Oven-baked Greek Chicken Meatballs full of fresh herbs and spices, onion and garlic, feta, and tons of flavor. Eat them as is or serve them with your favorite Greek components for a restaurant-style meal. Great for meal prep and ready in about 35 minutes! Gluten-free.
I don’t know about you, but meatballs are one of the easiest things to whip up. Simply combine the meat and some spices, herbs, or seasoning, cook them, and use them however you want. And that is exactly what these greek chicken meatballs do!
They are full of fresh herbs and spices to give sometimes bland chicken lots of fresh flavor. And to kick up the flavor more, I added feta to the mix. It adds a little tanginess and saltiness and takes them up a notch. This chicken meatball recipe is baked in the oven, keeping the middle juicy and tender, without any hands-on work.
On top of that, these baked greek meatballs make an easy protein for dinner or meal prep. We’ve been eating them paired with a salad, potatoes or rice, and of course, tzatziki sauce. A must with greek food! They would be awesome with pasta, zucchini noodles, or sweet potato noodles with some sauce.
Greek chicken meatballs
These Mediterranean meatballs are easy to make and full of flavor. Simply combine your ground chicken with the herbs, spices, onion, feta, and garlic and form into balls. Then bake in the oven for hands-off cooking. Protein-packed with some healthy fats and are great for fun weeknight dinner or meal prep.
Here is what you need:
- ground chicken
- red onion
- feta
- garlic
- fresh parsley
- fresh mint
- dried oregano
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
First start off by adding the ground chicken, onion, feta, garlic, parsley, mint, oregano, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well to combine. I find using my hands is the best to make sure everything is mixed well.
If desired, cover the bowl and place in the fridge for an hour to let the flavors marinate. I don’t find this is necessary (and usually don’t have time), but it will just enhance the flavor even more.
Next, roll the meatballs into 1-inch size balls. I like using a tablespoon to help keep the uniform shape.
Then, place meatballs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch between them. Bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown and cooked through.
Enjoy as-is or serve with your favorite greek components!
What to serve with Greek chicken meatballs
These chicken meatballs are great by themselves, but they are best served with some carbs, veggies, and sauce. Here are my suggestions:
- rice – white rice (I love mixing fresh herbs into mine) or herby cauliflower rice (I used white rice instead of cauliflower for these)
- roasted potatoes
- greek salad – a mix of tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and feta mixed with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I usually just add everything into a bowl and mix well – adjust the amounts of the dressing according to your taste. You can also add romaine if you want more of a salad. Check out this greek meatball recipe for the greek salad recipe if you want specifics.
- tzatziki sauce – a must when having greek food!
- pita
Can you pan fry these meatballs?
While I prefer to bake these meatballs, you can pan fry them if you want. Since there is no binder, you need to be very careful when frying as they are more susceptible to fall apart. Ground chicken is also a lean cut of meat, so you need to make sure you have enough oil in your pan.
To pan-fry, heat a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat (you can also do this while you are rolling the meatballs). Add enough oil to coat the bottom of your pan if using a cast iron.
Cook meatballs for 5-7 minutes, flipping occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through. You will probably have to do it in two batches depending on the size of your pan.
With baking, you can cook them all in one go.
Substitutions
Here are few substitutions for baked chicken meatballs:
- meat – if you don’t have ground chicken, you can also use ground turkey.
- fresh parsley – you can substitute 1-2 tablespoons dried parsley for fresh.
- fresh mint – you can substitute 1 teaspoon dried mint for fresh.
- cheese – you can omit the feta if want to keep the recipe dairy-free.
More healthy greek recipes
- Lamb Burgers
- Greek Chickpea Salad
- Greek Chicken Pasta Salad with Zucchini Noodles
- Lamb Meatball Bowls
- Greek Chicken Bowls (Zoe’s Kitchen Copycat)
Greek Chicken Meatballs
ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken (I used 93/7)
- 1 cup diced red onion (130 grams)
- 1/2 cup feta, crumbled (2 ounces)*
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped (about 8-10 leaves)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- serve with: greek salad, rice, potatoes, tzatziki
instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ground chicken, onion, feta, garlic, parsley, mint, dried oregano, olive oil, and salt and pepper until well combined. Try not to overmix. I find using my hands works the best. Using a tablespoon as a scoop, form into meatballs. You should get around 28-30 meatballs depending on the size.
- Place on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with rice, greek salad, and tzatziki if desired! Enjoy!
notes
nutrition
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Andrea Lively says
Really good! I served it with lemon dill Greek rice and tzatziki. I’ll definitely make it again but I think I’ll use a higher fat ground chicken. I used the leanest mix for this one. Thanks!
Kelly Nardo says
Those sides sound so good! And yes, more fat will add more flavor. Thanks for trying them Andrea and glad you enjoyed them.
Amanda says
This is my favourite recipe! It’s super easy to make, and it can be paired with anything–rice, potatoes, etc.! It’s also pretty easy to swap the ingredients–I didn’t have fresh parsley with me, so I used dried parsley, and omitted oregano (simply because I find the aroma a tad bit too strong). Thank you for coming up with easy recipes that are suitable for meal prep too! I’ve just made these for my lunch the next few days!
Kelly says
So glad you hear you love them so much! They really are customizable to what you have on hand. Thanks for trying them, Amanda!
Dana S. says
These were delicious! I didn’t have red onion, so I subbed shallots, and it was just as good! Super easy to make, too. I prepped them in like 15 minutes, popped them into the oven, and relaxed for a while! I made enough for two meals, and we had them again the next day with a grain bowl and some tzatziki sauce.
Kelly says
Sounds like such a good combo! Glad you enjoyed them, Dana!
Michelle says
Delicious!!! Thank you!
Kelly says
You are welcome, thanks for trying them, Michelle!
Audrey L says
These were so fun to make. I had a girlfriend over and we chatted while we made meatballs. they were a little dry and I’m new at this so I’m not sure what I did or should do to fix that. Just cook less time? The sauce and salad also MADE the meal, dont skip those guys!
Kelly says
Glad you enjoyed them, Audrey! Yes, cooking a little less can help, and also the kind of chicken you use. Something with a little more fat will help keep them moist and juicy. Thanks for trying them!