My air fryer chicken meatballs are juicy, tender and super easy to make! Let me show you how to make tasty chicken meatballs that cook in just 10 minutes. A healthy and satisfying dinner.
I love my air fryer and use it several times a week. In fact, it is one of the most useful appliances I have in my kitchen! It cooks faster than an oven, it is cheaper to run and easier to clean.
These chicken meatballs turn out so well in the air fryer. They brown evenly all over, while the inside stays lovely and moist. It is a delicious and healthy dinner that I have been making on repeat.
Also take a look at my crispy air fryer radishes and air fried turnips.
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What I Love About This Recipe
First of all, chicken! Most meatballs are made with either beef (like my Italian meatballs), pork or a mixture of the two (like my Swedish meatballs). Chicken meatballs are perfect for those days when you don't want to eat red meat.
Juicy! I've had chicken meatballs before and they were super-dry. The reason is that chicken is a lean meat. I'm going to show you which part of the chicken to use for tender and juicy meatballs with a crispy golden crust.
Healthy! The recipe is high in protein. Also, I made it without breadcrumbs or low carb replacements such as almond flour. This means my meatballs are naturally gluten-free as well as keto friendly. Last but not least, they are dairy-free.
Cooked to perfection in minutes. Cooking in the air fryer is just so easy and convenient. The meatballs turn out nice and round. When I pan-fry meatballs they always end up flat on one side. And the steady heat from all sides means that they don't burn - which can happen easily in the oven.
Have I convinced you? Let's get started.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Chicken - I recommend using chicken thighs and not the breast. Thighs have a higher fat content than breast meat, which makes the meatballs juicy and not dry.
- Onion and garlic - Finely minced onion and garlic don't just provide flavor, but also help with a fluffy texture. Don't replace it with onion or garlic powder.
- Parsley, Tomato Paste and Nutritional Yeast - All are essential for flavor. The nutritional yeast can be replaced with finely grated parmesan. Grate it freshly at home from a block - it tastes much better that way.
- Egg - I used a medium egg in the recipe. It binds the mixture.
- Olive oil - We need this for frying the onion and garlic and to spray the meatballs befre air-frying. It is also necessary to oil your hands when rolling the balls as the mixture is sticky.
- Seasonings - Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
It is simple to make chicken meatballs in the air fryer. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, air fryer timings and nutrition info.
STEP 1
Add the chicken thighs to a food processor and pulse using the s blade until they are roughly minced.
STEP 2
Heat olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions until soft. Add the garlic and sauté briefly until fragrant.
STEP 3
Add the onion mix and all other ingredients to the roughly ground chicken in the food processor (choose between nutritional yeast or parmesan).
STEP 4
Pulse gently to combine.
STEP 5
Rub your hands with olive oil, roll the mixture into 12 meatballs and place them into the air fryer basket. Once all meatballs are in the basket, mist them with olive oil.
STEP 6
Preheat the air fryer. Air-fry the meatballs until golden brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside.
Katrin's Top Tips
#1 The mixture is sticky because we are not using breadcrumbs, almond flour or any other fillers. That's why it is essential to oil your hands and re-oil them where necessary. Option to chill the mix in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm it up before working with it.
#2 Leave space around each meatball so the air can circulate and they cook evenly.
#3 Air fryers differ and some take longer to cook food than others. The meatballs are done when the centre reaches a temperature of 74C or 165F.
Variations
Some ideas how you can tweak the recipe:
- Extra crunch: Roll the meatballs in keto bread crumbs before air-frying.
- No egg: For egg free air fryer meatballs, replace the egg with a flax egg.
- Mix up the seasoning: Try addind cumin, cayenne pepper or chili flakes for a bit of heat.
- Add-ins: Crumbled feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes or chopped spinach are delicious additions to the recipe. Saute the spinach first and squeeze out any liquid.
- Change the meat: Swap the chicken for turkey! Again, use the thigh rather than breast meat.
Serving Suggestion
Air-fried chicken meatballs are super versatile. Here are ideas how to use them:
- Put them into any tomato-based sauce such as my keto marinara and enjoy with pasta or zucchini noodles.
