The ever so popular classic dish Marry Me Chicken, but with a change up to meatballs.These Marry Me Chicken Meatballs are a total crowd favorite. Juicy, tender, healthier meatballs made with ground chicken and a sauce that’s creamy and absolutely droolworthy!
You’ve got to make this dish guys!!
Have y’all ever heard of the dish Marry Me Chicken?? If not you have absolutely got to give this meatball version a try!
The classic dish that’s so well known is made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I decided, as good as that version is, I wanted to try it with my homemade chicken meatballs.
Why is it called Marry Me Chicken?
Rumor has it it’s called Marry Me Chicken because once you make it for someone they’re going to love it so much they’ll want to marry you. Taste it and you decide.
A few weeks back I made a batch of my chicken meatballs for some chicken Parm subs. Tom always raves about my chicken meatballs. I was planning on sharing the chicken breast version of Marry Me chicken here at the BHK, but since Tom loves my ground chicken meatballs so much, I thought they would be a great substitute. And who wouldn’t enjoy meatballs in a creamy, zesty sauce??
Marry Me Chicken Meatball Ingredients
- ground chicken
- eggs
- garlic cloves
- olive oil
- seasoned panko crumbs
- grated Parmesan cheese
- onion powder
- kosher salt and pepper
- paprika
Marry Me Sauce Ingredients
- butter
- garlic cloves
- dried Italian seasoning
- red pepper flakes
- sundried tomatoes
- white cooking wine
- low-sodium chicken broth
- heavy cream
- grated Parmesan cheese
- fresh basil for garnish, if desired
The meatballs are a combination of some ground chicken, eggs, flavored panko crumbs, some olive oil and spices. They come together super quick and they bake in a 400 degree oven for about 18 minutes. My recipe make about 38-40 smaller meatballs and I use my 1 1/2-inch cookie scooper to shape the meatballs.
The meatballs freeze wonderfully too. So if you decide to make a full batch and don’t want to use them all in this recipe, feel free to add as many as you’d like and freeze the remainder in a freezer bag for later. I myself always add the full batch of the meatballs because once they’re in that yummy sauce they go faster than fast.
How to Make this Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
First, you’ll make your chicken meatballs. You’ll combine all your meatball ingredients in a large bowl and then use a 1 1/2-inch scooper and scoop your meatballs onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy clean up.
You’ll bake the meatballs for about 18 minutes until they’re lightly browned and no longer pink inside. You’ll remove the tray from the oven and set them aside until you make your sauce.
The sauce is just as easy to make. You will melt some butter in a deep oven-proof skillet. You will cook your minced garlic for just about two minutes along with the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and sundried tomatoes.
Next up, you’ll add your white wine and cook for about three minutes until mostly cooked down. Then you will need to add your chicken broth, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese and cook until well combined and slightly thickened.
At this point, you can add your meatballs to the sauce and stir until the meatballs are coated in the sauce before transferring to the oven and baking for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees until bubbly.
I bet you folks will love these meatballs and this droolworthy sauce. It’s perfect with a side of rice topped with some of the extra sauce!
Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!
A Few Cook’s Notes for Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
As mentioned above, you can add as many of the meatballs to the recipe and freeze the remainder. The recipe will make roughly 38 smaller meatballs and for a group of four to six they almost always disappear.
If you decide to freeze, just add them to a freezer Ziploc bag and enjoy later. They’re delicious added to some marinara sauce with a side of pasta or for chicken Parmesan meatball subs.
More Delicious Meatball Recipes to Enjoy
Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 2 lbs. ground chicken
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup seasoned panko crumbs
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
Sauce
- 5 Tbsp. butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, add to your liking
- 1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup white cooking wine
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves, julienned, if desired for garnish
Instructions
Chicken Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lined an extra large baking sheet or two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for meatballs and gently mix together. Do not over mix. Use a 1 1/2-inch scooper and scoop meatballs onto trays. Bake for 18 minutes until lightly browned and no longer pink inside. Remove from oven and set aside while you make the sauce.
Sauce
- In a large oven-proof deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and sundried tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring often for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 2-3 minutes until mostly cooked down. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream and Parmesan and whisk until well combined. Continue to cook until sauce starts to thicken slightly, stirring occasionally.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and mix until the meatballs are well coated. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes until the meatballs are heated through and the sauce is bubbly. Serve immediately.
Delicious! Easy! Stay with your sauce! I burned my first batch. I had to lower the heat here and there as well. It’s very rich! I served with pasta and a side salad. I also used dry sun dried tomatoes as I didn’t have the ones packed in oil. Make this dish! Yum!
Yay GiGi!! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
soo so good! Made the meatballs & made a side of garlic bread! Next time I’m going to add pasta in the mix. I’m curious if I can store the leftover meatballs in the sauce overnight or if I should separate them?
So happy you enjoyed these Lei! I just stored the extra meatballs in the same container overnight. The next day when I reheated I added just a smidge more of the cream.
Loved this recipe! Super easy and perfect to pair with pasta for an entree dish.
So happy you enjoyed it Annabelle! The meatballs are delicious with so many different sauces too.
Why would you use sundried tomatoes in oil? It won’t combine and will be gross.
Sorry, but it works! Spectacularly! 🥰
Thanks for giving the recipe a try Bill and so happy you enjoyed it! As for Mike, I don’t usually respond to people who leave negative comments without even trying the recipe. His loss right?
Wonderful dish! The chicken meatballs are perfect. They did not last long in my household. My 2 year old and 8 month enjoyed them so it was a hit for sure. Going to make again and freeze the balls.
Yay! So happy you and the kiddos enjoyed the recipe Julea! Thanks so much for giving it a try!
These were such a hit with our whole family. My husband, 4 year old and 10 month old couldn’t get enough! This will be in our regular dinner rotation from now on. Thank you!
Yay!! So happy everyone enjoyed them Erin! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
Absolutely amazing dish! I serve it over rice and my family loved it! Making it again today!
So have you all enjoy Michelle! Thanks so much for trying recipe!