These Gluten-Free, Eggless Chicken Meatballs Recipe are filling, delicious, incredibly moist, and packed with flavor! Loaded with ground chicken, oatmeal, carrots, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and spices, they’re egg-free and can be gluten-free depending on your brand of oatmeal. And, bonus! They’re freezer-friendly! Which means if you prepare them ahead of time, you can have a healthy meal on your table on a crazy weeknight in less than 20 minutes!
How to Make Gluten-Free, Eggless Chicken Meatballs
I started making my Freezer-Friendly Cheesy Broccoli Turkey Meatballs for my baby, Cal, when he was experiencing multiple food allergies (due to a rare disease called FPIES) and I needed a freezer-friendly protein to keep on hand for him. This is why my meatballs are egg-free (thanks to Cal’s egg allergy) and gluten-free (thanks to his possible wheat allergy). Oats are naturally gluten-free, but you’ll need to check your oatmeal manufacturer because many warn about possible contamination issues with wheat.
For the oatmeal, I use 1/4 cup of uncooked, Quick Cook steel cut oatmeal and boil it on the stovetop with 1 cup of water to make my 1 cup of cooked oatmeal. I use the Trader Joe’s brand oatmeal, but you can use whatever brand of oatmeal you prefer.
I use the oatmeal in place of breadcrumbs because I suspected a wheat allergy for my son, but if you want to make these as more “traditional” meatballs using breadcrumbs and an egg as a binder instead of the oatmeal, go for it! However, I don’t think the oatmeal changes the flavor too much and I feel like it makes the meatballs more filling. So, I urge you to try it once before changing the recipe!
After eating the turkey meatballs for awhile, I figured Cal needed some variety, so I switched out the turkey for chicken, the cheddar cheese for parmesan cheese, and added carrots to make these delicious Chicken Meatballs!
Ingredients for Chicken Meatballs:
- Ground chicken
- Shredded carrots, boiled or steamed
- Broccoli, steamed and diced
- Butter, melted
- Applesauce
- Parmesan cheese, shredded
- Oatmeal, cooked
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Salt
- Pepper
Recommended Kitchen Equipment:
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Ice Cream Scoop
- Meat Thermometer
- Reusable Freezer Bags
Meatballs are so easy to make! Just combine everything into one big bowl and mix together with your hands until everything is combined.
Just be sure not to over mix or they could become “tough.”
And you can either form the meatballs with your hands or use an ice cream scoop in order to have equally-sized meatballs.
Then bake your meatballs for 20-24 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 F.
Here’s a link for a great meat thermometer if you don’t happen to have one!
What to make with these Chicken Meatballs? Almost anything! Meatball sandwiches, spaghetti and meatballs, cheesy pasta dishes, etc.
Not feeling the chicken meatballs? Check out some of my other meatballs:
And, like I mentioned, they’re also great for babies and toddlers! I simply cut a meatball into smaller bites and, once cooled, I let my toddler feed himself. He LOVES these meatballs!
To freeze, place your cooked meatballs so they aren’t touching on a clean, cool baking sheet covered with parchment paper and place into your freezer for about an hour.
Once they’ve frozen, you can place the meatballs into a freezer safe bag. I really like these reusable freezer storage bags – I have 8 of them and NONE of them have torn, ripped, or grown mold.
Be sure to label and date your bag and you can freeze for up to three months. (We eat them pretty quickly, so mine don’t last that long in the freezer!)
Or you can reheat the meatballs on a baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes at 350 F or until heated thoroughly.
Freezer Friendly Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 2 cups shredded carrots, boiled
- 1.5 cups steamed and diced broccoli
- 1 TB butter, melted
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 2 cups parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 cup cooked oatmeal
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a large bowl, place the ground chicken, carrots, oatmeal, broccoli, butter, parmesan cheese, applesauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix until thoroughly combined.
Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to prepare meat mixture into equally-sized meatballs (about the size of golf balls.)
Place meatballs evenly spaced onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cook for 20-24 minutes or until interior temperature reaches 165 F.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 102Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 201mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 9g
All information presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on saltycanary.com is provided as a courtesy, is an estimate only, and should only be used as a general guideline.
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Looking for more freezer-friendly recipes? Look no further!
Stephenie
Friday 26th of January 2024
Perfect recipe for my little one who has an egg and possible wheat allergy! Thank you so much!