Healthy Chicken Meatballs
A delicious and healthy chicken meatballs recipe, made gluten free and low carb with zucchini and almond flour in place of breadcrumbs. These are seriously addicting! There's something very comforting about Italian food, and this recipe keeps it flavorful and light.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 347kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 cup zucchini finely shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup onion finely minced
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
To Serve
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 2 zucchinis large, spiralized
- parmesan cheese to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Into a mixing bowl, add chicken and all meatball ingredients. Use a spoon to mix it up thoroughly, so the seasonings and zucchini are uniformly mixed.
- Scoop the mixture into balls (about 3 tablespoons each), and roll to form a smooth ball.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat, and drizzle with olive oil.
- Add the meatballs into the pan, giving them space so they brown without steaming.
- When one side of the meatballs have browned, use a fork to gently turn them, and brown on all sides. The meatballs will cook through in about 10 minutes.
- If desired, add marinara sauce, and cook until it's simmering along with the meatballs.
- Spiralize zucchini, and then drizzle zoodles with more Pompeian Smooth Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Toss to coat, and then serve topped with chicken meatballs, marinara, and optional parmesan cheese to garnish.
Video
Notes
Make this Low Carb: We love these served over zoodles! I leave them raw, and then add hot meatballs and sauce over the top. This way, the zoodles retain their crisp texture, but you can still have a hot and comforting dish. Stir fried cauliflower rice is another great low carb or keto option!
Keep this Gluten Free: Use your favorite gluten free pasta.
Make these Paleo: Omit the parmesan cheese, and season with additional salt. Serve them over zoodles or cauliflower rice.
Other Ideas: These healthy chicken meatballs are perfect served over your favorite grains, like rice, wild rice, quinoa or millet.
Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
This meatball recipe works great in an air fryer! Follow the recipe, but cook them in an air fryer rather than a hot skillet.
Step 1: Preheat the air fryer to 370º F for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the zucchini chicken meatballs to the air fryer basket, and air fry for about 12 minutes. If you make smaller meatballs, they will cook more quickly, so check them at 10 minutes to see if they are already cooked through.
How to Store Leftover Chicken Meatballs: Add the meatballs to an air tight container, and refrigerate up to 3 days. These also freeze fabulously! Add to a freezer safe container, and freeze up to 3 months.
How to Reheat Leftovers: Return meatballs to a skillet, and heat over medium high heat for about 10 minutes, or until heated throughout.
If reheating from frozen, defrost them prior to reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1043mg | Potassium: 888mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 385IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 2mg