Simple chicken meatballs are one of my favorite healthy dinners. I’ve made so many variations over the years (with green curry, over polenta, with buffalo sauce, a freezer-friendly sheet pan version, and soup!) and today I took my love for cacciatore sauce and smashed it up with my passion for flavorful, juicy chicken meatballs to make this chicken cacciatore meatball recipe!
Meatballs are so handy for serving kids. They’re naturally a finger food, so if you’ve got toddlers in the mix these are an easy win. For picky eaters, serve ‘em without the sauce. For super hungry folks, serve cacciatore meatballs over pasta, or if you’re low-carbing serve it with cauliflower rice.
Cacciatore sauce is a rustic Italian sauce (cacciatore translates to the “butchers" sauce) with tomatoes and wine and mushrooms. It’s rich and savory, but it’s also a lot healthier than other Italian dishes I tend to cook in winter (looking at you, vodka sauce!).
Chicken Meatball Ingredients + Substitutions
- Ground chicken: It would be fine to use ground turkey, if you prefer.
- Eggs: A must for helping the meatballs bind.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, fresh garlic, dried Italian seasoning herb blend.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated is best by far!
- Breadcrumbs: If you use gluten free breadcrumbs, this recipe is gluten free!
For the Cacciatore Sauce
- Mushrooms: Cremini mushrooms are my favorite! White button would be OK in a pinch.
- Wine: A light red is traditional, I usually reach for an inexpensive Pinot Noir.
- Stock: Chicken stock, store bought or homemade.
- Canned tomatoes: Plain crushed tomatoes are my favorite for cacciatore sauce, if you only have fire-roasted, or you have the kind of crushed toms that already have basil in the mix, that’s OK.
- Shallots and red bell pepper
How To Make Cacciatore Meatballs
For detailed instructions, check out the full chicken cacciatore meatball recipe at the bottom of this page.
- Combine the meatball ingredients gently with your hands.
- Roll out about 18 meatballs.
- Brown the meatballs. You’ll probably want to do this in batches.
- Make the cacciatore sauce base! This takes about 15 minutes, start to finish.
- Add the browned meatballs to the sauce.
- Simmer for 25 minutes. When the meatballs show 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, they’re done!
- Serve!
Tips for Success
- Roll the meatball mixture with damp hands. It’s my favorite trick to make quick work and super smooth meatballs.
- Roll them into even sizes! This ensures even cooking — nothing over cooked, nothing under done.
- Gently mix the ground chicken with the meatball seasonings. A gentle touch makes for perfect meatballs.
- Brown the meatballs in batches. There are a few times in this recipe when you really can’t rush, and this is one of them. To get a good crust, you’ve got to work in batches.
More Easy Chicken Meatball Recipes
Easy Dinners? Can Do!
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