With three kinds of veggies and the texture and flavor your kids expect, this Healthy Meatball recipe is a perfect family dinner option. Bonus: These freeze well, too.
While I’m all for continuing to expose our kids to a variety of foods, there are times when tucking veggies into foods they already love—like meatballs—can be a big help in making easy toddler meals more nutritious.
Quick Look: Healthy Meatball Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Serving: about 8
- Flavor Profile: Classic Italian meatball flavor and tenderness
- Difficulty: Easy, perfect for everyday and toddler meal prep
- Why to Make: It’s a nutritious toddler meatball that is really yummy
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Table of Contents
And I love that, just like in my Baby Meatballs, we all get an extra serving of vegetables in these toddler meatballs in the process! This toddler meatball recipe is great with ground turkey or beef since it’s very soft and easy to eat, even for babies and younger toddlers.
Why this Recipe Works
These toddler meatballs have extra veggies, an easy method, and a truly delicious flavor. They are delicious on their own, simmered in easy Marinara Sauce or Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce, and/or paired with a favorite pasta. They are soft and easy for kids to eat, too.
(You can find more Hidden Veggie Recipes, plus my Baked Chicken Meatballs and favorite toddler pasta recipes.)
Ingredients You Need
To make this healthy meatball recipe for toddlers you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand.
- Carrots, parsley, and onion: These add flavor and nutrients to the meatballs.
- Ground beef: I like grass-fed beef for the extra healthy fats and since it tends to be leaner, but any type will do.
- Bread crumbs: Plain or Italian-flavored bread crumbs work well here.
- Egg: This helps the meatballs hold together.
- Milk: A little milk adds moisture to help the batter stay moist and delicious.
- Grated Parmesan
- Salt: Optional to taste.
Featured Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“These meatballs have an incredible flavor. They pair perfectly with Amy’s marinara sauce. I’ll definitely make them again and again.” —Elle
How to Make Healthy Meatballs
Here’s a look at the process involved in making these healthy toddler meatballs so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full amounts and times.
Step 1. Add the veggies to the food processor. Grind to mince.
Step 2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to make the batter.
Step 3. Portion into 2-tablespoon size meatballs and place on the baking sheet.
Step 4. Bake, drain fat if needed, and serve plain or with tomato sauce or other desired sauce.
TIP: Once cooked, you can drain on a paper towel-lined plate if desired, and simmer in marinara sauce or just leave plain.
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Healthy Meatballs FAQs
This easy meatball recipe comes together easily in a food processor to ensure that the batter is uniform and comes together without fuss. Yes, you have to wash the food processor, but the evenly chopped meat and veggie mixture is well worth that minimal effort. (And you can always stick it into the dishwasher!)
With three kinds of veggies, lean ground beef, and a method that allows you to easily drain off any excess fat, these are a healthy meatball recipe to share with the whole family.
Sure! You can make these with just 1 tablespoon of the mixture and reduce the cooking time to closer to about 18-22 minutes.
Meatballs with hidden vegetables are an excellent food for starting solids with baby-led weaning. You can offer small cubes or mash into marinara or tomato sauce and offer on a preloaded spoon. Your baby will get iron, as well as protein and fiber. And lots of flavor they will love!
Yes, simply swap in ground turkey for the ground beef in the recipe below. The texture and flavor will be similar, and the meatballs will have a slightly lighter final color. You may need to reduce the cooking time slightly. Aim for an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
How to Store
To store, let the toddler meatballs cool fully and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To make ahead, let cool fully, and freeze in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or simmer in a quart of marinara sauce in a large pot until thawed and warmed through.
Find more of my favorite Freezer Meals for new moms to help make life a little easier.
Best Tips for Success
- Grind the veggies up before you add the rest of the ingredients to the toddler meatball batter to make sure they are all uniform in size. This is key. You’re aiming for the veggies to have a similar consistency as the ground meat.
- They’re a great recipe to make a double batch—serve one batch for dinner this week and stash the other into the freezer for a future easy freezer meal for families.
- Simmer them in easy marinara sauce for even more tender and flavorful meatballs, just like grandma would have done! (Or at least, my grandma would have done, but you don’t have to.)
