These air fryer chicken meatballs are juicy, tasty and made in minutes. You simply mix the ingredients, roll into balls and let the air fryer do all the work.
You can serve these air fryer chicken meatballs with pasta, on submarine sandwiches, or with toothpicks as an easy appetizer!
We enjoy making quick air fryer chicken meals like our air fryer ranch chicken and air fryer BBQ chicken wings, but these meatballs could easily become our new favorites!
Ingredient Notes
🔹Ground Chicken: We’re using ground chicken for these super juicy meatballs! It is lean, packed with protein, and absorbs flavors beautifully! It can be found in the meat section in most grocery stores. If you cannot find any ground chicken, ground turkey will work great too!
🔹Breadcrumbs: These are used to help bind our meatballs together, and they add a nice texture. Regular or Italian-style both work wonderfully. For gluten-free, you can use gluten-free breadcrumbs or even crushed rice cereal!
🔹Parmesan Cheese: This ingredient adds amazing savory flavor to our meatballs. The pre-grated kind in the shaker works just fine, but freshly grated will give you even more flavor if you have it on hand.
🔹Fresh Herbs: We used parsley for a pop of freshness and color. Don’t have fresh? No problem! You can use 2 teaspoons of dried parsley instead. You can also feel free to try other herbs like basil or oregano!
🔹Seasonings: These meatballs are delicious even without any fancy ingredients. You can simply use garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt, and pepper to taste. You can also substitute whatever spices and seasonings work for your family’s taste!
🔹Olive Oil Spray: A light coating enhances the taste by delivering that wonderful golden-brown crust the meatballs deserve. Any cooking spray you have will work just fine!
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
It will be easy to make air fryer chicken meatballs; just follow these simple steps, and you will have juicy meatballs each time.
🔹Step 1: Place all of your ingredients into a large mixing bowl. This includes the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan cheese, herbs, and seasonings.
🔹Step 2: Use clean hands to lightly mix everything together. Don’t overmix or squish the meat, as this will keep your meatballs nice and tender!
🔹Step 3: Roll the mixture into balls about 1½ inches in diameter (about the size of a golf ball). If the mixture sticks to your hands, just wet them slightly with a little water.
🔹Step 4: Preheat your air fryer for a few minutes at 380°F. This will ensure that your meatballs will have a nice crispy exterior!
🔹Step 5: Put your meatballs in the air fryer basket. Be sure to leave a little space between each meatball. Don’t crowd them, or they won’t cook evenly.
🔹Step 6: Spray the tops with olive oil so that they have a nice golden-brown finish!
🔹Step 7: Air fry for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time. The meatballs are done once they have reached an internal temperature of 165°F and have a nice golden brown crust on the outside.
🔹Step 8: Let the meatballs rest for a couple minutes before serving, as this will help them stay juicy!
Serving Suggestions
These flavorful air fryer chicken meatballs are very versatile and go great with so many foods! Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy them:
🔹With Pasta: You can toss these meatballs with whichever pasta and sauces you normally use to create a complete meal! For example, try them with spaghetti or marinara sauce or creamy alfredo and fettuccine. You can even make mac and cheese better by adding these meatballs on top!
🔹Dipping Sauces: This is why meatballs are meant to be dipped! You can pair it with marinara sauce, barbecue sauce, honey mustard, or even buffalo sauce. Our homemade garlic aioli is also a great option that everyone will love!
🔹For Sandwiches: You can place 3-4 meatballs into a hoagie roll and pour marinara and melted mozzarella for an amazing meatball sub sandwich! You could also slice them and put them into wraps or pita pockets with fresh veggies.
🔹With Veggies: Air fryer vegetables make the perfect side dish since you already have the air fryer out! Try air fryer broccoli, zucchini, or sweet potato fries. A simple green salad also works great!
🔹Appetizers: You can stick toothpicks in these meatballs and serve them with your favorite dipping sauce for an easy appetizer that gets gobbled up fast!
🔹Grain Bowls: Get creative with a healthy meal by serving these meatballs on rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice with your favorite roasted veggies and a drizzle of sauce on top.
Recipe Variations
We love our air fryer chicken meatballs, but sometimes you want something different! These easy ideas will bring new flavors while retaining all the great ease and convenience!
🔹Buffalo Chicken Meatballs: Add 2 tablespoons of buffalo sauce to the meatball mixture and swap the Italian seasoning for ranch seasoning. You can serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks!
🔹Teriyaki Meatballs: Try to mix 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of ginger into your meatball mixture. After cooking the meatballs, toss them with teriyaki sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and green onion. Delicious over rice!
🔹Mexican-Style: Replace the Italian seasoning with 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning and add ¼ cup of diced bell peppers to the mix. Serve with salsa, avocado slices, and a squeeze of lime!
🔹Greek-Inspired: Replace the grated Parmesan with feta cheese, and mix in 2 tablespoons of chopped olives and fresh dill instead of parsley. Try to serve it with tzatziki sauce for dipping!
🔹Veggie-Packed: Increase the nutrition by adding ¼ cup of finely grated zucchini or carrots to the meatball mixture.
🔹Mini Meatballs: Roll the mixture into smaller bite-sized balls (about 1 inch), and they can be perfect appetizers or kid-friendly food. Just reduce the cooking time to 8-10 minutes.
🔹Cheese-Stuffed: Press a small cube of mozzarella into the center of each meatball before they are cooked for an ooey-gooey surprise inside!
FAQs
Q1: Can I make these meatballs ahead of time?
Absolutely! You can mix and shape the meatballs up to 24 hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator until ready to cook. You can also fully cook them, cool completely, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to serve, just reheat them in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes at 350°F!
Q2: My meatball mixture is too sticky to roll. What should I do?
If you find that your meatball mixture is too sticky, you can wet your hands with cold water before rolling each meatball. You can also add a tablespoon or two more of breadcrumbs to absorb the excess moisture or place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to cool it down before rolling.
Q3: Can I use ground turkey instead of chicken?
Definitely! Ground turkey works perfectly as a substitute with no other changes needed to the recipe. You could also use a mixture of ground chicken and turkey if you prefer.
Q4: Why did my meatballs fall apart?
Meatballs usually fall apart if there’s not enough binding (egg and breadcrumbs) or if the mixture was overmixed. Be gentle when combining, and make sure that you incorporate the egg thoroughly in the mixture.
Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Olive oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 380°F (190°C) for 3 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined (don't overmix).
- With slightly wet hands, form the mixture into 1½-inch meatballs (about 16-18 meatballs).
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray. Place the meatballs in the basket in a single layer, leaving space between each (you may need to cook in batches).
- Spray the tops of the meatballs lightly with olive oil spray.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time, until the meatballs are golden brown and reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).
- Remove from the air fryer and let rest for 2 minutes before serving.
Notes
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