Greek chicken meatballs are made with lean ground chicken, feta cheese, and a flavorful medley of herbs and spices. These delicious meatballs are roasted in the oven or air fryer, so they're juicy and tender with a lovely golden brown crust. They're perfect for a quick dinner, a party appetizer, or meal prep.
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Ground chicken is a perfect protein for meatballs. It's much leaner and lighter than ground beef, and it's versatility means it's a great foil for all kinds of flavors, like these Mediterranean chicken meatballs and these Asian chicken meatballs, too.
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Why we love these meatballs
- Quick and Easy: These delicious Greek chicken meatballs are super easy to make using simple ingredients and take just twenty minutes in the oven, and even less in the air fryer (instructions for both are in the recipe card). Making these healthy meatballs perfect for those busy weeknights.
- Healthy: Using lean ground chicken means you get the protein with less calories and fat. I use rolled oats instead of breadcrumbs for even more nutrition. And these flavorful meatballs are baked instead of fried, so you don't need oil.
- Versatile: These meatballs make a delicious meal drizzled with my homemade tzatziki sauce and served alongside a Greek salad. They are just as good with your favorite sauce on pasta, in sandwiches and wraps, and you can even serve them as a cocktail appetizer with a tzatziki dipping sauce.
- Meal Prep: Meatballs are ideal for meal prep and these Greek meatballs are no exception. Make a big batch of this delicious recipe for the week. I love having a Greek chicken meatball bowl or wrap with rice and veggies for a delicious healthy dinner or lunch.
Ingredient notes
- Lean ground chicken: You can use ground chicken breast or ground chicken thighs, or a combination of both. This recipe works equally well with ground turkey.
- Egg: The egg acts as a binder; use a large egg.
- Rolled oats: Also called old-fashioned oats. For meatballs, I love the extra nutrition and texture that oats add to the recipe vs breadcrumbs. I also use oats for meatloaf. The oats make this recipe gluten-free, because I'm using gluten-free rolled oats. Use regular rolled oats if gluten isn't a concern. You can also use panko breadcrumbs or regular breadcrumbs.
- Feta Cheese: Feta adds a delicious tang and tiny pockets of creaminess to the meatballs. The feta cheese addition also adds some fat to the very lean ground chicken.
- Seasonings: I'm using dried herbs for this recipe. However, when my herb garden is in full swing, I replace them with fresh herbs. Replace one tablespoon of fresh herbs per teaspoon of dried. I am using onion powder and garlic powder, because of the quick cooking time for these meatballs. (Even finely minced, fresh onion and garlic won't cook as quickly as the rest of the meatball).
Step by step instructions
- Whisk the egg in a large bowl.
- Add feta, oats, and seasonings.
- Add ground chicken, and use a spoon or your hands to combine all ingredients.
- Roll the meatball mixture into balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake until golden and cooked through.
Top Tips
- Mixing. To avoid tough meatballs, be sure not to overwork the meat mixture. Over mixing will result in rubbery meatballs. For tender, juicy meatballs, mix the ingredients until just combined, then handle gently when forming the meatballs.
- Forming meatballs. To ensure that your meatballs are of uniform size, use a tablespoon, an ice cream scoop, or a cookie scoop to portion them before rolling into balls.
- Rolling. Lightly wet your hands to prevent the meatball mixture from sticking. Use your palm to gently roll into balls.
- Spacing. Whether you use the oven or an air fryer to cook these ground chicken meatballs, be sure to leave space around them on the baking sheet or air fryer basket. This will allow them to brown properly.
- Cooking time. The cooking time will vary with your oven or air fryer. The best way to ensure perfectly cooked meatball is to use a meat thermometer. Ground chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165ยฐ.
- Storage. Leftover Greek chicken meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freeze. Transfer completely cooled cooked meatballs to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
Serving suggestions
Greek chicken meatballs are a natural served with lots of tzatziki sauce, either homemade or store-bought tzatziki, and a Greek salad of cucumber, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, and Kalamata olives. Or try my Greek pasta salad for a perfect meatball pairing.
Meatballs are perfect on pasta or spaghetti squash with a simple marinara sauce, or stuff them into toasted pita bread with lots of fresh veggies. And there's no need to keep it strictly Greek. Some delicious side dishes include roasted vegetables, baked carrots, sauteed green beans, and braised red cabbage.
Top a quinoa sweet potato salad, or a butternut feta salad with Greek meatballs for a delicious bowl.
