Baked Spicy Chicken Parm Meatballs (Printable)

Juicy spicy chicken meatballs baked in marinara with melted mozzarella cheese for a crowd-pleasing dinner.

# What you need:

→ For the Meatballs

01 - 1 lb ground chicken
02 - 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
03 - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
04 - 1 large egg
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
07 - 2 tbsp hot sauce
08 - 1 tsp smoked paprika
09 - 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
10 - 1 tsp kosher salt
11 - 1/2 tsp black pepper

→ For Baking

12 - 2 cups marinara sauce
13 - 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
14 - 2 tbsp olive oil

# How to make it:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with olive oil.
02 - In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, egg, minced garlic, parsley, hot sauce, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix gently until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
03 - Form mixture into 16 meatballs approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange evenly in the prepared baking dish.
04 - Spoon marinara sauce evenly over meatballs, ensuring complete coverage.
05 - Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
06 - Remove from oven and sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over meatballs. Return to oven and bake for 10 additional minutes until cheese is bubbly and meatballs reach internal temperature of 165°F.
07 - Allow dish to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with additional fresh parsley if desired.

# Helpful Hints:

01 -
  • These meatballs have genuine kick without tasting like pure heat—the spices layer beautifully beneath the molten cheese.
  • Everything bakes in one dish, which means minimal cleanup and maximum flavor since the chicken stays incredibly juicy from the sauce.
  • It's genuinely faster than delivery, and tastes infinitely better because you control exactly how spicy it gets.
02 -
  • Do not overmix your meatball mixture or they become dense and rubbery instead of staying tender—this is the mistake that changed everything once I stopped making it.
  • The cheese absolutely needs those extra 10 minutes in the oven to brown properly; baking it all at once leaves you with pale, rubbery mozzarella instead of that gorgeous bubbling layer.
03 -
  • Taste your raw meatball mixture and adjust the spice before baking—this is your only real chance to get it right since you can't dial it back once it's cooked.
  • Brown the mozzarella slightly by moving your oven rack closer to the top element for those last 10 minutes, which gives you that perfect melted-and-golden finish instead of pale and rubbery.
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