Spinach feta chicken meatballs - great for meal prep! These meal prep baked chicken meatballs are going to be an amazing addition to your new year eating plan! They’re loaded with lean protein, spinach, feta cheese and so much delicious flavor. Plus, they're low-carb, keto and gluten-free!
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This recipe makes about 50 meatballs and they freeze perfectly – an amazing recipe to help you meal prep for the week!
As you know I’m kind of a meatball maven. I could eat meatballs every day for the rest of my life… especially when they are filled with delicious flavor and good for you ingredients. Like these Italian Parmesan meatballs, French onion chicken meatballs, meal-prep turkey meatballs, and even these veggie meatballs!
Like my latest creation… Spinach Feta Chicken Meatballs – cramazing, right!??
I figured since it’s the New Year and the season of jump-starting “eating better,” these meatballs would be perfect.
I can’t get enough of them. I literally told the B man that they were off limits, then proceeded to devour them for lunch and dinner all week.
Just so you don't think I’m a meatball bully – B can eat donuts 3 times a day and never gain a pound – in fact he would probably lose weight. Me on the other hand if I look at food it tries to occupy space on my body.
I have a verrrry slow metabolism, I have a low-functioning thyroid and I’m on a 1200 calorie diet (don't worry my GP and trainer both carefully supervise this plan). I KNOW – INSANE!!!
But this is where I’m at in life and I will do my best to stay healthy and fit. That includes consuming lean protein, low-carbs, low-calories and getting as many veggies in my diet every day as possible within these parameters.
These homemade meatballs deliver all of that and more.
They are full of spinach, ground chicken, feta cheese, almond meal, onion, garlic, spices and herbs. And they are baked meatballs, so even better.
The other thing I’m all about is my food tasting delicious. I don't eat much, so when I do, I want to enjoy my food experiences, and believe it’s possible to have it all: easy, wholesome, and delicious meals!
These chicken meatballs tick all those boxes.
This meatball recipe is perfect for meal prepping. It makes about 50 meatballs and they freeze perfectly.
Just follow this chicken meatball recipe and cook them as specified. Then load them in a resealable freezer bag, toss them in the freezer and enjoy them whenever you want.
Another amazing thing about these meatballs is that they are soo easy to make. Allow me to share…
How to make chicken meatballs with spinach and feta
Preheat oven to 400F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, just enough to get everything evenly distributed.
Use a 1½-inch scoop to form the meatballs (be sure the meatball mixture is firmly pressed into the scoop). Space them evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (You can dip the scoop in water now and then or spray it with cooking spray to help them release more easily if needed).
Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until the internal cook temp reaches 165F on your trusty digital meat thermometer.
Now they’re ready to devour! Put them over a salad, or some zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice for a tasty low-carb/gluten free meal. Or if low-carb and gluten free are not a concern… enjoy them over some jasmine rice or with some warm pitas.
It’s up to you to decide what you’ll do with these yummy chicken meatballs… whatever you decide I know you will love them as much as I do!
To freeze, allow the meatballs to cool completely. Then freeze in one large freezer bag or divide into portions in smaller freezer bags. They’re best when used within 2-3 months.
For meal prepping lunches for the week use some PBA free “bento box” plastic containers or these glass meal prep containers from our friends over at Amazon.
I added some zucchini noodles and a little homemade alfredo sauce to my containers and had lunch ready to go for the week. Truly a yummy well-balanced, low carb, keto and gluten free meal.
However you use these meatballs, they are sure to land in your rotation on a regular basis. Such an easy, tasty, versatile recipe... full of the best ingredients and all kinds of delicious flavor - what's not to love?
Spinach Feta Chicken Meatballs (Meal Prep)
These meal prep baked chicken meatballs are going to be an amazing addition to your new year eating plan!
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond meal/almond flour (or breadcrumbs if low-carb and gluten free are not a concern)
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1½ teaspoons pepper
- 2 eggs
- 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly squeezed to get ALL the liquid out.