Finally, these Greek chicken meatballs love a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, so be sure to serve with lots of lemon wedges.
Do you love meatballs?
Here are more favorite meatball recipes to try!
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!
Recipe
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Greek Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground chicken
- ยผ cup rolled oats
- 1 large egg
- ยผ cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or one tablespoon fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil or one tablespoon fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon dried dill or one tablespoon fresh dill
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ยผ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ยฐ.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Oven
- Roll meat mixture into 2" balls, and place on baking sheet.
- Bake 20 minutes, turning halfway through.
Air Fryer
- Spray air fryer basket lightly with cooking spray. Preheat (if required) to 400ยฐ.
- Place rolled meatballs, with space between them, in the air fryer basket. Cook for 12-15 minutes, turning halfway through.
Notes
-
- Mixing. To avoid tough meatballs, be sure not to overwork the meat mixture. Over mixing will result in rubbery meatballs. Mix the ingredients until just combined, then handle gently when forming the meatballs.
-
- Forming meatballs. To ensure that your meatballs are of uniform size, use a tablespoon, an ice cream scoop, or a cookie dough scoop to portion them before rolling into balls.
-
- Rolling. Lightly wet your hands to prevent the meatball mixture from sticking. Use your palm to gently roll into balls.
-
- Spacing. Whether you use the oven or an air fryer to cook these ground chicken meatballs, be sure to leave space around them on the baking sheet or air fryer basket. This will allow them to brown properly.
-
- Cooking time. The cooking time will vary with your oven or air fryer. The best way to ensure perfectly cooked meatball is to use a meat thermometer. Ground chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165ยฐ.
-
- Storage. Leftover Greek meatballs can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to three days.
-
- Freeze. Transfer cooked and completely cooled meatballs to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to three months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
Carrie Mihalkanin
Hi, Do you have the recipe for the Tzatziki too? They look yummy!
Colleen
Hi Carrie, absoluely! From the home page, just type tzatziki in the search box. These really are yummy. Enjoy!
Rebecca Kirkpatrick
What about the dipping sauce?
Colleen
Hi Rebecca, I used homemade tzatziki here. There is a link in this meatball recipe, or you can try: https://93ws.com/tzatziki/
Isabelle @ Crumb
Love this healthier take of keftedes! I often substitute ground chicken or turkey in my recipes, but I've never thought to try them in keftedes, mostly because I love ground lamb so much... after seeing your lovely sandwich, though, I may just have to skip the lamb just this once. ๐
Colleen
Thanks Isabelle! Lamb is tradional, but turkey works really well, too ?
Terri@foodmeanderings
I am with you - not a fan of lamb. I adore Greek food and don't know what I haven't made these! I have them pinned, so will be making them soon. Yum!
Colleen
Thanks, Terri! Hope you enjoy them! ๐
Maresa | Breakfast for Dinner
I like the idea of substituting turkey in these Greek Meatballs. Looks like such a perfect summer dinner - pinning for later!
Colleen
Thanks Maresa, you can do these on the grill, too, to really make it a summer dinner!
Karen Ahmed
I've had this on my bucket list for a while! Yours look deeelish!
Nick Stamoulis
Meatballs are so versatile! We like to swap ground turkey for ground beef in most recipes in our house. It's better for you and just as tasty with the right seasonings.
Colleen
Hi Nick! I am totally in agreement with you on swapping the ground beef for turkey. Another bonus is that it's usually more economical, as well. Thanks for commenting!
Sean@Diversivore
I am a big fan of lamb, but I'm sure that these ingredients and flavours are superb with ground turkey too! I should try making these (and meatballs in general) more often. I like that they're baked too - I tend to do meatballs in a frying pan, so I'd imagine this is a little easier. Glad to know that they freeze well too. Cheers!
Colleen
Hi Sean! Meatballs are the best, and if you like lamb, these would be perfect.
Risa
Thanks for the recipe! I can't wait to make them! I have a silly question...do you freeze the extras after baking? Before baking? And how do you reheat? Thanks!
Colleen
Hi Risa; not silly at all! I always freeze them after baking. Its easiest to pre-freeze them on a cookie sheet, and then they can be packed into a freezer bag. To reheat, you can put them on a baking sheet in a single layer, cover with foil and put in a 350ยฐ oven until heated through. I would love to hear back about how your meatballs turn out. Enjoy!