Infant

    Kid-Loved Easy Baked Chicken Meatballs (with Veggies)

    These 5-Star Baked Chicken Meatballs are a perfect first finger food for your baby, but don’t be surprised when the rest of the family starts popping them in their mouths as well! Filled with ground chicken, carrots, spinach, and applesauce – these meatballs are a healthy (and completely addicting) food for babies, toddlers, kids, and the entire family! 

    Metal baking tray on my counter, with a hand dipping a meatball into a yellow dip.

    “I have already made these meatballs a handful of times and they always come out so moist and tasty. My little loves them and they are so easy to add to a pasta or in a quesadilla, the possibilities are endless. ”
    -Stephanie

    Ground Chicken Meatballs

    Looking for an easy meal for your entire family – from baby to you?

    Then, I’ve got you!

    I first started making these meatballs when my youngest was 8 months old and I was looking for an easy way to serve meat to her for the first time.

    I started with a very basic version of this recipe—just ground chicken and breadcrumbs. But over the next six months, I refined the recipe by adding spinach, carrots, and applesauce to keep these meatballs moist and tender.

    The results were amazing! Not only was my youngest scarfing them down, but the rest of us were eating them as well. Over the last 10 years, I have made this recipe over a hundred times, and it’s mindblowing each and every time! We’ve had them tossed into pasta or a big salad, added to pita pockets, served on top of some pearl couscous, and more often than not, I just serve them with a side of fresh fruit and some sliced cucumbers for an easy-peasy weeknight meal.

    Ground Chicken Meatballs Video

    White kitchen counter with ingredients for chicken meatballs with graphics labeling each one - ground chicken, carrots, spinach, panko breadcrumb, eggs, applesauce, etc.

    #momhack – I like to make a double batch so you can eat some and then freeze some for later. I like to bake mine before placing them into a zip-lock baggie and freezing them until needed. I then just pop them into the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until warm all the way through.

    Let’s Get Baking

    Glass bowl sitting on my white marble counterop, with ingredients for chicken meatballs inside.
    All ingredients go into a bowl.
    Glass bowl sitting on my white kitchen counter. In the bowl is a mixed ground chicken meatball ingredients.
    Mix with your hands or a spoon (you do you!) until well incorporated.
    Meatballs on a baking tray ready to get rolled by hand.
    Using a spoon or cookie scoop, section out balls onto a baking sheet.
    Baking sheet with rolled meatballs ready for the oven.
    Using slightly wet hands, shape and pack balls.
    Baking tray on my kitchen counter with backed ground meatballs.
    Bake until cooked all the way through.

    The best part of this recipe is that it is totally adjustable to what you have on hand. Keeping the base ingredients you can switch out the carrots and spinach for anything you have on hand. Just make sure it is finely chopped.

    Here are a few ideas for you – 

    • spinach & leeks
    • broccoli & cheddar
    • red peppers & feta
    • carrots & sweet potato
    Hand holding a kids blue plate over my kitchen counter with how I serve these meatballs to my kids - meatballs cut in half with a dipping sauce and sliced strawberries.
    • 1 lb ground chicken (or turkey)
    • 1/4 cup applesauce or apple puree, no sugar added
    • 1/2 cup carrot, finely shredded
    • 1/2 cup spinach, finely chopped
    • 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
    • 1 egg
    • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (regular or panko)
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • salt and pepper, to taste

    Prevent your screen from going dark

    • Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, silicone mat or tin foil.

    • In a large bowl, place all of the ingredients. Gently fold together with your hands or spatula until everything is well incorporated. Let sit for 5 minutes.

    • Roll meat mixture into 1″ balls. I find it helps to wet your hands throughout the process.

    • Place the meatballs onto the baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and gently browned.

    Age: 8 Months and up
    Yield: 24-30 meatballs depending on size
    Storage: you can store these meatballs in an airtight contatiner in the fridege for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    Medically reviewed and cowritten by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).

    Source link

    Share.

    Related Posts

    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply