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3 Italian chicken meatballs with protein spaghetti in a pasta bowl
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4.59 from 31 votes

Italian Chicken Meatballs and Spaghetti

High protein spaghetti with Italian style chicken meatballs in a tomato basil marinara.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Healthy Pasta Recipes
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: healthy spaghetti and meatballs, High protein spaghetti and meatballs, Italian chicken meatballs, low calorie spaghetti and meatballs, spaghetti and chicken meatballs
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: 290kcal
Author: Mason Woodruff

Ingredients

  • 8 oz dry Spaghetti*
  • 24 oz jar Pasta Sauce**
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Fresh Basil and Grated Parmesan for garnish

For the Meatballs

  • 1 pound Ground Chicken
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 2 oz Shredded Mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup 60g Italian Breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tablespoons 30g of the Pasta Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
  • 2 Tablespoons 10g Freshly Chopped Parsley

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  • To make the meatballs, mix everything but the ground chicken together in a bowl to form a paste. Add the ground chicken and work together by hand until evenly mixed. Form 16 45-gram meatballs.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat before adding the olive oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown on the bottom and easily release from the pan. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes per side to brown all around and fully cook the meatballs.
  • Add the marinara to the pan, stirring the meatballs around in the sauce. Reduce the heat to low and simmer while you cook the pasta.
  • Salt the pot of boiling water before adding the spaghetti. Cook for 6 minutes or just shy of al dente.
  • When the pasta is nearly cooked, transfer the meatballs out of the sauce to a bowl. Use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of the pasta water and toss to coat before adding the meatballs back to the pan. Garnish with grated parmesan and fresh basil.

Video

Notes

*I used Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti. See post above for a comparison of other healthy spaghetti options.
**I used Rao's Tomato Basil Marinara, which has 80 calories, 2g protein, 6g carbs, and 5g fat per 1/2 cup (8 servings per jar).
If you want to make the meatballs on their own (with the sauce), two meatballs have 190 calories, 19g protein, 9g carbs, 10g fat.

Nutrition

Serving: 2Meatballs with 4.5 oz Spaghetti | Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 10g | Fiber: 3g