These chicken parmesan muffins have all the flavor of chicken parmesan in little meatloaf muffin form!

Chicken parmesan muffins
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Two words that usually make me cringe when I see them on a menu: chicken parmesan.

Why?

Because it epitomizes crap Italian-American food, restaurants with a white, green and red color scheme on their sign (something that will immediately deter me from ever entering) and a deep fried piece of dry meat slathered in a jarred red sauce.

And, the saddest part is that most Americans think that’s what actual Italian food is.

That, fried calamari and mozzarella pronounced like it’s related to the applesauce company. I know we all can’t be Giada, but the “motts-a-rella” thing kills me.

Killlllls me.

Chicken parm muffins

I’m not trying to be some elitist American of Italian descent, but chicken parm should be light, full of fresh herb flavor with a hint of a salty bite from the parmesan cheese.

Not doused in sodium filled marinara sauce with enough grease dripping off of it to fry 10 pounds of potatoes.

So, when I accidentally picked up ground chicken instead of turkey a couple of weeks ago, I decided to run with the whole parmesan thing but in a meatloaf, muffin kind of way.

It was either that or make my ground chicken sausage patties for easy breakfasts. Both delicious options but chicken parm won out this time around.

A way that incorporated all the flavors of what chicken parmesan should be without the typical American bastardization (<—that’s kind of a fun word to use) of it.

Chicken parmesan muffin bites

They ended up coming out moist, filled with plenty of freshness from the parsley and basil, just enough salt from the parmesan and plenty of flavor from the sun dried tomatoes.

Topped with a dollop of sauce and shaving of fresh parmesan, it’s what Italian should taste like.

I made them with the intent of having a pre-made high protein quick option to add to meals for the week (similar to the turkey quinoa muffins) and they lasted all of 2 days between the two of us eating them at every meal we could justify (breakfast would’ve been a little weird).

Chicken parm bites

No gaudy flag inspired decor, no grease, no nasty sauce.

Love light Italian flavored recipes like these chicken parmesan muffins? Be sure to try these turkey zucchini meatballs too!

And for another Italian classic with a twist, try this tomato butter stuffed chicken marsala!

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Chicken Parmesan Muffins

Servings: 9 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Chicken parmesan muffins
These chicken parmesan muffins have all the flavor of chicken parm in little meatloaf muffin form!

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound ground chicken breast
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup basil, chopped
  • 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoon liquid egg whites
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • salt & pepper

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a muffin tin or line with muffin cups.
  • Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with hands until ingredients are fully distributed.
  • Roll into balls to fit muffin tin (the mixture will be pretty wet) and drop in.
  • Bake for approximately 35 minutes.
  • Use a knife to help remove muffins once cooked and let cool on a wire rack.
  • Top with fresh tomato sauce, basil and parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 156kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 15gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 188mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: Italian
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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69 Comments

  1. What a great recipe! I know what you mean about the Americanization of chicken parmesan…it’s the only thing my picky-eater father will eat, and I’m convinced if he had it the “real” Italian way he wouldn’t actually like it. ;)

    I’m not going to lie, I’d probably find a way to have these muffins for breakfast, too!

  2. Mmmmm yummy lookin’ muffin! I have liked a few chicken parm dishes before, but I never order it for myself b/c like you said, it IS really americanized and drenched in stomach pain inducing oil–so I’d rather not get it, and I only have a little bite if someone offers it to me. I grew up in Argentina and I think their food is a lot more authentic than Americanized Italian dishes! It’s to die for! (well, after all, many of them are of Italian descent) :P

  3. meat muffins, right up my alley hah. Love the look of these and they’d be fair game for breakfast for me. I mean they have oatmeal in them afterall ;) And I serve chicken parm at the restaurant I work at but surprisingly is just about the only thing grilled and not fried. But the veal… oh I cringe when people get it for the exact reasons you described.

  4. …related to the applesauce company- ha! And I must say that you did a very good job of making meat muffins (not the most naturally aesthetically pleasing thing) look beautiful!

  5. What a great meal turned into muffin! I would definitely like to try these sometime in the near future! Savory muffins are always good because you can eat them quick! Perfect on the go meal!

  6. OMG I cannot STAND when Giada says that — same with her pronunciation of parmesan, omg enough already! We get it, you’re Italian Giada, we knowwww. haha.

    Anyway, this muffin recipe looks AWESOME!! SO with you on the gaudy Italian restaurants with the crap food. Homemade is WAY BETTER. I’m so spoiled by my own Italian roots and my husband’s family’s roots. I will NEVER order or go to an Italian restaurant for that very reason. I get the best Italian right at home!

  7. LOVE it. Mark is the same way. He’s part Italian (last name is Cecconi) and he totally has the same attitude.

    These look good. I’ve been meaning to do turkey muffins for a long time, but I think I shall do these instead.

  8. I love your rant about chicken parmegian! We have a legit Italian friend who was visiting from actual Italy and made us real italian food. She explained how America eff’s up Italian food, generally speaking, at that moment I knew all the stuff, well not all, but lots, is pure crap. Some of it totally tastes great, but it’s not italian, it’s just fried, salty, cheesy basically comfort food.
    Aaaaaaanyway, all that to say, these look great… light, and you can actually taste the food, not just the fried batter, nice!

  9. wow, these look like the best savory muffins, ever. i hate when Giada does her “mott-se-rella” accent..really annoys me, but i love that woman so i guess i’ll put up with that. i agree with you on the restaurant quality of italian food…jason’s half italian so when i went to his mom’s side for cmas this past year, his authentic italian grandparents (i like how i just called them authentic) made italian food and OMG. to die for.

    i picked up ground chicken by mistake once..maybe i should do that more often so i can make these cute muffins..seriously, love what you did with them here!!