Hailey Bieber’s Viral ‘Chicky Meatballs’ Recipe Is the Weeknight Dinner You (and Your Family) Will Love

Hailey Bieber’s “Chicky Meatballs” have earned a spot in a lot of weeknight dinner rotations, and it’s easy to see why. The recipe leans on pantry staples, comes together in one pan and sneaks extra protein into a comfort food your family already loves. The twist that has home cooks talking? A generous scoop of cottage cheese right on top.

Bieber shared the recipe on Instagram, and it took off online for its simple method and that unexpected finish.

What is Hailey Bieber’s ‘Chicky Meatballs’ recipe?

Bieber told followers she “eyeballs everything” without measurements, according to screenshots shared in a fan-made TikTok video. Her chicken meatballs come together with ground chicken, Italian seasoning, ricotta cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, gluten-free Italian breadcrumbs and one egg.

Here’s how to pull it together.

1. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix until evenly blended.
2. Shape the mixture into meatballs of your preferred size.
3. Cook them in a pan until crispy on the outside and cooked through.
4. Spoon a tomato sauce of your choice over the meatballs.
5. Finish with a scoop of cottage cheese and a shower of grated Parmesan.

“I’m sorry, but my chicken meatballs with tomato sauce, cottage cheese, and parmesan is seriously to die for and one of my favorite things I make,” she wrote in an Instagram Story, according to Vogue.

Bieber also said she often skips the tomato sauce and eats the meatballs with cottage cheese and Parmesan on their own, which makes for a great lower-carb dinner.

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Is Cottage Cheese Worth the Hype? Dietitians Break Down the Protein Trend

Cottage cheese is showing up in places it never used to. Brownie batter. Pasta sauce. Frozen bark. Smoothies. If your social feed has been pushing cottage cheese as the ultimate protein hack, you’re not imagining it. The trend has people who’ve never touched the stuff blending it into everything. And the ones who always hated […]

Why the cottage cheese topping works so well

Cottage cheese has climbed back into rotation partly because it packs substantial protein into a mild-tasting food that works in sweet and savory recipes alike. A half-cup serving of low-fat cottage cheese provides about 12 grams of protein, along with vitamin B12, phosphorus, potassium and calcium, according to the Food Network.

Registered dietitian Kristin Kirkpatrick told Cleveland Clinic that cottage cheese works in everything from smoothies and pancakes to pasta sauce and desserts.

“We know that it has a lot of healthy bacteria that help with our microbiome. We know it’s a great source of protein. It’s also something that many of my patients consider clean in the sense that it’s not ultra processed,” she said.

It’s a complete protein, meaning it delivers all nine essential amino acids, and it’s rich in casein, a slowly digested dairy protein. Sodium can run high depending on the brand, so give the label a glance while you shop.

Can you swap cottage cheese for ricotta?

Bieber uses ricotta inside her meatballs and cottage cheese on top, but cottage cheese can stand in for ricotta in plenty of chicken meatball recipes and beyond. The texture is chunkier and wetter than ricotta, so draining off extra liquid helps in dishes where consistency matters.

If the curds throw you off, blending is a simple fix. Registered dietitian Abbey Sharp called the blending trick a “game changer” in an interview with Yahoo Health, saying it turns cottage cheese into a smooth, creamy base that folds into pasta sauces, dips, smoothies, pancake batter and desserts like mousse and cheesecake.

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That texture trick is a big reason cottage cheese has become such a flexible ingredient. Even family members who don’t love the curds straight from the tub won’t notice them once they disappear into a sauce or batter.

Other easy ways to add cottage cheese to recipes

Once you have a tub in the fridge, it’s simple to stretch across the week. A few ideas worth trying.

• Pasta sauce. Blend it into tomato or cream-based sauces for extra protein and a creamier finish.
• Scrambled eggs. Stir a spoonful into the eggs before they hit the pan.
• Pancakes or waffles. Add it to the batter for more protein and moisture.
• Dips and spreads. Blend with herbs, seasonings or roasted vegetables.
• Smoothies. Blending removes the curd texture almost completely.
• Desserts. Try it in mousse, cheesecake-style fillings, bark or frozen treats.
• Lasagna or stuffed shells. Substitute blended cottage cheese for some or all of the ricotta.

Whether it’s crowning Bieber’s meatballs or disappearing into a smoothie, cottage cheese is proving itself as one of those flexible staples worth keeping on hand.