- Smother them with a creamy béchamel sauce.
- Serve them neat alongside a crunchy green salad and any sides of your choice.
- Enjoy them as an appetizer or party snack dipped into tahini sauce, this easy guacamole or garlic yogurt.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. You can prep the meatball mixture up to 2 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator.
Of course. You can get ground chicken thighs at the butcher. The ground chicken mince in the supermarket is only 5% fat because it is a mixture of thighs, drumstick and breast meat. I don't recommend using this as the meatballs will turn out dry. Remember, fat is flavor. Look out for 8% fat content when buying ground chicken.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Bake the meatballs in the preheated oven at 210C / 410F (electric) or 190C / 370F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown all round and cooked on the inside.
It is easy to scale the recipe and make a larger amount. You'll have to air fry the meatballs in batches though. It is important to leave space between the meatballs in the air fryer to let the air circulate.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store chicken meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer: Freeze the meatballs in a single layer on a tray or parchment paper. This way, they do not stick together. Once they are frozen, transfer them into a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating: You can either defrost the meatballs overnight or reheat them straight from frozen. An easy option is to warm them in any sauce of your choice on the stovetop.
Reheating meatballs in the air fryer from chilled takes 2-3 minutes and from frozen about 10 minutes.
More Easy Chicken Dinners
- Marry Me Chicken25 Minutes
- Keto Chicken Curry35 Minutes
- Keto Chicken Tikka Masala45 Minutes
- Low Carb Chicken Teriyaki25 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.1 lb chicken thighs 500g, skinless + boneless, chopped into 2 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + more to air fry
- 1 small onion 60g, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 egg medium
- ¼ cup parsley finely chopped (15g)
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast 25g, or 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan (15g)
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Remove the basket from the air fryer and put it on a plate. Spray the bottom of the basket with oil.
- Add the chicken thighs to a food processor and pulse using the s blade until roughly minced.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet or frying pan and sauté the onions for 3 - 4 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the onion mix to the roughly ground chicken in the food processor as well as all other ingredients (choose between nutritional yeast or parmesan). Gently pulse to combine.
- Rub your hands with olive oil. You need to do this to stop the meatball mixture from sticking to your hands. Roll the mixture into 12 meatballs and place them into the air fryer basket, leaving space around each meatball so the air can circulate. Once all meatballs are in the basket, mist them with olive oil.
- Preheat the air fryer to 190C / 370F.
- Once it is hot, add the basket into the air fryer. Air-fry the meatballs for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Option to turn them halfway through. Air fryers differ and some can take longer to cook than others. The meatballs are done when the centre reaches a temperature of 74C or 165F.
Ioana Didac
Great recipe, the meatballs were so yummy! Took the wrong bag out of the freezer and ended up using cilantro instead of parsley, but the result was still absolutely great! This is definitely going to be a repeat recipe, many times over! First time I'm making meatballs in the air fryer, too.
Teri
Wow these are really good and so versatile. I made the original and served with vodka sauce over lowcarb pasta, also switched the Italian seasoning for curry and served with my homemade green tomato curry sauce.
Love your recipes and can't thank you enough
Katrin Nürnberger
Sounds delicious!
Maria
What sauce would you use for this please Katrina ?
Katrin Nürnberger
I have suggestions in the post - you can serve them in a tomato based or in a cream based sauce or serve them with dips such as garlicky mayo, tahini dip or even guacamole. See the section for "Serving Suggestions".
Cathy
These were incredible! I never thought of processing thighs, I’d always used ground chicken. These turned out juicy and full of flavour! I will absolutely make these again!
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you enjoyed the meatballs!
Addie
Hi, Katrin - don't you have to preheat the air fryer before adding the meatballs? And would you please remind me what to do if I can only get large eggs?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, I preheat it and then add the basket with the meatballs. You can probably use a large egg as well.
Lisa
Looks really yummy. I will try this recipe next week after picking up the ingredients. As a side note, I just watched an episode of America’s Test Kitchen where the guy added gelatin to help hold moisture in the meatballs. Thinking of trying this trick with my beef meatballs.
Katrin Nürnberger
That's a great idea. I like it