

How to Make Chicken Spinach Meatballs
Ingredients
- Ground chicken
- Frozen Spinach
- Basil
- Garlic and onion
- Eggs
- Breadcrumbs
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt and Pepper
All you do is combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. I like to make meatballs about golf-ball sized.
Line them up on a baking sheet and bake them for 25 to 30 minutes at 350Β°F.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
Can I cook the meatballs on the stove?
Yes, you can cook them on the stove instead of baking them. Brown the meatballs in a pan with olive over medium heat until they are cooked through, about ten minutes. Or, you can brown them first and then add your sauce and simmer them in the sauce until they are cooked through.
Can I use fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach?
Readers have tried using fresh spinach with success! One reader finely chopped the fresh spinach and just mixed it up with the ground chicken mixture.
If you want to cook the spinach first, you will need approximately 1 pound of fresh spinach so you end up with about 10 ounces cooked, which is the same amount that is in a box of frozen spinach. Just cook the fresh spinach in a large pot with some olive oil (a few teaspoons should be enough). As the spinach cooks it will release its moisture. Once it’s cooked down, let it cool and then add it to your chicken meatball mixture.
Can I make these chicken spinach meatballs ahead?
Yes, you can make a batch of these meatballs ahead and keep them in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Refridgerator: store the meatballs in an airtight container. They should keep well in the refrigerator for up to three or four days.
- Freezer: cool the meatballs completely and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. They should keep well for three to four months in the freezer.
Happy meatball-making!

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Chicken & Spinach Meatballs
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
These chicken meatballs are easy to make and full of flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 10-ounce box frozen spinach, thawed, drained and chopped*
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together until just combined. Form the mixture into golf ball sized balls (I made 18 meatballs) and place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350Β°F for 25-30 minutes.
Notes
For the spinach: Be sure to thaw completely and then wrap it in a clean dish towel to wring out all the excess moisture before chopping.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 206
- Sugar: 1.3g
- Sodium: 461.2mg
- Fat: 10.6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.1g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 7.3g
- Fiber: 1.9g
- Protein: 21.1g
- Cholesterol: 132.7mg
Keywords: chicken meatballs, chicken spinach meatballs, baked meatballs
The nutrition information in this recipe is an estimate only and was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Alaina says
How would I reheat them the best if theyβre frozen!?
April Anderson says
You can warm them in the microwave or on the stove. If you’re serving them with a sauce you can simmer them in it until they are warmed through.
sheena says
could these be cooked in the sauce instead of baked? I cannot bring myself to bake meatballs the thought makes me cringe!
April Anderson says
Hi Sheena – you may want to brown them first in the pan and then finish them in the sauce. I’ve haven’t tried it with this recipe, but sure it will work fine!
erin says
Hi,
Have you ever made these meatballs without breadcrumbs? or with a substitution?
April says
Hi Erin – I haven’t made these without breadcrumbs, so not sure how they would turn out. You could leave them out, but the meatballs might not be as tender.
Licia says
Sounds fabulous, just curious could I salute the onion first, col it down and add to meatballs? We have a “picky” onion eater, if she even thinks it is not a soft cooked onion she puts her nose up…Thanks going to make this with my san marzano marinara
★★★★★
April says
I haven’t tried cooking the onions first, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Jacqueline DiNuoscio says
I love this twist on a classic dish! So much healthier and packed full of flavor!
★★★★★
Marjory says
These little meatballs really switch things up! Love the recipe. BTW spaghetti, pizza and Taco Tuesday are the favorite nights at our house too!
★★★★★
Julia says
Can you use fresh spinsuch?
April says
Hi Julia, I haven’t tried this with fresh spinach, but I think it will work. You will need approximately 1 pound of fresh spinach to get the same amount as frozen. I think for it to work best you would need to cook it down first in a pan with a little oil and then let it cool before making the meatballs. Not sure how it will work if you just add the spinach to the meatballs raw.
Valerie says
I love this recipe! Made it many times. I make a big batch of mixture & freeze portion sizes. I Make the meatballs on day I want them. I also have also only used fresh spinach. Chop it up a little bit to your liking.
