Chicken Pesto Meatballs
This oven-baked chicken pesto meatball recipe is quick and easy to make with simple, fresh ingredients. Packed with flavor, they’re perfect for meal prep or served over pasta for a delicious weeknight dinner!
Servings 20 meatballs
Calories 69kcal
Equipment
- Food processor
- Large mixing bowl
- Baking sheet
- Digital meat thermometer
Ingredients
For the dairy-free pesto
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the chicken meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ⅓ cup panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup diced shallot
- 2 tablespoon dairy free pesto
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoon water)
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Start by blending the dairy-free pesto ingredients together in a food processor. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil coated with cooking spray.
- To a second mixing bowl, add the chicken meatball ingredients. Using wet hands, mix everything together until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Roll the mixture into about 20 meatballs. Depending how big/small you shape your meatballs, quantity and cook time may vary.
- Bake meatballs for 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown, and a meat thermometers reads an internal temperature of at least 165F.
- Remove the cooked meatballs from the oven, let cool slightly, then toss with prepared pesto sauce. Serve immediately as is, over your favorite pasta, wrapped in a pita, or in a rice bowl.
Notes
If using store-bought pesto: Use 2 tablespoons in meatball mixture and toss cooked meatballs with about ⅓ cup pesto.
