Our family is always on the hunt for really easy dinner recipes. Bonus points if they are both kid-friendly and somewhat healthy! These pesto chicken meatballs fit the bill and have become a family favorite.
They require minimal ingredients and only a few minutes of prep. If that doesn’t sell you, this recipe balances light ground chicken, tasty pesto, a little breadcrumb for structure, and just enough cheese to make them taste cozy. Serve them over pasta, tuck into bowls with veggies, or set them out with toothpicks for an easy appetizer to nibble on.
If you love these, you are sure to love our other flavorful meatball recipes: Pineapple Meatballs, Porcupine Meatballs, and Bisquick Sausage Balls.
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Fast. Ready in 30 minutes, you can have a hot and delicious dinner on even the busiest of days.
- Simple. Mix, roll, bake, and no special tools needed, making these perfect for even beginner cooks.
- Perfect for hosting. They can be made ahead and kept warm for easy serving as an appetizer or the main dish!
Chicken Pesto Meatball Ingredients
- Ground chicken (1 pound) – Chicken is a lean protein that stays tender when mixed with pesto, it absorbs flavor beautifully. Ground chicken goes well with the pesto flavor in these meatballs, but you could also use ground turkey, pork, or beef
- Shallot, minced (1) – This adds gentle onion sweetness and moisture without overpowering the basil.
- Panko breadcrumbs (¾ cup) – Panko is a light binder that keeps the meatballs soft, helps them hold shape.
- Grated Parmesan (¼ cup) – Savory, salty depth, also helps the meatballs brown and set.
- Basil pesto, fresh or store bought (¼ cup) – This is the flavor star, bringing basil, garlic, and olive oil to season the whole mixture.
- Egg (1) – Binds the mix so meatballs don’t crumble while baking.
- Salt (¼ teaspoon) – Enhances every flavor note, especially the basil and cheese.
- Black pepper (¼ teaspoon) – Adds a mellow warmth that rounds out the herbs.
How to Make Pesto Meatballs
PREP. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, set aside.
MIX. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, shallot, breadcrumbs, parmesan, pesto, egg, salt, and pepper. Using a spatula or your hands, mix until combined.
FORM. Roll mixture into balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Place onto prepared baking sheet and lightly spray with oil (I prefer using pure avocado oil).
BAKE. Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
SERVE. Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite pasta dish or steamed veggies.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- These chicken meatballs are the perfect addition to any pasta, rice, or veggie dish. Even the pickiest of eaters will love them!
- Mixing just until ingredients are evenly combined helps keep the meatballs tender.
- If you want to sneak in extra veggies, stir in finely shredded spinach, carrots, or zucchini.
- Sear the meatballs in a skillet for a few minutes before adding them to the crock pot. Mix ¼ cup pesto with 1 cup chicken broth and pour over the meatballs. Cook on LOW for 4–5 hours or on HIGH for 2–3 hours until fully cooked.
- You can use your favorite store pesto sauce or make Homemade Basil Pesto.
Chicken Pesto Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 shallot, minced
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup basil pesto, fresh or store-bought
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, set aside.
- In medium mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, shallot, breadcrumbs, parmesan, pesto, egg, salt and pepper. Using a spatula or your hands, mix until combined.
- Roll mixture into balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Place onto prepared baking sheet and lightly spray with oil (I prefer using pure avocado oil).
- Place into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite pasta dish or steamed veggies.
Notes
- These chicken meatballs are the perfect addition to any pasta, rice, or veggie dish. Even the pickiest of eaters will love them!
- Mixing just until ingredients are evenly combined helps keep the meatballs tender.
- If you want to sneak in extra veggies, stir in finely shredded spinach, carrots, or zucchini.
- Sear the meatballs in a skillet for a few minutes before adding them to the crock pot. Mix ¼ cup pesto with 1 cup chicken broth and pour over the meatballs. Cook on LOW for 4–5 hours or on HIGH for 2–3 hours until fully cooked.
-
- You can use your favorite store pesto sauce or make Homemade Basil Pesto.
- To bake from frozen, bake at 400°F for about 22 to 28 minutes for 1½ inch meatballs. Rotate the pan halfway. For extra color, broil 1 to 2 minutes at the end.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Place meatballs on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once solid transfer them to a freezer-safe plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
To bake from frozen, bake at 400°F for about 22 to 28 minutes for 1½ inch meatballs. Rotate the pan halfway. For extra color, broil 1 to 2 minutes at the end.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Complete the Meal
Sides to Serve
Garlic Bread Recipe
20 mins
Baked Parmesan Asparagus
25 mins
Caesar Salad Cups
14 mins
Baked Zucchini Fries
30 mins
Pesto Dishes
Collections
This post was originally published December 2017.
These are so good!
So happy you loved them! Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
Wow this recipe is delicious, the meatballs were tender and juicy, perfect flavor, I made a side of pasta
Do you let them thaw before baking, if you freeze them? Or do you just cook them longer from frozen?
If baking raw frozen meatballs them straight from the freezer, place the frozen meatballs on a lined baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked through. No need to thaw first.
Love these and have made several times! Last time, I had some roasted garlic and added that to the meatball mixture and it was so delicious. The roasted garlic ‘paste’ enhanced the flavor beautifully!
Thanks for the garlic tip, and I’m happy to hear you love the recipe so much.
Super good– I served with chickpea pasta with the leftover pesto last night. I did add a minced clove of garlic to the meatballs which made them taste amazing!
Sounds delicious! I’m happy to hear the recipe was a hit.
Delicious!!!!
I followed the recipe. Will make often .
Thank you for sharing 😋
Happy to share! I am so glad you think that! Thank you for letting me know!
