Best Italian Chicken Meatballs {Paleo, Whole30}
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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
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Best Italian Chicken Meatballs {Paleo, Whole30}
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups marinara sauce, or more
- fresh basil, for garnish
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 tbsp 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
Nutrition
This is a DELICIOUS recipe, thank you!! We will definitely make it again, especially as we’re considering a Whole30 in January. What is the serving size per person (with accompanying nutritional info)? Surely 16 meatballs per person is not a single serving?? Though I wish it were. 😉 Also, you mention chopped onion in the narrative but I don’t believe I see it in the actual recipe, so we didn’t include that ingredient. Still, the meatballs were delicious! We love Cucina Antica sauces (also Whole30 approved) but will have to try the sauce you recommend.
Thanks for the comment — I’m glad you liked the meatballs! The whole recipe makes about 16 meatballs, and the serving size is 4 meatballs (approximately). The calorie count at the bottom of the recipe card is per meatball, so to calculate you’d just have to multiply that by however many meatballs you’re eating (hopefully that makes sense!).
Delicious recipe! My husband loved it, too!
So glad you both enjoyed it!
Sooo delicious! Was a hit with the family! Will make again!
I’m glad the whole family enjoyed them!
Thank you! It wasn’t until I was in the middle of prepping them (aka right now) that I realized it myself, despite reviewing the recipe earlier in the week!
The recipe is missing the oven temperature for baking. Please update.
whoops–thanks for catching that! it’s 350°.