For the tastiest, moist, tender chicken meatballs, look no further my friends. Enter Chicken Pesto Meatballs. These delicious meatballs, as most dinners, were born out of the need to use what was on hand. I figured I’d make meatballs out of ground chicken that I had in the fridge..but let’s face it. They always turn out rather dry. The secret ingredient? Pesto! Either store bought or homemade. Plus the pesto also gives the meatballs a giant boost of flavor. These are perfect in your favorite marinara sauce to serve over pasta or also great for a meatball sub with some sauce, and some melty provolone.
What you are getting here are moist, tender, flavorful Chicken Pesto Meatballs. You can definitely use turkey and I think even ground beef would work. (I’ve not tried beef, yet.) I also really love the lighter texture given by the use of Panko breadcrumbs. These are Japanese style breadcrumbs that are a larger, almost flake consistency. I use them a lot around here.
An added bonus is that this is a super easy recipe to pull together. The only thing that you need is a little patience for cooking them. You want them brown, but you want them thoroughly cooked especially if you are not adding to a sauce. And for the triple bonus? They freeze well. Yes! I work full time and there is nothing better than having items in the freezer you can just pull and reheat or add to something. So I think these are a bit of a trifecta.
As you can see here, all the ingredients are added to a bowl and are mixed well. Be generous with your Pesto. I prefer the consistency of Mezzetta Basil Pesto. This is made in California, and I’m not sure how far their distribution goes. I love this for store bought. I also use this in the Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches with Asiago and Pesto, and it’s texture works perfectly here too.
I also use a small ice cream scoop so my meatballs are consistent in size and will help in overall cooking.
I’ve included photos of the meatballs baked and fried. My preferred method is frying them. The extra olive oil in the frying process adds to the moisture.
Here is a pic of the baked Chicken Pesto Meatballs. Note that they brown only on the bottom. However, these are still perfect to add to sauce. Be sure not to overcook though as they will dry out.
Here is a photo of meatballs frying. You can see how the overall browning happens. Once they are done, check for the correct temperature which is 165 degrees.
And finally the finished and incredibly tasty Chicken Pesto Meatballs!
Enjoy!
Chicken Pesto Meatballs
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken ground
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 3 tbsp pesto, generous tablespoons store bought
- 1 egg whisked
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tsp salt kosher
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/3 cup olive oil for frying
Instructions
For fried meatballs:
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly.
- Heat skillet with 1/3 cup of olive oil.
- Form meatballs. For this recipe and cooking times, mine are about 1 1/2 inches. I use a small ice cream scoop to for uniformity of size. This will also allow for uniform cooking.
- Cook the meatballs in batches ensuring there is enough room in between to allow for browning.
- Check for doneness. Tempature should be 165 degrees.
- Remove and either add to sauce or allow to cool and freeze for a later date.
For baking:
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly.
- Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Form meatballs. For this recipe and cooking times, mine are about 1 1/2 inches. I use a small ice cream scoop to for uniformity of size. This will also allow for uniform cooking.
- I spray them with a Misto spray bottle that has olive oil. I spray the tops of the meatballs.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Check for doneness which is 165 degrees.
- Once they are done, add to your sauce or allow to cool and freeze for a later date.
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