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.
Paremesan 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.
Saima says
Hi. 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
Yes 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
Could I replace with cheddar cheese?
kidgredients says
you can, but the parmesan has extra bite that makes it yummier.
Maxabella says
Making these tonight!
Heidi says
My boy can’t have dairy, do I need to make any adjustment to the ingredients if I leave out the cheese?
kidgredients says
You 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
Could I add veg to these ?
kidgredients says
Of course! They would be quite nice with grated, drained zucchini or even carrot.
Meenal says
Hi,
Probably a stupid question but is the chicken mince used for mixing raw? Or is it mixed cooked chicken?
Thanks.
kidgredients says
Hi Meenal, it’s raw! 😉
Kim @ Zonkt Designs says
It’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
Lol. I totally agree Kim! Little meatballs seem to have universal appeal!
The Purple Ladle says
love the idea of baked meatballs! so much better than frying. great recipe!
kidgredients says
So much healthier, and they stay moist, which is a bonus!
Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid says
Amazeballs! I love a baked meatball and think these would go well in not just the kids lunchboxes, but adults too!
Shari from GoodFoodWeek says
This would definitely go down well in our household – the boys love meatballs.
kidgredients says
Simone 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
These sound right up our alley. Pinned and will be making them soon. Thanks for sharing with YWF too.
playwithfoodaustralia says
Yum! 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
Yes! It’s going to be fun!
stacey says
I think these look and sound like an absolute winner!