Have you seen these Chicken Meatballs at Trader Joe's? They're NOT frozen but are refrigerated. I found them near the refrigerated pizza dough. 

The meatballs are seasoned, fully cooked, and gluten-free. They come 16 to a package and cost $3.99. 

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The suggested serving size is 4 meatballs. TJ's keeps the ingredient list simple with the seasonings including granulated garlic and onion, oregano, basil, rosemary, and parsley. One surprise in the ingredients: vinegar powder. 

Recipes where Trader Joe's Chicken Meatballs might be a good shortcut:

• sheet pan meatballs with crispy turmeric chickpeas (smitten kitchen)
• meatball soup (add a pinch)
• zucchini parmesan chicken meatballs with lemon pasta carbonara (half baked harvest)

On the package, there are cooking instructions for the air fryer, stovetop, microwave, and oven. We chose the oven method, but I changed the temp and time just a bit. 

I wanted to serve these with simple sheet pan-roasted gnocchi and tomatoes. Those roast at 425 for 20-25 minutes. I added the meatballs to the pan AFTER I seasoned the gnocchi and tomatoes not to alter the taste of the meatballs. 

Trader Joe's Chicken Meatballs, pre and post-bake:

As they baked, we lost natural light for photographing them, so please excuse the less-than-stellar photos. That said, how pretty can a chicken meatball be? 

UPDATE: See our Trader Joe's Chicken Meatballs and Gnocchi Sheet Pan Dinner Recipe! 

Trader Joe's Chicken Meatballs Review

He says (Mark): If my better half hadn't reminded me that these were chicken meatballs, I wouldn't have known. I had these for dinner twice - once with some gnocchi and tomatoes (not swimming in sauce) and then again the next day, reheated. They were tasty. Adding some light seasoning made these better. I could see them being featured in an entree as well as part of a "small bites" meal. If served alone, a dipping sauce is recommended. These were just the right size and had an excellent texture.

Overall rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

She says (Bridget): Moist, juicy, and well-seasoned, these meatballs were a pleasant surprise! I love that they're an easy way to add protein to a meal. The seasoning definitely leans toward Italian flavors, and I guess that's to be expected. Just something to keep in mind if you're using them as a shortcut in another recipe. 

Overall rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Will we buy them again? Mark says no, but I say yes. And I do 99.99% of the shopping and cooking, so...

Trader Joe's Chicken Meatballs: A tasty and quick protein and recipe shortcut