Combine 4 simple ingredients to make healthy Baked Chicken Meatballs with a veggie tucked right inside! These pair well with marinara, pesto or cheese sauce, are super moist, and are perfect to make ahead.
Healthy Baked Chicken Meatballs
I love making meatballs for kids since they are easy for them to eat and chew, and since they are so simple to make healthier! For these Chicken Meatballs, I combine Italian chicken sausage and roasted sweet potato for a flavorful, yet mellow meatballs that pair well with a variety of sauces.
These are a great baby-led weaning food or protein for 1-year-olds, though they’re really delicious for any age.
We love them with pasta or another grain, either on their own or tossed with a simple marinara sauce.
Ingredients You Need
To make these meatballs, you’ll need:
- ground Italian Chicken Sausage
- roasted sweet potato
- Parmesan cheese
- cornmeal or breadcrumbs
TIP: I love using sausage in my meatballs since they’re already flavored and reduce the need for adding any spices or other flavorings.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the simple ingredients used in these chicken meatballs.
- Gather your ingredients. (You’ll want to make your sweet potato ahead of time!)
- Mix the ingredients together.
- Form into golf-ball sized balls.
- Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet!
TIP: Lightly coat your foil with nonstick spray to keep the meatballs from sticking.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use plain ground chicken, sure. You’ll just want to add a pinch of salt and maybe 1/2-1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to make sure they have plenty of yummy flavor.
Sure! Simply use cornmeal or gluten-free breadcrumbs. You can use plain or Italian-flavored breadcrumbs.
I love these chicken meatballs with my Cauliflower Cheese Sauce as a dipping sauce, or tossed in Marinara Sauce. You could also toss them in pesto. We love these with pasta or rice, or even sliced and served as meatball sandwiches. I tend to keep our sides simple and include a veggie or a fruit, depending on the day.
How to Store
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Warm briefly in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or in the oven at 375 degrees F for 6-8 minutes. You could even serve cold if packing in a lunchbox.
Best Tips for Success
- I prefer to use Italian chicken sausage (I like the 365 store brand from Whole Foods) since it’s lean and has nice flavor.
- Use plain ground chiken if you prefer.
- If you use pork sausage, you may want to drain on paper towels after baking.
- Gluten-free, use cornmeal or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- You can use plain or Italian-flavored breadcrumbs. Start with the lower amount of ½ cup and add a little bit more at a time until the mixture holds together. They will be sticky, but will hold together. Wash your hands halfway through if needed.
- Plan to cook your sweet potato ahead of time. You can roast it in the oven—wash and poke with a fork and place into a baking dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes at 400 degrees F for about an hour or until very soft. You can also cook it in your slow cooker.
- Serve with Marinara Sauce, Cauliflower Cheese Sauce, ketchup, or another favorite sauce.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear what your family thinks of this recipe if you try it, so please comment below to share!
Baked Chicken Meatballs with Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian chicken sausage
- 1 cup mashed roasted sweet potato
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4-1/2 cup cornmeal (or plain breadcrumbs)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray with nonstick spray or wipe down with canola oil and a paper towel. Set aside.
- Mix all ingredients well in a medium bowl with clean hands. Start with ¼ cup cornmeal and add more as needed to create a mixture that holds together in a ball shape. They will be sticky.
- Form into golf ball size balls and place onto the prepared baking rack.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until cooked through and starting to brown.
- Drain on a paper towel lined plate if desired. Serve with Marinara Sauce, Cauliflower Cheese Sauce, ketchup, or another favorite sauce.
Equipment
Notes
- I prefer to use Italian chicken sausage (the 365 store brand from Whole Foods) since it’s lean and has nice flavor.
- If you use pork sausage, you may want to drain on paper towels after baking.
- To make these gluten-free, use cornmeal or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- You can use plain or Italian-flavored breadcrumbs. Start with the lower amount of ½ cup and add a little bit more at a time until the mixture holds together easily.
- Plan to cook your sweet potato ahead of time. You can roast it in the oven—wash and poke with a fork and place into a baking dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes for about an hour or until very soft. You can also cook it in your slow cooker.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Warm briefly in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or in the oven at 375 degrees F for 6-8 minutes. Or you could even serve cold if packing in a lunchbox.
- Serve with Marinara Sauce, Cauliflower Cheese Sauce, ketchup, or another favorite sauce.
Nutrition
This post was first published October 2019.
These are absolutely delicious. My 9 month old loves these. They are soft and mash up easily so he can safely eat them without chocking.
So excited to try tonight! Is it necessary to roast the sweet potato? Is the flavor different than a quick steam in the microwave?
Love all of your content! You’ve saved my sanity many times over!
You can totally steam them in the microwave, will work just fine! Enjoy.
My toddler loves these, and they’re pretty much the only way I can get her to eat chicken. These also freeze great, so I can make them in big batches. My oven tends to burn the bottoms of the meatballs when I use aluminum foil, but using parchment paper instead solved that.
Can I use the canned precooked sweet potatoes? I am looking forward to making this and have several cans in the pantry.
Yes, that should work similarly.
I made these for my 1.5 year old. It is usually a struggle to feed him meat, but he loved this recipe! I will be making these again – definitely recommend
Hi! Would it be possible to make these without the cheese? Do you think it would hold together?
Yes, I think it would hold together okay. I would add 1/2 teaspoon salt to make sure they aren’t bland though!
You say grated and raw in the comments but the instructions say cooked and mashed. Which is it?
The information in the recipe is the most up to day and reflects improvements on the recipe when I updated the post. Cooked and mashed.
Turned out great! Thanks! Can you freeze these?
Yay! Sure, stick them into a freezer bag, remove as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months.
Do you have a recommendation for how to reheat from frozen (they were fully cooked when I froze them)? I did in my air fryer at 375 and it took 9 min to get the middle to 165 so they ended up browner than I would have liked.
Or is it not as big of a deal to get the middle to 165 since they were fully cooked before freezing?
I would either heat them in the microwave in 30 second increments until heated through or 6-8 minutes (or until heated through) in a 375 degree F oven. I hope that helps!
I used Premio sweet chicken sausage (removed the castings).
Baked for 25 minutes and then put the meatballs in a pot of marinara sauce and simmered them for a bit.
Very good.
My little munchkin LOVED them and wanted to eat them whole. Ha! Thank you for the recipe!
Hooray!!
Should it be grated raw sweet potato or cooked? Thanks!
Raw! (Though it’s possible that mashed cooked would work too;)
Great recipe! I made these for my one year old daughter as I’m trying to get her to eat more meat and she loves sweet potatoes! She ate most of her portion, and my husband and I enjoyed the meatballs as well.
I’m glad that you all enjoyed them!