- 8 ounces feta cheese, finely crumbled
- ½ cup parsley
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds ground chicken (93% Lean | 7% fat)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the meatballs, add the almond flour or almond meal, oregano, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and stir together.
- Beat the eggs and stir them into the almond meal mixture.
- Mix in spinach, feta, parsley, onion and garlic.
- Add ground chicken, and mix together just enough to get everything evenly distributed. Don't over-mix.
- Use a 1½ - inch scoop to form the meatballs (be sure the meat mixture is firmly pressed into the scoop). Space them evenly on a parchment-lined sheet pan. (You can dip the scoop in water now and then to help them release more easily if needed).
- Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm as your entree or as an appetizer.
- To freeze, allow the meatballs to cool completely. Then freeze in one large freezer bag or divide into portions in smaller freezer bags.
Nutrition Information
Yield
45Serving Size
1 meatballAmount Per Serving Calories 81Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 34mgSodium 144mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 7g
This nutrition card uses an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. This estimate is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice!
Sasha
Has anyone tried using fresh spinach instead of frozen?
holly
Hi Sasha, I have not but if you try it I recommend cooking it for a few minutes and removing as much liquid from it as you can before adding it to the meatball mixture.
holly
Hi Sasha, if you use fresh spinach I would recommend cooking it first and removing all the liquid. Good luck!
sunnysusan
Hi, my family has an allergy to tree nuts. You mentioned that ground up pork rinds could be used as a replacement for coconut flour, right? Could I replace coconut flour with ground pork rinds?
holly
Hi Susan, I think you're asking if you can swap out ground pork rinds for the almond meal and the answer is, yes!
Aimee
Have you tried these in the air fryer instead of the oven?
Bryan
Hi Aimee, we've not tried chicken meatballs in the air fryer, only beef meatballs: https://tasteandsee.com/air-fryer-italian-meatballs/. However if you wanted to try them we'd suggest setting the air fryer to 400F and starting with 8-10 minutes. You're going to need a meat thermometer to make sure they reach an internal cook temp of 165F. Also I would check them earlier to make sure you don't overcook them. Good luck! 🙂
Thorunn Sleight
Can ground turkey be used equally well in this recipe? We don't have ground chicken in our grocery stores.
Bryan
Hi Thorunn, it should work fine as long as you can find ground turkey that has a comparable fat % (93% lean / 7% fat) to the original recipe. Please let us know how it goes! 🙂 - H&B
Wendy
So if I take off the 1g of sugar, does that mean the meatball is only 1g carb per meatball?
Bryan
Hi Wendy, these meatballs are 1 net carb (2g carbs less 1g fiber) per meatball.
Terri
These look really good!
In your meal prep containers, are the zoodles cooked?
Do you just microwave the container to reheat?
Or does that overcook the zoodles?
Thanks
Bryan
Thank you Terri! It depends somewhat on the texture you prefer. We like our zoodles to have a lot of crunch, so we put them in the meal prep containers uncooked. Then when re-heating the meal, that softens them ever so slightly. And yes, to reheat them you can simply microwave the meal prep container (assuming you've got microwave-safe containers). You will absolutely love these!
Moira
Hi, we have a tree nut allergy in our house. I know you said you can use pork rinds ground up as a replacement but what about coconut flour? Could I use that as a replacement?
Bryan
Hi Moira, we haven't tested that but it seems like coconut flour is a popular substitute in the low-carb/keto community. The ratio might be different so we'd suggest a little more research before you commit to a whole batch of these. One popular site with some ratio suggestions is: https://www.ruled.me/faq/can-i-use-coconut-flour-instead-of-almond-flour/. Hope this helps, good luck! 🙂
Stefanie
Allergic to almonds and tree nuts! replacement ideas?
holly
Hi Stefanie, you can use ground up pork rinds as a replacement for almond meal. Just put them in a food processor and plus until them look like breadcrumbs.
holly
Hi Stefanie! You can use ground pork rinds in place of breadcrumbs and in place of almond meal. Just pulse them in the food processor until they look like Panko or regular bread crumbs. Good luck!