Meatballs are so much fun. We love making them…it’s just another excuse to get your hands dirty! And we love eating them! The fun with meatballs is, you can add whatever flavours you like to make them taste completely different every time. This time we’ve gone with meditteranean flavours and these little parmesan chicken basil baked meatballs would be perfect with your favourite tomato based pasta sauce, or just served on skewers as we do as part of a lunchbox.
What is it about meatballs that makes them so kidfriendly? because they are small, bitesized and delicious, they appeal really well to kids. In fact, they are one of my kids favourite lunchbox inclusions, because they are yummy cold and easy to eat. You can also send them in hot if you use a thermos and include a sauce of some description. A perfect little protein boost!I’ve made these with over 40 kids and won them all over!
Why did we make these parmesan chicken basil baked meatballs? Well, we had basil on the bench and nothing works better than parmesan with basil to make a delicious flavour reminiscent of pesto. These contain so few ingredients and are baked, so they really couldn’t get any easier. If you’ve got a mini muffin tray, use it for these! It helps them to stay in shape but also means that they sort of fry in their own juices, meaning they are super juicy and that the parmesan bubbles on top to give them a good colour.
These little versatile balls will change the way you see meatballs…and for the better! You may find they don’t last long…although I normally double batch so we have some for the freezer, and that means there’s a couple of extras for snacking on.
You can see them in a lunchbox here.
Here are my other meatball recipes where you make on your own:
Parmesan chicken basil baked meatballs
Ingredients
- 300 grams chicken mince
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 8 basil leaves
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
- Place the mince, basil, parmesan and olive oil into a food processor.
- Blitz until well combined.
- With wet hands roll teaspoonfuls into balls and place in a mini muffin tray.
- Bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 pieceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 69 Total Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 25mg Sodium: 127mg Carbohydrates: 1g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Protein: 6g
Saima says
September 16, 2017 at 9:06 pmHi. These look perfect and I’m going to make some now for my son’s lunchbox tomorrow. Can I freeze the rest? I’d sk shkjkd I freeze them before or after baking and how would oh defrost/ cook them once frozen? Thank you very much 🙂
kidgredients says
September 18, 2017 at 11:35 amYes you can freeze the rest. I either defrost overnight from cooked in the fridge and pop in the lunchbox or I reheat in the microwave if serving hot.
Jaslyn Tan says
July 12, 2017 at 10:06 pmCould I replace with cheddar cheese?
kidgredients says
July 13, 2017 at 3:01 pmyou can, but the parmesan has extra bite that makes it yummier.
Maxabella says
May 3, 2017 at 6:04 pmMaking these tonight!
Heidi says
February 4, 2017 at 10:42 pmMy boy can’t have dairy, do I need to make any adjustment to the ingredients if I leave out the cheese?
kidgredients says
February 4, 2017 at 11:10 pmYou might need to add some flour to help bind them, the Parmesan is such a key ingredient. I’ve got dome dairy free meatballs I’m working on at the moment!
Emma says
February 2, 2017 at 7:07 pmCould I add veg to these ?
kidgredients says
February 2, 2017 at 7:33 pmOf course! They would be quite nice with grated, drained zucchini or even carrot.
Meenal says
January 23, 2017 at 2:13 pmHi,
Probably a stupid question but is the chicken mince used for mixing raw? Or is it mixed cooked chicken?
Thanks.
kidgredients says
January 23, 2017 at 2:23 pmHi Meenal, it’s raw! 😉
Kim @ Zonkt Designs says
October 11, 2016 at 2:43 pmIt’s true, put it in the shape of a ball and it’s bound to get eaten!
Also it’s not just children, my husband is no different. Although I guess that’s not much of a stretch form child… ha!
kidgredients says
October 11, 2016 at 2:50 pmLol. I totally agree Kim! Little meatballs seem to have universal appeal!
The Purple Ladle says
October 10, 2016 at 11:23 pmlove the idea of baked meatballs! so much better than frying. great recipe!
kidgredients says
October 10, 2016 at 11:42 pmSo much healthier, and they stay moist, which is a bonus!
Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid says
October 8, 2016 at 3:01 amAmazeballs! I love a baked meatball and think these would go well in not just the kids lunchboxes, but adults too!
Shari from GoodFoodWeek says
October 7, 2016 at 4:47 pmThis would definitely go down well in our household – the boys love meatballs.
kidgredients says
October 7, 2016 at 11:12 pmSimone even stole one of these when we taught together last week. They are so good and had the whole community centre salivating!
Vicki @ Boiled Eggs & Soldiers says
October 7, 2016 at 3:24 pmThese sound right up our alley. Pinned and will be making them soon. Thanks for sharing with YWF too.
playwithfoodaustralia says
October 3, 2016 at 1:31 pmYum! Am looking forward to making these with you tomorrow. Will definitely be tasting these ones before the kids take off with them all!
kidgredients says
October 3, 2016 at 2:13 pmYes! It’s going to be fun!
stacey says
October 1, 2016 at 5:32 pmI think these look and sound like an absolute winner!