- Even though there are vegetables tucked into this recipe, I still recommend being honest with your kids about what they’re eating. Make them together, be excited about their dinner, and share the good news!
- See the Notes below for allergy swaps.
More Toddler Meatballs
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe, so please comment below!
Healthy Meatballs (with Hidden Vegetables)
Ingredients
- ½ cup carrots, roughly chopped
- ½ cup parsley leaves, lightly packed
- 1 small onion, peeled and halved
- ½ cup Italian-flavored bread crumbs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Coat with nonstick spray. Place the carrots, parsley, and onion into a food processor. Grind well, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the remaining ingredients and grind to combine into a smooth mixture. Portion into 2-tablespoon-size meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with warm marinara sauce and pasta (or ketchup and other simple sides!) as desired.
Video
Notes
- To store, let cool fully and store in an airtight container in the fridge or up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Grind the veggies up before you add the rest of the ingredients to make sure they are all uniform in size. This is key. You’re aiming for the veggies to have a similar consistency as the ground meat.
- Simmer them in marinara sauce for even more tender and flavorful meatballs.
- Serve them diced or mashed to younger toddlers and babies as needed.
- Sub in ground turkey if desired.
- Gluten-free, simply use GF bread crumbs (these are really good) or even cornmeal.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg and add a splash of milk.
- Dairy-free: Omit the Parmesan and make as is or add some nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor.
Nutrition
This post was first published November 2017.
Would these work with ground chicken?
Ground chicken is often moister than ground beef, so you might just need a little bit more breadcrumbs but they should work otherwise!
These look incredible! I’m trying to figure out Kindy lunches at the moment, do you think these would be ok without the sauce? Really struggling for healthy, tasty ideas!
2/3 of my kids prefer these without sauce so they can work that way! (If you put “lunch” into the search bar you’ll see a lot of other ideas too.)
ive made these three times. i dont add cheese and use oat milk but other than that i follow the recipe exactly . these are so good and you definitely can’t tell that there’s veg in them! my whole family love them.
delicious and easy! My baby gobbled them up and so did we. Thanks <3
Love this recipe! I want to make it for my daughter who is allergic to eggs… do you think if I replaced the eggs with “flax eggs” that it would still turn out well? Thank you!
I think I would leave out the eggs and add a little more milk. I don’t think you need the flax eggs!
Hi. We’re dairy free. What alternative can I use instead of parmasen? Or can I just leave the cheese out of the recipe? 🙂
You can leave it out or use a df equivalent. If you leave it out, you may need a little extra salt and the meatballs won’t have the same flavor but they should still work to make them that way!
Do you think I can use part carrot and part zucchini? Or will the zucchini mess with the consistency?
Yes, I think you could do half and half, just squeeze the zucchini dry so the meatballs don’t wind up too moist.
Hi! My baby is allergic to dairy. What kind of alternate milk do you think will taste good as a substitute for milk in the recipe? Thanks!
you could use any plain unsweetened nondairy milk
My oven is broken, can I cook this on the stove instead?
Yes, you can pan saute them in a small amount of olive oil, turning as they brown and cook through, or poach them directly in a pot of simmering marinara sauce.
Could I ask what food processor you use? Thanks!
Just made these in the pressure cooker (5 mins on high) with a cup of veggie sauce. So tender and so delicious! Another hit—baby ate 2! Thank you!
Loved the meatballs. But wondering if it will hold a shape for meat loaf. Add more breadcrumbs? Can if remain free form loaf shape?
I haven’t tried it as a meatloaf but I think it would work well as a free form loaf shape that’s fairly short. Maybe add a bit more breadcrumbs just to be on the safe side!
Also which onion is best to use for this recipe?
White or yellow will work!
Hi! New mom here! Do I have to cook the vegetables before chopping them?
No, they go in raw.
These were amazing. Toddler starting to get picky and he loved them. I didn’t have fresh parsley and used 1/4 c cilantro and thyme for those that have asked about cilantro, it works. Thanks!
Thanks so much for sharing that tip about cilantro!