Take your taco cravings and reinvent them with our Canned Chicken Taco Balls! This high protein meatball recipe takes just minutes to prep with canned chicken, is great for meal prep, and absolutely delicious!
Add into a bowl 1 drained can (mine was 12.5 ounces) of canned chicken, 2 large whole eggs, 8 tablespoons of wheat germ, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, 1/2 cup of a Mexican blend cheese, 2 tablespoons of a low sodium taco seasoning mix, 2 tablespoons of diced green chiles, 2 tablespoons of a taco sauce, and 2 tablespoons of a light sour cream.
Did you know that wheat germ is a great substitute for bread crumbs with 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein for every 60 calories?
Mix all of those canned chicken taco balls ingredients up until everything is incorporated.
Take out a baking sheet, optionally line it for easy clean up, and coat it with some non-stick cooking spray. Both aluminum foil and parchment paper work great for lining!
Taco Meatballs
Shape your mix into your meatballs and put them onto your baking sheet. However big or small you want your balls to be is completely up to you, I shaped 7 today. Repeat until your mix is gone.
Put your balls into the oven on 375F/190C for around 10-20 minutes depending on the size of your balls. The bigger your canned chicken taco balls are, the longer they’ll take to cook.
Remove them from the oven and top them! Sour cream, salsa, cheese, guacamole, and so on are all great toppings for these. Let us know what high protein or healthy toppings you go with in the comments below!
Diet tip? Lower the fat in the recipe by using a fat free cheese and sour cream.
Looking for dessert? Pair these balls with some of our Protein Cheesecake Balls!
Canned Chicken Taco Balls
What We Used
- Oven
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Ingredients
- 1 Can Chicken - 12.5 Ounces
- 2 Large Whole Eggs
- 2 Tablespoons Green Chiles - Diced
- ½ Cup Mexican Cheese - Reduced Fat
- 2 Tablespoons Sour Cream - Light
- ½ Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Taco Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning Mix - Low Sodium
- 8 Tablespoons Wheat Germ
Instructions
- Take out a bowl and drain your Canned Chicken
- Combine all over your ingredients into the bowl
- Mix everything together
- Take out a baking sheet, coat it with some non-stick cooking spray, and shape your balls
- Bake them on 375F/190C for 10-20 minutes
Video
Notes
- Calories: 787
- Fat: 31g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Sodium: 1930mg
- Carbs: 40g
- Fiber: 9g
- Sugar: 11g
- Protein: 87g
- Calories: 112
- Fat: 4.4g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Sodium: 275.7mg
- Carbs: 5.7g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Sugar: 1.5g
- Protein: 12.4g
Nutrition
9 Comments
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I make these religiously! Great recipe, Derek! You have been a huge inspiration to me and have sparked my passion for cooking healthier alternatives!
Thanks Michael!
Nevermind… switched to full-screen, and I can see it’s raw. Thanks!
Are you using toasted wheat germ or raw?
I can’t find wheat germ anywhere. What can I use in place of it?
Bread Crumbs!
Made these last night and I was really impressed.
I left out the sour cream, taco sauce, chiles and red pepper as I didn’t have them on hand and they still came out really good.
Definitely going to become a staple of mine.
Thanks Derek!
Cheers from Australia.
Love that! Thanks Cameron
You guys really need to try these. Its pretty good! My only recommendation is to use real chicken breast and shred it if you have any in the fridge. It cost me $5 for canned chicken. At that price id rather eat fresh chicken.