meatballs, making them super delicious!
- Worcestershire Sauce: Just a little bit of Worcestershire sauce adds even more umami flavor to these meatballs.
- Cream Sauce: The creamy sauce starts with garlic sautéed in a little butter, then chicken broth, heavy cream and seasoning is added. A little bit of lemon juice adds a touch of bright, fresh flavor to the sauce. Everything simmers together with the meatballs until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
Can I Bake The Meatballs?
Yes, if you prefer to bake chicken meatballs in the oven instead of using a skillet, simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake in a preheated 400ºF oven for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 165ºF. Keep in mind that baked meatballs will not achieve the nice browning on the outside that you get with cooking in a skillet. The browned surface does provide additional flavor. I also chose to cook these meatballs in a skillet to keep everything in one pan since I was making a cream sauce to go with them.
Serving Suggestions
What I love about meatballs is that they’re so versatile! I served these tasty chicken meatballs with the cream sauce over a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes. But you can also switch out the sauce and serve them with a homemade marinara sauce over a bed of pasta or make meatballs subs with some hoagie rolls. They would also be great in a pot of soup like Minestrone or served with some veggie noodles. The options really are endless!
Chicken Meatballs in Cream Sauce
Servings 5 (4-5 meatballs each)Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs ($0.30)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 3 Tbsp grated parmesan ($0.33)
- 1 lb. ground chicken ($4.49)
- 1 large egg ($0.17)
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
Cream Sauce
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth ($0.25)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream ($0.74)
- 1/4 tsp oregano ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp grated parmesan ($0.22)
- 1/2 lemon* (optional) ($0.79)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and parmesan.
- Add the ground chicken to a separate large bowl along with the egg, Worcestershire sauce, and breadcrumb mixture. Use your hands to mix everything together until evenly combined. Try not to overmix as this can make the meatballs tough.
- Divide and shape the meat mixture into 24 meatballs, about two tablespoons each.
- In a large skillet add the cooking oil and heat over medium. Once hot add the meatballs and cook in 2 batches (about 12 meatballs at a time). Cook the meatballs in the hot skillet until browned on all sides and cooked through (about 2 minutes each side). Add a little more cooking oil for the 2nd batch of meatballs if needed. Remove the cooked meatballs to a clean plate and set aside.
- Now make the cream sauce. In the same skillet, add the butter and minced garlic. Turn the heat down to medium-low and sauté the garlic for one minute until fragrant.
- Next add the chicken broth, heavy cream, oregano, salt, pepper, grated parmesan and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add all of the meatballs back to the skillet and toss in the sauce. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley on top (optional). Enjoy with pasta, mashed potatoes, or your favorite side.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Creamy Chicken Meatballs – Step by Step Photos
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 3 Tbsp grated parmesan.
Add 1 lb. ground chicken to a separate large bowl along with 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and breadcrumb mixture. Use your hands to mix everything together until evenly combined. Try not to overmix as this can make the meatballs tough.
Divide and shape the meat mixture into 24 meatballs, about two tablespoons each.
In a large skillet add 2 Tbsp cooking oil and heat over medium. Once hot add the meatballs and cook in 2 batches (about 12 meatballs at a time). Cook the meatballs in the hot skillet until browned on all sides and cooked through (about 2 minutes each side). Add a little more cooking oil for the 2nd batch of meatballs if needed.
Remove the cooked meatballs to a clean plate and set aside.
Now make the cream sauce. In the same skillet, add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 minced garlic clove. Turn the heat down to medium-low and sauté the garlic for one minute until fragrant.
Next add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 2 Tbsp grated parmesan and 2 Tbsp of lemon juice (about half a lemon). Stir to combine.
Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add all of the meatballs back to the skillet and toss in the sauce. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley on top (optional). Enjoy with pasta, mashed potatoes, or your favorite side.
Made this tonight for supper. The meatballs were good, but the sauce did not thicken at all. It was more like a soup and didn’t coat the meatballs whatsoever.
I used this recipe as wonderful inspiration to suit our long time no land meat, lower cholesterol diet and the dish still came out SO rich and delicious! First, I baked off a package of Trader Joe’s vegan meatballs. Then I made the cream sauce by sautéing extra garlic in 1 TBSP Earth Balance. I used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken broth and replaced the 1/2 cup of dairy cream with 2/3 cup of homemade cashew cream. I added a heaping 1/2 tsp of oregano and several shakes of thyme to the cream sauce along with the S&P. I skipped the lemon juice. When the sauce was done I tossed the meatballs in and then immediately served it over brown rice with sautéed green beans on the side. NO ONE would have known this was dairy free. It was that rich and that good! My husband and granddaughter absolutely loved it! As did I. Thank you!
This was really delicious and I’ll definitely be making it again (I subbed ground turkey for ground chicken since that’s what I had). We had the meatballs for dinner last night over mashed potatoes with a side of steamed broccoli. I did add a bit of a cornstarch slurry to the sauce to thicken it a bit. Really tasty! Thank you.
I made this yesterday and I liked it though it didn’t look quite yours. I burned the garlic cause the pan was too hot so it looked a bit more like Marsala sauce but still tasted good. Was the parmesean cheese supposed to be added to the meatballs? I see it listed as an ingredient, but it’s never listed in the item instructions except for putting it into the cream sauce.
Thanks for the heads up, Lauren! It should go in both the meatballs and sauce. It’s fixed now!