Easy oven baked chicken meatballs in a delicious tomato sauce that tastes just like Chicken Parmesan! Serve with spaghetti for a simple meal the entire family will love.
Oven Baked Chicken Meatballs
Some people think spaghetti is a boring meal, but it can be an amazing meal if you cover the spaghetti in roasted tomato sauce and tasty chicken meatballs.
In this recipe we’re making flavorful moist meatballs, cooked in a savory sweet tomato sauce. When they’re done, add them to your spaghetti, and you’ll never say spaghetti is boring again! Serve with Italian bread or Garlic Knots for a full meal.
Everyone in the family will love this, from adults to (very very very) picky kids. Even our 1-year-old licks her bowl clean! 🙂
Ingredients to make Chicken Meatballs
This is a pretty simple ingredient meal, most likely you have everything in your kitchen or can pick it up on your next grocery store trip.
- For the meatballs you’ll need ground chicken, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- For the tomato sauce you’ll need crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, minced garlic, sugar, oregano and salt and pepper. Don’t want to make homemade tomato sauce? That’s fine. Use 2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce instead.
How to Bake Meatballs in the Oven
Mix the ingredients for the chicken meatballs, forming them into 1-2 inch meatballs. Set aside until ready to add them in the next step.
Mix all the ingredients for the tomato sauce directly in the baking dish, mixing to thicken it up and break up the tomato paste.
Add meatballs into the baking dish, covering with sauce, and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve as Spaghetti and Meatballs
You can make these meatballs and serve them with egg noodles, rice, or on top of a hoagie for a meatball sub.
What else can you do? Serve as spaghetti and meatballs of course! Cook spaghetti as instructed on the box, drain, and then plate it. Add meatballs and tomato sauce on top and enjoy your dinner!
Help With This Recipe (FAQ)
Can I make this in the slow cooker? Yes! Follow my Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe!
Can I make this with ground turkey instead? Absolutely. Just swap the chicken with turkey.
Can I use a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of making the tomato sauce? You sure can. Or you can try my Roma Tomato Sauce if you really want your socks knocked off (do people still say that?).
Can I add cheese to the meatballs? OF COURSE. Once meatballs are baked, remove aluminum foil and add shredded mozzarella on top of them. Bake for 10 more minutes, or until cheese is completely melted. Want the cheese to be browned? Add an additional 1-2 minutes under the broiler.
More Easy Pasta Meals:
Creamy Chicken Noodles
Tomato Macaroni and Cheese
Italian Sausage Pasta
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Oven Baked Chicken Meatballs (and Spaghetti!)
PrintIngredients
Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Tomato Sauce
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional (if you want spaghetti and meatballs)
- 1 pound box spaghetti
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl add ground chicken, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to fully combine, mixing with your hands. Roll the mixture into 1-2 inch meatballs, and place back in the bowl until we're ready to add them to the baking dish.
- In a 9×13 baking dish, add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, minced garlic, sugar, oregano and salt and pepper. Mix with a spoon to fully combine.
- Add the meatballs into the casserole dish, and use a spoon to add a little bit of sauce on top of each one so they're covered.
- Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until meatballs have an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
- Optional: When there are 15 minutes left on the meatballs, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to box. Drain spaghetti and serve with meatballs and sauce.
Debbie says
So easy and sooo delicious that I couldn’t wait until dinner to eat some.