Now that it’s fall, it is the perfect time for me to share one of my go-to quick weeknight dinners: Chicken Pesto Meatballs.
This recipe for Chicken Pesto Meatballs is equally easy, quick, and delicious – you’ll be amazed at how flavorful these meatballs are!
The below recipes serves the meatballs with a pesto pasta, but we have also enjoyed the chicken pesto meatballs on a bed of salad greens, with rice and vegetables, or on their own as an appetizer.
Ingredients:
Chicken Pesto Meatballs:
- 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pesto (if buying store bought, I strongly suggest going to the prepared foods section of the supermarket to see if they have any freshly made pesto rather than jarred)
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Pesto Pasta:
- 16 oz pasta of your choice (my favorites are fusilli and orzo for this recipe)
- 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pesto
To make the chicken pesto meatballs, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
To a bowl, add the pesto, panko, egg, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Stir until fully combined.
Add in the ground chicken and parmesan and mix until just combined (you don’t want to overmix them or the meatballs could be tough).
Using a medium cookie scoop (paid link), form the mixture into balls and add to a cookie sheet (paid link) – you’ll end up with 24 to 30 meatballs so you might need two cookie sheets.
Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until the meatballs reach 165 degrees F (using an instant read thermometer, paid link, is useful here). Let the meatballs rest for 5 minutes.
While the meatballs rest, stir the remaining pesto into the pasta until combined.
Serve the meatballs on top of the pesto pasta.
The meatballs are so juicy and the pesto flavor with a touch of heat from the red pepper flakes makes it hard not to gobble up these Chicken Pesto Meatballs!
They can also be made ahead and reheated for future meals.
Chicken Pesto Meatballs
Ingredients
Chicken Pesto Meatballs:
- 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pesto if buying store bought, I strongly suggest going to the prepared foods section of the supermarket to see if they have any freshly made pesto rather than jarred
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Pesto Pasta:
- 16 oz pasta of your choice my favorites are fusilli and orzo for this recipe
- 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pesto
Instructions
- To make the chicken pesto meatballs, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
- To a bowl, add the pesto, panko, egg, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Stir until fully combined.
- Add in the ground chicken and parmesan and mix until just combined (you don’t want to overmix them or the meatballs could be tough).
- Using a medium cookie scoop, form the mixture into balls and add to a cookie sheet – you’ll end up with 24 to 30 meatballs so you might need two cookie sheets.
- Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until the meatballs reach 165 degrees F (using an instant read thermometer is useful here). Let the meatballs rest for 5 minutes.
- While the meatballs rest, stir the remaining pesto into the pasta until combined.
- Serve the meatballs on top of the pesto pasta.
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