Best Italian Chicken Meatballs {Paleo, Whole30}

These Italian Chicken Meatballs are the BEST and whole30-compliant. They’re covered in a delicious roasted garlic marinara sauce and made in just one skillet, too. 

This post is sponsored by Lucini Italia. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that help run this site! 

I’m PUMPED to be sharing this recipe with you! Though I have a handful of meatball recipes already on my site, these chicken meatballs are my favorite so far, and they pair perfectly with marinara sauce.

WHY THESE CHICKEN MEATBALLS ARE THE BEST

• First of all, they’re chicken meatballs, so they’re a little better for you right off the bat.
• Secondly, they’re gluten free, dairy free and egg-free, meaning they’re made with ground chicken, spices and almond flour as a bind.
• Third, they’re covered in Lucini Italia sauce, aka my new favorite tomato sauce.

BIG NEWS: Lucini Italia recently received Whole30 certification and is the first and ONLY Whole30 approved olive oil on the market! Yes, really. If you’ve ever done Whole30, you know how frustrating it can be to have to read food labels carefully at the grocery store. But, I’m here to tell you that Lucini sauces have no added sugars and are made with the simplest ingredients.

In this recipe I opted to use their Roasted Garlic Marinara, and the ingredients are tomatoes, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, parsley, basil, oregano, and black pepper, and they’re all organic too.

ITALIAN CHICKEN MEATBALL INGREDIENTS

• ground chicken
• garlic
• parsley
• oregano
• basil
• almond flour
• sea salt

VARIATIONS

Use ground pork or beef in place of chicken. I like chicken because it’s something different and a little bit lighter, but pork of beef work great with the same measurements. Use ANY of the Lucini Italia sauces. I opted for the Roasted Garlic Marinara because hellooooo roasted garlic, but any of the sauces will be delicious in this recipe.

HOW TO MAKE WHOLE30 ITALIAN MEATBALLS

PREPARE THE MEATBALLS

Start by dicing the onion, mincing the garlic and chopping the parsley, then add them to a bowl with the chicken, oregano, basil, salt, and almond flour. Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix everything together, then place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, which will firm it up a bit and make it a little less messy to work with.

Once the 30 minutes has gone by, use your hands or a cookie dough/meatball scoop to form the meatballs.

SEAR THE MEATBALLS

Add a little olive oil (I used Lucini Italia) to a large oven-safe skillet, then place the meatballs directly into the skillet. Turn the heat on medium-high and sear the meatballs on all sides until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes. Then, pour the sauce over top.

BAKE THE MEATBALLS

Baked meatballs are always a good idea, because though the meatballs are seared, they’re probably not cooked all the way through. Baking the meatballs assures that they’re fully cooked. Place the whole skillet into the oven and bake the meatballs for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

So, whether you’re doing whole30 or not, you can be at ease knowing that Lucini uses fresh and REAL ingredients in their sauces, with no added sugars. Seriously, I’m obsessed.

More meatballs recipes

• Lentil Meatballs
• Baked Paleo Meatballs
• Teriyaki Pork Meatballs

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

Best Italian Chicken Meatballs {Paleo, Whole30}

These Italian Chicken Meatballs are the BEST and whole30-compliant. They’re covered in a delicious roasted garlic marinara sauce and made in just one skillet, too. 

4.86 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 16 meatballs

Author: Erin

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 3 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• ½ teaspoon basil
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup almond flour
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups marinara sauce or more
• fresh basil for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Add chicken, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, almond flour, and salt to a large bowl; then, use a spoon or your hands to stir everything together. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow mixture to firm up.
• Remove mixture from refrigerator. At this time you'll want to preheat your oven to 350°. Then, heat 1-2 tablespoon olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Use your hands to form mixture into meatballs, placing the meatballs directly into the skillet. Sear the meatballs for 3-4 minutes until golden brown on all sides.
• Pour sauce into the skillet, then place the whole skillet in the oven and bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes or until they're cooked through.
• Eat the meatballs as-is or on top of zucchini or sweet potato noodles. Serve with fresh basil and enjoy!

Notes

*Calorie count is per meatball

Nutrition

Calories: 58kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 235mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 191IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

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