Tender, juicy and delicious, these chicken meatballs in tomato sauce are filled with hidden veggies and baked to perfection. These dish is nutritious and can be served in a variety of ways for dinner, or you can enjoy leftovers for lunch. This meatball recipe is gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 and low-carb/keto-friendly.
These lightly spiced chicken meatballs in tomato sauce are a comforting dish that brings big flavors without the fuss! What’s great about this recipe is that the meatballs are baked instead of fried, making them a lighter yet still satisfying option. Plus, they soak up all the goodness from the spiced tomato sauce as they cook.
It’s a perfect dinner when you’re craving something hearty yet healthy, and it pairs wonderfully with rice, pasta or a side of crusty bread to soak up all that delicious sauce!
How To Make Chicken Meatballs In Tomato Sauce
As the name suggests, these meatballs are baked in the oven together with a lovely tomato sauce that has a few of my favourite spices in it. This way, the meatballs are braised so they can absorb some of that flavorsome sauce, and the moisture keeps them extra juicy.
To make the meatballs, you simply mix all the ingredients (which include a few extra veggies like zucchini and carrots), roll the balls and then prepare the sauce that will go on top. You can find the full list of ingredients, instructions and a nutritional breakdown below but here are some tips.
Which Meat To Use For Baked Meatballs?
If you can find ground-up chicken, your job for this recipe will be half done. If not, I recommend getting the equivalent amount of chicken meat and grinding your own mince in a food processor.
Skinless chicken thighs are best for ground meat as they are more tender than breast and have a little fat that will keep your meatballs soft and juicy. You can, of course, throw in some chicken breast meat into the mince as well.
Ground turkey or pork will also work well in this recipe.
What To Serve With Chicken Meatballs
As these chicken meatballs are baked in a sauce, you want to serve them with something that can hold that sauce or be used to mop it up. For a low-carb meal, you can make a side of zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice or broccoli rice, or some mash potatoes with parsnip or sweet potatoes. Since the oven will be one, you can bake some spuds at the same time.
For something a little more carbohydrate-rich, you can make a side of quinoa, rice or pasta.
The sauce and meatballs have a little Tex-Mex feel to them, so you can serve these in a naked burrito bowl or taco salad bowl alongside vegetables and some velvety guacamole. The meatballs could also be wrapped in corn tortillas.
You can use leftover meatballs in a lunch salad or as an addition to a soup. They can be broken up and cooked with some scrambled eggs or added to an omelette as well.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cooked & Loved
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1.5 lb ground chicken 700 grams, or chicken thighs without skin processed into mince, ground turkey also works
- 1 medium carrot peeled and grated
- 1 medium zucchini grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander/cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cups diced tomatoes tinned
- Garnish with fresh coriander/cilantro and lemon zest
Instructions
Prepare the meatballs
- Grate carrots and zucchini. In batches, squeeze the grated vegetables in your hands to remove excess juice and return the flesh to a large mixing bowl.
- If using chicken thighs, cut them into smaller pieces and add to a food processor. Blitz a few times until ground up into rough mince. Otherwise, add the ground chicken mince to the vegetables. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients and combine using your hands, to make sure everything is well incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into small balls, just a little larger than a gold ball, and set aside.
Prepare the sauce
- Preheat the oven to 355 F / 180 C.
- Sauté the onion in olive oil for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and stir for a minute. Add the spices and salt, stir through and then add the tomatoes. Stir together for a minute or so.
- Add two-thirds of the sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish or a casserole dish. Place the meatballs on top and then spoon a tablespoon of leftover sauce on top of each meatball. Cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes (less for smaller-sized meatballs). Increase the temperature to 400 F /200 C in the last 5-10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
If You Love Meatballs
Try my Vietnamese Meatballs made with ground pork and served with broccoli rice.
Try these chicken meatballs in honey garlic soy sauce.
Or check out these Fried Chicken Meatballs & Collard Greens (Whole30, Paleo, Keto)
Made this last night and had the leftovers today. The dish was DELICIOUS, flavourful and succulent. My mom hasn’t stopped going on about it and she’s already set aside some time over the weekend to make a massive batch to freeze.
Thank you! You’ve actually managed to make dieting enjoyable.
Thanks, Tiffany. Glad you and your mom enjoyed them. Irena
I made these but not in my home kitchen. I had everything else except Cumin and Coriander seeds! I had some Zaatar which I had brought with me so used that and hoped for the best. Everyone loved them including me. Thank for this great recipe when I leave Spain and go back to our home in France they will definitely be made again and again
Welcome! Glad you enjoyed these. Love that you were cooking these in Spain and will now make them in France 😉
Do you bake open or closed with a lid?
Thank you
Closed lid, I will sometimes open it towards the end though. I will add to instructions.