Temperature guide
Ground chicken temperature for patties and meatballs
Ground chicken, whether patties or meatballs, has a 165°F (74°C) internal minimum.
U.S. home food-safety guidance.Check the source and scope
What to do
- For a patty, insert from the side into its center; a top-down probe can pass into the pan.
- For meatballs, test the center of the largest ball and another from a different pan position; continue cooking and retest any ball below 165°F.
- Clean the probe after checking undercooked meat before it touches cooked food.
Conditions and limits
- The 160°F ground red-meat rule does not apply to ground poultry.
- If the sensing area misses the center or touches the pan, reposition the probe; a brown crust is not an internal temperature reading.
Source and scope
Primary reference: FoodSafety.gov minimum temperatures. Equipment-specific steps and quality suggestions are practical guidance; check the appliance or product instructions for your model. How this site uses sources.