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Homemade Pesto Chicken Meatballs are so juicy, flavorful, and work great on their own or served over pasta!
These meatballs can be served as a main dish with some pasta, or on their own as an appetizer. No matter how you serve them, they will become a new family favorite!
Family Friendly Dinner Recipe
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. It doesn’t get much better than that!
They’re flavorful, tender, and perfect on top of a bed of basil tossed pasta. We’ve also enjoyed them with roasted veggies and cous cous. Regardless, they’re always a big hit!
Ingredient Tips
Pesto: We always make homemade pesto with walnuts instead of pine nuts, but store-bought works too. I make an extra large batch and it goes a long way.
Meat: Ground chicken goes well with the pesto flavor in these meatballs, but you could also use ground turkey, pork, or beef.
Hiding Veggies: You can add in shredded spinach or kale to your homemade pesto and the kiddos would have no idea. You can also add other healthy vegetables such as shredded carrots or zucchini to the meatball mix.
Be careful that you keep the veggie:chicken ratio balanced otherwise adding extra veggies can cause the meatballs to fall apart.
Seasonings: The pesto flavor is already pretty strong, but if you want more, try adding Italian seasoning, basil, parsley, oregano, or thyme. Add some heat with chili powder or red chili flakes.
How to Make pesto Meatballs
PREP. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 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 1/2 inches in diameter. Place onto prepared baking sheet and lightly spray with oil (I prefer using pure avocado oil).
BAKE. Place into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
SERVE. Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite pasta dish or steamed veggies.
instant pot instructions
To make pesto chicken meatballs in the instant pot, make the meatballs and form into balls, being sure to not over-mix.
Place 1-1 ½ cups of chicken stock into the bottom of the instant pot. Place the trivet in the instant pot and place your meatballs on top of the trivet.
Cook on high pressure for 7 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes before manually releasing it.
Perfect for freezing!
Uncooked meatballs freeze really well, so I like to make a batch of these, put them in the freezer, and then I can pop a few in the oven whenever I need them.
To FREEZE, put your meatballs on the cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes you can then transfer the meatballs to a freezer-safe plastic bag. Freeze until ready to cook!
If you have any leftover cooked meatballs, they should be STORED in an airtight container in the fridge. They will stay fresh for 2-3 days.
These chicken meatballs are the perfect addition to any pasta, rice, or veggie dish. Even the pickiest of eaters will love them!
For more meatball recipes, check out:
- Easy Meatball recipe
- Sweet & Sour Meatballs
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Crockpot Meatballs
- Barbecue Pineapple Meatballs
- Italian Meatballs
Chicken Pesto Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 c grated parmesan
- 1/4 c basil pesto fresh or store-bought
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 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 1/2 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!