These meatballs make me all heart eyes emoji...
Are you sick of me stuffing things with cheese? If the answer is no, then I love you, and also pull up a chair because this recipe is the bomb.com.
When I first started dreaming up these Chicken Parmesan Meatballs, I knew there were a few essential elements that would make them truly reminiscent of chicken parm, a true comfort food classic. First, a crispy, buttery golden brown crust. That means we are pan frying these meatballs and we aren't sorry. Second, we needed mozzarella cheese, melted and gooey...but rather than on top of the dish, I'm putting it right in the center of each delicious meatball.
These meatballs aren't much different than most classic meatballs you've probably made a million times before...I am just amping them up a bit. The base will be lean ground chicken, in keeping with the theme of course. But I find ground chicken takes a little more TLC in order to really bind the meatballs, so I'm upping my usual breadcrumb to meat ratio to ensure they don't fall apart. For extra Italian flavor, the recipe is heavy-handed with grated parmesan cheese (duh) as well as fresh parsley and basil! I love fresh herbs this time of year - the flavor is unmatched!
For cooking, make sure you have either a dutch oven, cast iron skillet, or heavy-bottomed oven safe skillet - you essentially want something that is both burner and oven safe!
You are really going to love these meatballs! I served them for dinner with some whole wheat spaghetti and my favorite jarred marinara sauce (it's ok sometimes!!). You can also enjoy these as an appetizer with marinara on the side for dipping. No matter how you serve 'em, they are sure to be a crowd pleaser!
