These super juicy turkey and veggie meatballs for baby are delicious, packed with veggies and requires no deep frying. They contain all the nutrients a toddler needs in a meal while they learn to self-feed!
A Nutritious Self-Feed Meal
This recipe was created specially for my baby daughter so she could self-fed via baby led weaning . I wanted something that was easy to grab with her little hands and, of course, it had to be nutritious.
These turkey and veggie meatballs don’t require any deep-frying in oil so they are extra healthy for baby. They are packed with veggies and nutrients and so delicious and nutritious that Bibi doesn’t even realize she is eating all those veggies. I know these meatballs will be perfect for the picky eaters in your life too.
Each serving of 8 turkey and veggie meatballs has 1 serving of carbs, 1 serving of vegetables and 1 serving of protein.
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How to Cook Baby Led Weaning Turkey and Veggie Meatballs
To make perfect meatballs every time and without any cross-contamination risk, I pan fry the ground turkey before shaping the meatballs. Also, cooking the turkey beforehand is a great way to meal prep! You can cook the ground turkey, keep it aside in the fridge or freezer and then just make fresh meatballs in half the time. This method also allows you to move and go do a different thing while you are cooking without the risk of the cross contamination that comes with working with raw meat. That’s always a concern of mine while baby is playing independently while I’m cooking, you just never know when you have to put aside something to tend to them. (Btw, for those who prefer, these turkey and veggie meat balls can be made with raw ground turkey as well. See recipe notes.)
Step-By-Step
Transfer all the ingredients to a bowl.
Best Tools for Making Baby Meatballs:
- Unbleached parchment paper will save time from spraying baking sheet and the cleanup afterwards. Unbleached paper is more baby-friendly.
- Cookie scoop with trigger will save tons of time from forming round meatballs with your hands. Of course, I also use this one for cookie batter too!
- Food processor quickly pulverizes food into small pieces without the need for lots of chopping and grating. This is especially useful for pulverizing the hard carrots in this recipe. This is the processor I use in my kitchen for everything! Even making almond flour for macarons over at IndulgeWithMimi. If you don’t have one, use a grater instead.
- This highly rated microplane grater works efficiently for zesting and grating. I love how efficient it is.
How to store these Toddler Friendly Meatballs
- Cooked ground turkey can be used to shape the meatballs fresh every time. Ground meat can last in the fridge for 3 days.
- Baked turkey veggie meatballs can last in the fridge for up to 3 days in an air-tight container and re-heated before serving.
- Baked turkey veggie meatballs can be frozen for up to 2 months as a quick meal for baby or toddler. To serve, just take them directly from the freezer to the oven.
How to Serve Veggie & Turkey Meatballs to Baby
- You can make smaller meatballs to fit your child’s ability to self-feed or you can make them larger and just cut them up. Please note that the smaller they are made, the harder they become once baked. (I prefer to cut up larger meatballs into 3 equal parts for baby. The skin makes it easier to hold while the inside remains soft for baby to gum.)
- Pair it with this No-Sugar Added Sweet Tomato Sauce and pasta for a delicious dinner idea for toddler. For lunch, serve it with a nutritious vegetable squash soup or melty soft vegetable soup on the side.
- Serve veggie and turkey meatballs with melted cheese on top and a side of fruits and peas for a complete meal from all food groups.
These turkey and veggie meatballs have been so convenient for me and so well-received by Bibi. I really hope you and your little ones enjoy them too.
XOXO,
Mimi
Turkey and Veggie Meatballs for Baby Led Weaning
Delicious turkey and veggie meatballs for baby led weaning, packed with veggies and requires no deep frying.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp ground turkey, cooked (22 grams cooked) See note 1
- 1/2 Slice onion, chopped
- Avocado oil
- 1 Piece whole grain bread
- Half a small carrot, sliced (30 grams)
- 1/3 Red or Orange bell pepper, chopped (50 grams)
- 1 Egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large pan over medium heat pan fry the onion with avocado oil until translucent and turkey until browned. Reserve for later.
- Toast the whole grain bread until golden brown. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until pulverized. Set aside. Repeat the process with the chopped bell peppers and sliced carrots.
- Transfer all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until incorporated.
- Scoop out the mixture and shape them into round balls or use a cookie scoop with trigger. Place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the skin is firm and inside temperature is above 165 F. Remove from the oven and let them cool down completely before serving.
Notes
1. Cook the entire pack of ground turkey at once and freeze or refrigerate for other meals or for making fresh meatballs later, only 2 tbsp is needed in this recipe for 16 meatballs. If desired, this recipe can be doubled, tripled and so forth if you want to use all the meat at once.
2. Raw ground turkey can be used as well. Skip the pan frying step and bake them for 15-18 minutes instead until skin is firm and inside temperature reaches 165 F.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 16Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 16mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g
Deanna says
Hi, these sound like a great choice for my little one! But it seems like the proportions might be off. I can’t imagine how 2Tbsp of Turkey is going to yield 16 meatballs. Could you please double check the amounts of each ingredient?
indulgewithbibi says
Hi Deanna,
Yes, these ingredients are all correct 🙂 There are other ingredients inside like carrots, peppers, bread, eggs which all goes in to make this turkey meatball. I hope that helps.
XOXO,
Mimi
Jordan says
I’m a little confused too. I think it’s 1 pound of turkey, but perhaps 2 tbsp per ball? So 1 piece of bread, 1/3 pepper per pound of meat?
indulgewithbibi says
Hi Jordan,
As per Note 1, “Cook the entire pack of ground turkey at once and freeze or refrigerate for other meals or for making fresh meatballs later.” I have now added an additional explanation, “only 2 tbsp is needed in this recipe for 16 meatballs. If desired, this recipe can be doubled, tripled and so forth if you want to use all the meat at once.” I hope this helps. Please let me know if that clarifies it and if you need any further help with it.
XOXO, Mimi