These Marry Me chicken meatballs are tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. They're baked to golden perfection and then served with gluten-free pasta in a rich, creamy, sun dried tomato sauce. The perfect dinner!
When it comes to pasta, there's nothing I love more than the flavors you find in classic Italian Marry Me dishes. The deep flavor of seasonings, sun-dried tomatoes, and the infusion of cream to make a rich, creamy sauce is just so good!
I love serving Marry Me shrimp pasta and Marry Me chicken pasta to family and friends because it's so easy and so delicious.
My new entry into my rotation is this Marry Me chicken meatballs recipe. It uses delicious Springer Mountain Farms meatballs and an easy sauce. That means my family and friends get a great meal, and I'm in and out of the kitchen quickly. And like my Marry Me chicken thighs, it can be served with or without pasta.
Why You'll Love These Easy Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
- Simple Ingredients: Everything used in this recipe can be found in your kitchen or at your local grocery store.
- Easy to Make: This recipe is quick and easy, with no hoops or complicated steps.
- Rich and Creamy: The sun-dried tomato sauce is rich, creamy, cheese, and full of flavor.
- Versatile: Serve these meatballs with pasta for dinner or on a plate at potlucks!
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Ingredients
I prefer Springer Mountain Farms ground chicken. The company uses no animal by-products in their feed, no hormones, and no antibiotics ever.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Variations
- Meatballs: You can also make beef, pork, Italian sausage, or even turkey meatballs for this recipe.
- Extra Cheesy: Add grated Parmesan cheese to the meatball mixture for more Parmesan flavor.
- A Pop of Basil: A little fresh basil in the sauce gives it even more flavor.
- Pasta: I prefer penne, but any short, textured noodle will work.
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes for a spicy kick.
- Dairy-Free: Use plant-based milk, butter, and cheese for dairy-free marry me chicken meatballs.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
Step 1: Mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
Step 2: Place the meatballs about 1 ½ inches apart on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake at 400°F until golden.
Step 3: Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente, drain, and set aside. Then saute the aromatics, tomato paste, and seasonings in butter and sun-dried tomato oil over medium heat until fragrant.
Step 4: Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, and spinach, and cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Then, add the Parmesan and stir until melted.
Step 5: Add the meatballs and simmer on low until the meatballs are heated through and the sauce is rich and creamy. Serve on sewers as an appetizer.
Step 6: OR serve with pasta topped with more freshly grated Parmesan as a main course!
Expert Tips
- Use food-safe gloves coated with olive oil to easily mix the meatball ingredients.
- Cook the vegetables on medium heat so the onions, garlic, and shallots get soft and aromatic without burning or browning.
- Be sure to give the meatballs plenty of room so the air can circulate around them while they bake.
- DO NOT let your cream sauce come to a boil. It will break. Keep the sauce at a low simmer.
- Cook the pasta to al dente or even a bit less. This ensures that the heat from the sauce doesn't overcook the pasta and make it mushy.
- To avoid dry meatballs, mix the meat and other ingredients until combined, then stop.
Marry Me Chicken Meatballs FAQ
Dry meatballs are most often the result of overmixing. Similarly to dough, if you overmix ground meat, it will get tough and dry. This is because working the meat too much activates the proteins. Once activated, they contract too much during cooking, squeezing the moisture out of the meatballs.
Cream sauce can be touchy. You cannot let it come to a boil. It's important to keep the sauce at a low simmer so the ingredients cook, but the sauce doesn't break.
The key to perfectly cooked pasta added to the sauce is cooking it to al dente or a little less. Keeping the pasta on the firm side ensures that the heat from the sauce doesn't overcook it and make it mushy.
📖 Recipe
Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- 1 teaspoon sun-dried tomato seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs 1 - 2 tablespoon more if the mixture is too wet
- 1 egg large, lightly beaten
Pasta Sauce
- 12 oz gluten-free penne
- 2 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes diced
- 1 ½ tablespoon sun-dried tomato oil from the jar
- 2 cups spinach diced
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon onion minced
- 2 tablespoon dried shallots
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoon gluten-free flour
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- ⅓ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ tsp basil
- Chopped basil for garnish
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly oil a baking sheet with a pastry brush.
- Mix the meatball ingredients in a bowl until combined.
- Place the meatballs 1.5 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Set aside.
Pasta Sauce
- Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box for al dente. Then, drain it and set it aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Saute the minced garlic, minced onion, shallots, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and dry basil in the butter and sun-dried tomato oil.
- Add the flour and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, and spinach. Stir well and cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Then, add the parmesan and stir until melted.
- Add the meatballs and simmer the sauce on medium-low until creamy.
- Either serve the meatballs on skewers or gently mix the pasta into the meatballs and sauce, garnish with fresh basil, and enjoy!
Notes
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- To reheat, cook the meatballs in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed through or microwave at 30-second intervals.
- Use food-safe gloves coated with olive oil to easily mix the meatball ingredients.
- You should always use gloves when mixing these meatballs by hand and immediately throw the gloves out when done.
- To reduce the chances of cross-contamination, remove your gloves by pulling one off gently at the fingers. Then, with your clean hand, peel the other glove off by staring at the wrist and gently pulling until the glove comes off inside out.
- Cook the vegetables on medium heat so the onions, garlic, and shallots get soft and aromatic without burning or browning.
- Mix your meatball ingredients until just combined. When ground meat is overworked, the proteins contract too much as they cook, squeezing out the juice.
- DO NOT let your cream sauce come to a boil. It will break. Keep the sauce at a low simmer.
- Cook the pasta to al dente or even a bit less. This ensures that the heat from the sauce doesn't overcook the pasta and make it mushy.
Sonja says
Not sure I want to marry (again), so I won't share these chicken meatballs clearly, but they were so delicious that I want them all to myself anyway. I'm greedy like that.
NKendrick says
hahaha!! Same girl...same lol
Anonymous says
This worked exactly as written, thanks!