April says
So glad you like the recipe!
Deana says
I notice one picture shows these in a tomato sauce. Is this a recipe or just a picture showing how they can be used? It looks delicious!!
April says
Hi Deana, the recipe is just for the meatballs, but they are delicious with tomato sauce (I just used my favorite jarred sauce for that photo).
Jameen says
I made it and they came out awesome! Add Worcestershire sauce!
Definitely a keeper!
Thank you βΊοΈ
★★★★★
April says
That’s great! So glad you enjoyed them π
Deborah says
I want to adapt this to a meatloaf (as a whole loaf or individual meatloaf ‘cupcakes’ how long would you suggest I cook this in an oven?
April says
Hi Deborah, for a whole meatloaf I recommend baking at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour or until the internal temperature is 160ish degrees. Let it rest at least 10 minutes – the internal temperature will raise to 165 degrees while it rests. For smaller “cupcakes” you should only need to bake an additional 10-15 minutes, depending on how big you make them. I haven’t tried this, so just giving you my best recommendations π
Christina says
I just made these for meal prep, they came out delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
April says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them Christina — thank you for letting me know π
Diane says
April, I love the delicious look of these healthy meatballs. Spinach, chicken and cheese are great with spaghetti sauce. Nice work!
April says
Aw, thanks!
Byron Thomas says
These look so healthy and delicious, and that red sauce is so vibrant. YUM!
Brian Jones says
I have never made chicken meatballs and usually use a combination of pork and beef but these sound utterly delicious, the addition of spinach is inspired, love it!
April says
I love beef meatballs, but these are a nice change – a little lighter and healthier π
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
I’m definitely trying these! They sound and look delish!
Tracy @ Served From Scratch says
I love these! What a great alternative to beef meatballs.
Chrissie (thebusybaker.ca) says
This recipe is perfect for my family as we don’t eat a lot of beef. Definitely pinning this recipe to add to our meal plan!
★★★★★
April says
I hope you enjoy them, Chrissie!
Whitney @ That Square Plate says
These sound and look amazing! I’ve never made chicken meatballs, but the combo sounds spectacular! My boyfriend would love them too! Yum!!
★★★★★
Renee says
Yummy! Spaghetti and meatball night! I love the change in the meatballs, I bet they were delicious!!
April says
They’re a nice change from classic meatballs – a little bit healthier, but still tasty π
Rosemary @anitalianinmykitchen says
These meatballs sound delicious, can’t wait to try them.
Tina Marie says
These look amazing!
★★★★★
Sara @ Life's Little Sweets says
I actually really want to try this, I cook a lot of chicken on week nights for my family and this would be a nice way to change things up.
Kim | Mom, Can I Have That? says
Yum! These are right up my alley! I love changing up the meat in a classic to make it new. What a great recipe. Thanks!
Simply Life says
So creative and it looks delicious!
FoodTravelDiva says
I love it when I come across great recipes! Today is a great day π If you don’t mind I’d love to direct our readers to your blog. Just add your choice of widget to this post and you’re all set!
Anderburf says
This looks really good! I just got some organic pepper and Himalayan sea salt from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com and I think I’ll try them both out in this recipe over the weekend. Thanks for sharing!
Jessie says
what a wonderful idea! very creative and I love that you used spinach in the meatballs.
mathildescuisine says
Very creative and innovative meatballs, I love the combination of chicken and spinach
Ruth says
Excellent recipe! I love Spinach and Im going to try this!
Diana Bauman says
Love it!! Your pictures make me want to dive right in!
Debi (Table Talk) says
I look forward to making these with my daughter–this is a healthy weeknight dinner everyone at the table will enjoy.
Nicole says
Coming from an Italian family, we also frequent meatballs in our menu. i will have to try this to switch things up!
tastyeatsathome says
These look really delicious. Now, if I can just convince my family to eat spinach… π
Divina Pe says
That’s a really nice change from a meatball to a chicken ball and they’re baked. Best of all, it sounds and looks really tastey without the added calories.