Chicken Parmesan Meatball Sliders are toasted rolls topped with mini chicken meatballs, provolone cheese, and nut free basil pesto. They are the ultimate slider for Italian lovers.
I first made these sliders a long time ago but haven't forgotten about them. The inspiration came from a recipe from Everyday Annie, but I adapted the recipe to fit my preferences and to accommodate my nut allergy.
I cooked small chicken meatballs in my favorite store bought sauce (which is now Rao's Homemade Marinara). The meatballs are layered on toasted slider rolls with sauce and cheese then broiled. They are finished with some homemade Nut Free Pesto.
These little sandwiches are great any time of year, but it's nice to make them in the summer when you can use an abundance of fresh basil for the pesto.
You're welcome to use any kind of pesto, homemade or jarred. I use nut free because of my allergy.
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Make the Meatballs
Before making the meatballs, you can get the sauce into a pot and start simmering it so it will be ready for the meatballs.
Mix up the breadcrumbs and seasoning and then add the ground chicken.
You can make mini meatballs and place 2 meatballs on each slider or larger meatballs with the intention of placing 1 meatballs on each roll.
Submerge the meatballs in the simmering sauce and cook until done.
Make the Pesto
To make the pesto, add all of the ingredients to a mini food processor until smooth.
Assemble and Bake the Sliders
Spray the top and bottom of each slider with olive oil and toast in the oven.
Add 2 mini meatballs or a cut regular sized meatball to each bottom roll. Spoon sauce on top and place provolone on top. Bake again to melt the cheese. Spoon pesto on top and serve hot.
Vegetarian Option
You can purchase ground impossible "meat" and follow the same recipe for the meatballs. Since one of my children is a vegetarian, I like to make a big batch of impossible meatballs to keep in the freezer so I can pull a few out for dinners where the rest of the family is having chicken or turkey meatballs.
Gluten Free Option
Use gluten free Panko breadcrumbs to make the meatballs gluten free. Any gluten free roll or bread will work for the sliders.
📖 Recipe
Chicken Parmesan Meatball Sliders
Ingredients
- 32 ounces jarred pasta sauce (recommended: Rao's Homemade Marinara)
For the Meatballs:
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs (divided)
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 pound ground chicken
For the Pesto:
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 small cloves garlic (minced or grated)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper (to taste)
For the Sliders:
- 18 white dinner rolls
- spray olive oil
- 9 slices provolone cheese
Instructions
- Add the sauce to a medium sized pot. Bring to a simmer.
Make the Meatballs:
- Combine ¼ cup of the breadcrumbs with the milk in a medium mixing bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.¼ cup milk
- Add the remaining breadcrumbs, egg, garlic and seasoning to the soaked breadcrumbs. Mix to combine.1 egg, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon dried basil
- Add the ground chicken to the breadcrumb mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Form the meat into either 36 mini or 18 full size meatballs. Place the meatballs in the sauce so they are submerged. Cook for 20 minutes over medium-low or until the meat is cooked completely at reaches at least 165°F internally. Cover the pot to prevent the sauce from splattering. You may vent the lid to allow some moisture to escape so the sauce thickens slightly.
Make the Pesto
- Combine the pesto ingredients in the bowl of a mini food processor. Scrape down the sides and process until the mixture is uniformly chopped.1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, 2 small cloves garlic, ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Season the pesto with salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble the Sliders:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Slice the dinner rolls in half and lay open on a baking sheet. Spray the rolls lightly with olive oil. Bake for 5 minutes, just until lightly toasted.
- Place two mini meatballs on the bottom portion of each roll. For full sized meatballs, slice each meatball in half and place both halves, flat side down, on the bottom portion of the roll. Spoon a small amount of sauce over the meatball(s).
- Cut each slice of provolone into 4 equal pieces. Top the meatballs with 2 pieces of provolone per slider.
- Bake the sliders again for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Add a spoonful of pesto on top of the cheese, then place the top roll on top to make the slider. Serve immediately.
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