Baked Chicken Meatballs (Juicy, Oven or Air Fryer, 38g Protein)

These baked chicken meatballs are the batch I make every Sunday: parmesan, garlic and herbs folded into ground chicken, rolled, and baked until golden in about 30 minutes start to finish. They stay juicy (the grated onion is the trick), pack 38 grams of protein per serving, and go from marinara one night to a rice bowl the next.

Save this recipe (and the TikTok ones you keep losing) in RecipeLoop — the AI meal planner that builds your grocery list for you.

This high protein meatball recipe fixed the dry-chicken-meatball problem for good.

• Grated onion and parmesan keep them juicy. Ground chicken is lean, so it needs moisture and fat from somewhere. Grated onion releases its juice into the meat and the parmesan adds richness — the same idea that makes my air fryer meatballs and crockpot Swedish meatballs so tender.
• 38 grams of protein per serving, about 300 calories. That's five meatballs, before sauce. If you're building high protein meals for the week, run them through the protein calculator alongside my chicken burrito bowls — they're two of the leanest options on the site.
• Oven or air fryer, same mixture. Bake at 400°F for 18–20 minutes, or air fry at 380°F for 10–12. Either way there's no pan-frying, no splatter, and cleanup is one sheet of parchment.

Here's what you'll need.

Ground chicken, panko, parmesan, one egg, garlic, a small onion and dried Italian herbs — plus a little olive oil for brushing so the tops brown.

Here's how it all comes together.

STEP 1 — MAKE THE PANADE

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment. In a large bowl, stir together the panko, parmesan, beaten egg, grated onion (with its juice), garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt and pepper. Let it sit 2 minutes so the panko softens.

STEP 2 — FOLD IN THE CHICKEN

Add the ground chicken and mix gently with a fork or your fingertips just until combined. Overmixing is what makes meatballs dense and rubbery — stop as soon as you don't see streaks of breadcrumb.

STEP 3 — ROLL THEM EVEN

Oil your hands lightly (the mixture is sticky) and portion with a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, then roll into balls. You should get about 20. Same size means they all finish at the same time.

STEP 4 — BRUSH WITH OIL

Arrange the meatballs on the pan with a little space between them and brush or spray the tops with olive oil. Lean chicken won't brown on its own — the oil is what gives you that golden crust.

STEP 5 — BAKE 18 TO 20 MINUTES

Bake at 400°F for 18–20 minutes, until golden on top and 165°F in the center. For an air fryer, cook at 380°F for 10–12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway. Rest 3 minutes before saucing.

Eating for protein first? These meatballs are exactly the kind of meal in The Ultimate GLP-1 High Protein High Fiber Cookbook.

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Grate the onion, don't dice it. Diced onion stays crunchy and breaks the meatballs apart. Grated onion disappears and leaves only moisture and flavor behind.
• Ground chicken thigh beats ground chicken breast. Most packages labeled "ground chicken" are a mix, which is ideal. If yours is 99% breast, add one extra tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture.
• Chill the mixture 15 minutes if it's too sticky to roll. Cold mixture rolls cleanly and holds a rounder shape in the oven.
• Don't skip the thermometer. Chicken meatballs go from perfect to dry in about 3 minutes. Pull them at 165°F, not "a few more minutes to be safe."

Why these are my favorite protein meal prep recipe.

• They freeze beautifully, raw or cooked. Freeze rolled raw meatballs on the pan, then bag them — bake from frozen with 5–6 extra minutes. Cooked ones reheat from frozen in the air fryer in 8 minutes.
• Five meatballs = 38g protein. A double batch gives you eight lunches at around 300 calories each before sauce or sides.
• They take any sauce. Marinara over pasta, buffalo sauce in a wrap, teriyaki over rice, or plain in a Greek chicken bowl with tzatziki.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Cottage cheese alfredo pasta — toss the meatballs in for a 55g-protein dinner.
• Roasted cauliflower — roast it on the rack below at the same temperature.
• Mediterranean chickpea salad — a bright, no-cook side for meal prep boxes.
• Creamy tomato basil soup — drop a few meatballs in each bowl.
• Air fryer brussels sprouts — crisp them while the meatballs rest.

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for 3 months. If they're sauced, store them in the sauce — it keeps them moist.

Reheating: Air fry at 350°F for 4–5 minutes, warm in a covered skillet with a splash of sauce, or microwave at 70% power in 45-second bursts so they don't toughen.

More high protein recipes...

Crockpot Swedish meatballs Chicken burrito bowls Cottage cheese alfredo pasta High protein cheeseburger bowls

Need a full dinner on one pan instead? Today's other new recipe is my sheet pan chicken and potatoes — lemon garlic thighs and crispy potatoes, 40g protein per plate.

More high protein meals like these meatballs.

The Ultimate GLP-1 High Protein High Fiber Cookbook is built around exactly this kind of lean, filling, protein-first recipe — great whether you're on a GLP-1 or just trying to hit your numbers.

See it on Amazon →

Plan the week around this recipe with RecipeLoop — save recipes from anywhere and get an automatic grocery list.