Marry Me Chicken Meatballs (gluten-free)

These Marry Me Chicken Meatballs are a fun twist on the popular Marry Me Chicken dish. Made with all gluten-free ingredients, these meatballs are juicy, tender and flavorful. Such yummy and healthy dinner recipe to try.

Chances are you have seen the Marry Me Chicken dish all over. But have you seen them into meatballs? They are SO good!!! Juicy, tender and made with a few ingredients. You will love these for a weeknight dinner.

You have got to make this dish guys! I am obsessed with how flavorful these are. And how easy that are to make too. My husband had them for lunch the first day I made them and he came back for seconds asking for more of “whatever those kick a$$ meatballs are”. This classic dish is so well-known and usually made with chicken breasts.

You know I love a good meatball recipe though so I had to give these a twist. Homemade meatballs are a personal favorite here. My boys love them and my husband and I love them too.

But why is it called Marry Me Chicken? Apparently it’s called Marry Me Chicken because once you make it for someone, they will love it so much that they will want to marry you. Sounds a bit dramatic to me, but I am going with it.

These are a great dish to make and keep in the fridge for easy meal throughout the week. Plus you can freeze these too if you have leftover meatballs. They are a great freezer meal to make and keep on hand.

I cannot wait to hear what you think!

What ingredients are in these gluten-free chicken meatballs:

• Garlic cloves – fresh garlic cloves work best for these but you could use garlic powder too
• Egg – I haven’t tried an egg sub for these but if you usually do an egg replacer for meatballs, try it for these
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Almond flour – or use breadcrumbs if you are not gluten-free
• Ground chicken – or use turkey if you don’t have ground chicken or prefer. I have used both and they are each delicious in this dish
• Unsalted butter – you could use oil if you want instead but I love the flavor butter adds to this dish
• Dried thyme – this adds so much flavor to the dish!
• Red pepper flakes – omit if you don’t love spice
• Sun-dried tomatoes – I like to buy the ones in oil but you don’t have to
• Chicken broth – I like to use bone broth to cook with because it adds more protein
• Full-fat coconut milk – I use this instead of heavy cream so if you don’t love coconut, sub heavy cream instead 
• Fresh basil leaves – fresh basil on top is so good for the finished product!

How to make marry me chicken meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or add an oven-safe wired rack on top
2. In a large bowl, combine the meatball ingredients and mix all together (I use meat-handling gloves and my hands)
3. Form into equal sized meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each)  and add to baking sheet
4. Bake in oven on middle rack for about 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through (165 degrees F)
5. Meanwhile, begin making the sauce by melting the butter in a large skillet
6. Add garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds
7. Add in the cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, broth and milk and mix
8. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally as the sauce starts to golden around edges and reduce a bit
9. Remove meatballs from oven and add meatballs to sauce and stir into the sauce and coat the meatballs with the sauce
10. Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for about 10 minutes or so so the sauce thickens a bit and the meatballs simmer in it for flavor
11. Garnish with fresh basil leaves with rice, pasta or as is

FAQs and tips on making these meatballs:

• If you decide to freeze these meatballs, add them to a freezer ziplock bag and enjoy later! 
• Can I make these mini meatballs? Yes! Love that idea for an appetizer. You can make about 15 smaller meatballs if you want with this recipe.
• Can I double this recipe? Absolutely!! Double the recipe if you are looking for more than 4 servings.
• I don’t love coconut milk, what can I do instead? Use heavy cream. You can something thicker and creamier than regular milk or almond milk.
• What veggies go will in this dish? Add some baby spinach, kale, mushrooms, peppers, really anything you are craving.

A few other delicious meatball recipes to try:

Oven-Baked General Tso’s Meatballs

Turkey Meatballs with Feta and Spinach (gluten-free)

DELISH French Onion Soup Meatballs

30-minute Kung Pao Meatballs (gluten-free)

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