I needed to use almond flour. After some experimentation, I increased the pesto a lot (whole jar – 1 cup)and used 1 and 1/2 cups almond flour. This was all for the dbl recipe. No xanthan gun was needed, and the extra pesto gave moisture to the almond flour.
Thanks for sharing what you did!
Great recipe! Found they are actually better the next day!!
I absolutely love these !! They are my lunch everyday for months now ! Thank you for this recipe ,I make them with a salad .
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
My Italian husband doesn’t like any meatball that isn’t made from pork and beef. To my surprise, he said he loved these meatballs! Winner!
Wonderful!!!
I’m focusing on lean proteins in 2024 and these meatballs were absolutely delicious! I used store bought pesto (Butoni) and added a handful of fresh parsley, only because I had some in the fridge. Otherwise I made them as directed.
For meal preppers – I used a s/m cookie scoop and my batch made 24 balls that reheated beautifully in the air fryer. I assume they’d be just fine from the microwave too.
I’m definitely going to prep another batch and double some for the freezer!
There is a pop up add that keeps showing up and I CANT continue to content. Pretty frustrating.
Super quick to throw together on a busy weeknight! Plus they are delicious and my whole family loved them! 5 stars!
5 stars! The whole family loved them!
I don’t normally post but I had to tell you that I made these last night and my three super picky kids devoured them. I doubled the recipe and- empty platter!! Love your site and so many of your recipes. Thx for helping me get through the dinner doldrums!!!
Will make this for sure looks delicious & then I will send another comment
This is a hit in our house – all my kids love these meatballs. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made these last night and they were delicious! My husband enjoyed too and I’m happy we can have them again tonight! Chicken has gotten so expensive, but Trader Joe’s still has ground chicken for $3.99, so it’s an inexpensive meal too!
Good to know! I’m so glad you both enjoyed the meatballs!
What a nice departure from beef meatballs (which we love).
This recipe is a keeper.
I did add fresh basil since we have it in our garden.
Hubby loved them & especially love a healthy version that is so tasty.
Kudos
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the meatballs. I bet the addition of basil was tasty!
Mean the meatballs be cooked in an air fryer? Has anyone tried that?
Yes, they could. I haven’t tried it, but I imagine they would be delicious. You’ll have to let us know how they turn out if you give it a try!
A different twist on meatballs and the family loved them!
This recipe is delicious. The best part is there are minimal ingredients needed and it’s quick to throw together on busy nights.
I rarely follow recipes exactly. This one was logical and made sense…So I decided to make it almost verbatim. It was Excellent! My family and I enjoyed it very much. It is notable to say you can easily duplicate this recipe anytime and it will be equally as good every time. Cudo’s to you on a well written and nicely flavored recipe.
Thank you so much!! Sure appreciate your kind words. I’m so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed the recipe!
Tasty. Easy. Quick. Winner on all fronts. Served it with spaghetti dressed with pesto and small green salad.
Mmm sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed the meatballs!
My picky husband loved these ! Used ground turkey because the store didn’t have ground chicken . Sooooo good 👍
I have made chicken meatballs a few times and they tend to turn out dry and flavorless. The addition of the pesto fixed both of those issues. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the pesto addition! Thanks for sharing.
Made these tonight. They were FANTASTIC!!! Kid liked them.
I’m so happy the kids liked them! That’s always a big bonus in my book. 🙂
These Chicken Pesto Meatballs have the best flavor and I love that they’re a bit healthier too! One of our favorite recipes!!
So glad it’s one of your favorites! Thanks for sharing!
Yummy! We served these meatballs over rice. They were so easy to make and absolutely a delicious dinner! Oure entire family ate it up. No leftovers. I’ll have to double it next time!!
I’m so happy your family enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
One of my absolute favorite pasta sauces! So good in the meatballs! Love the delicious flavor combination of chicken and pesto in one meatball. So easy to make. I could easily make a double batch and throw some in the freezer for another time! Family loved it. So delicious!
So easy and tasty! My husband was hesitant upon hearing the recipe but qent back for seconds! Thanks for the quick, flavorful recipe!
You made my day! Thanks for letting me know!
These were soooo delicious. I cooked them in a cupcake tray so they retained Even more MOISTURE. A new favourite for us! Thankyou!
Good idea! Thank you for letting me know that!
FABULOUS! I added some garlic, basil & oregAno to my meatballs. WonderFul recipe!
Yum! I am so glad you liked them, as much as we do! Thank you!
Really delicious recipe, thank you!
You are so welcome! Thank you for trying them!
Very easy recipe and
So Fast, too! Everyone
enjoyed them, even,
my grandson!
Thanks,
Sheree
Glad he did!! Thank you for trying this recipe!
Tried these aNd they were OUTSTANDING!! Ive been making homemade Pesto for years so this is exciting! Do you think i could make a batch but freeze them before they are cooked? I’d love to have these handy On a busy weeknight.
Yay!! Glad you liked them! I would think you could, I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not.
I am so excited to finally have a meatball recipe with chicken that I love!! These were are incredible!
Another great meatball recipe. Except these are homemade. Maybe a bit healthier with the ground chicken.
This was really amazing! A great addition to our weeknight favorites!
I love these chicken meatballs! So juicy and the sauce is amazing!
A meatball made of chicken? yes please! I love the fresh taste that the basil pesto brings.
These meatballs were absolutely delicious!
The flavor of these turned out exactly how I thought but even better! YUm!
These were fantastic! The pesto was perfect with the chicken meatballs.
I love adding pesto to recipes & these adding them to meatballs is a great idea!! They look so good & easy to make!
the recipes are wondful
Awe, thank you so much!!
Holy moly! I just made these and they were mind blowing. Definitely my new favorite and the husband enjoyed them just as much!
Yay!! Happy that they were a hit! Thank you so much for sharing that!