Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs




Growing up Italian I always loved chicken parm and meatballs (ok I still do!)  However, in trying to stay aligned with my healthy eating I decided to come up with a way to enjoy them both again in a healthier way.  Oh and this time I combined the 2 together and added some veggies.  I promise you or the kids will not even taste the veggies-they actually gave this dish a lot more flavor!

I used organic ground chicken from Wegmans (try to buy organic or a hormone free brand when possible).  For easy prep I used a frozen bag of diced peppers and onions (I am all about time saving tricks – but if you want to buy fresh go for it!)  Grab a big bowl and combine the chicken, onions & peppers (if using frozen make sure to heat them up first), 1 egg, minced garlic, lemon zest (trust me it brings the flavor up a notch), chopped parsley (fresh if possible), grated parmesan cheese, almond meal (which is just ground up almonds) and salt & pepper.  In place of the almonds you can use panko or regular breadcrumbs.  Personally, I stay away from breadcrumbs these days and use ground up almonds which are also healthier.  But again, your preference!

See the goodness all coming together!

Get your hands in there and mix everything together.  Then make them into mini meatballs.  (you can spray your hands with coconut oil so the meat will not stick to your hands as much) Now you can put them in a sprayed cupcake pan or just place them on a lined cookie sheet to bake.  But before you put them into the oven take your thumb and make a little hole into the meatball and then add a small piece of mozzarella cheese. I use the mini mozzarella balls. Place them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Now these look delish!

Add your marinara sauce and top these bad boys off!  You can easily put them over pasta but I love my zoodler so I grab some zucchini’s and zoodle away!  Add them over zoodles with fresh marinara sauce!  You can top it off with some extra grated parm if you wish!  Enjoy!!!  Post or comment and let me know if you give these a try!

Chicken Parm Meatballs
Recipe here

Ingredients:
1. 1.5 lbs of ground chicken
2. 1/2 almond meal (or breadcrumbs)
3. chopped onions & peppers (fresh or frozen)
4. mini fresh mozzarella balls
5. 1 egg
6. minced garlic
7. lemon zest
8. 1/4 C grated fresh parmesan
9. salt & pepper
10. Marinara sauce
Optional: zucchini for zoodles

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Mix in a big bowl the first 9 ingredients (minus the mozzarella balls) and form into meatballs.
2. Indent with your thumb a small space on top and push in the mini mozzarella ball into each meatball.
3. Put on a lined sprayed baking sheet or cupcake pan.
4. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Enjoy over zoodles or pasta with your favorite marinara sauce!


Recipe adapted from tmiller_fit

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