25 Minute Cheesy Carrot Bites (Baby Friendly)
- May 2, 2025
- Last Updated: May 2, 2025
- 0 Comments
- Recipes
Cheesy carrot bites are similar to a carrot meatball, and a great way to get extra veggies into kids. They are wonderful for baby led weaning and feeding toddlers and ready in under 25 minutes!
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Meatballs have always gone over well with my kiddos. As a parent and Registered Dietitian, I am so thankful for meatballs because you can sneak so much nutrition into them!
Like these baby led weaning turkey meatballs that provide iron, as well as Vitamin C to help with iron absorption.
These cheesy carrot bites are essentially carrot meatballs, with you guessed it, carrots. But we’re also sneaking in some pumpkin puree, another source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A and fiber.
Breadcrumbs help keep these meatballs with carrots nice and crunchy and melted cheese helps the mouth-feel. These are a great carrot recipe for toddlers!
I tested these carrot and cheese bites a handful of times, and I really recommend keeping the egg in. They don’t hold together as well without the egg.
I also love the addition of pumpkin puree – it adds a slight sweetness, but also a moistness that really makes these carrot meatballs a homerun!
Moist is good for babies learning to eat these for baby led weaning and even young toddlers.
I would recommend starting this at 9 months for baby led weaning or even 8 months old, after you’ve introduced dairy and egg.
Why Sarah Loves This Recipe
“I love healthy meatballs because babies can hold them, and kids can dip them. They are such a great vehicle for getting extra nutrition in. These cheesy carrot bites pair well with your favorite dipping sauce!”
Why You’ll Love Cheesy Carrot Bites
- Versatile – Serve these in the school lunch-box, as an after school snack with some fun dipping sauces, or alongside a meal!
- Ready in under 30 minutes – I thrive on quick, easy recipes and these carrot bites are just that. Save the extra shredded carrots and add them to these pumpkin muffins with coconut oil in place of the zucchini!
- Offer protein, fiber, Vitamins A and C – Carrot bites are also high in antioxidants – so much nutrition packed into each bite!
- Easy to freeze – I typically freeze these to keep on hand to serve along with any of these frozen meals for toddlers during those busy weeks!
This is one of many of our favorite healthy kid snack ideas! For 15+ other healthy recipes for toddlers and kids, check out our ebook!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need to make these unbeatable carrot and cheese bites!
- grated carrots – Just use a box grater on those large carrots, or buy pre-shredded!
- shredded cheese – Use that same box grater, or you can also buy shredded cheese. I do prefer the shredded cheese to be shorter length, and some bagged shredded cheese can be too long, so you may want to make them shorter.
- breadcrumbs – You can use panko breadcrumbs or regular breadcrumbs. Use gluten-free if you want this to be a gluten-free recipe
- canned pumpkin puree – Make sure it’s not pumpkin pie puree! It will be much too sweet. If you don’t have canned pumpkin, you can use applesauce or sweetpotato puree.
- egg – The egg works as a binder for these bites, kind of like meatballs. You can use a flax egg if you need a substitute.
- Italian seasoning
- garlic powder
- salt and pepper
How to Make this Recipe
First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
While the oven is preheating, use your box grater to shred the carrots and cheese (if you’re not using pre-shredded cheese).
Remove any extra moisture in the carrots (see notes below on how to do it), and then add all of the ingredients to a bowl.
Then, roll the batter into small balls (bite-size or meatball-size) and put on a greased baking sheet. Using a cookie dough scooper helps!
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until brown. Turn them halfway!
Tips for Success
Here are some tips that I recommend for the best outcome:
- If you are shredding your own cheese, use one of the smaller holes on the box grater. Smaller shredded cheese mixes better in these carrot bites!
- If you don’t have pumpkin puree, you could try applesauce or sweetpotato puree, or just omit it though the bites may not be as moist.
- To remove extra moisture from the carrots, shred them directly onto or into a dish cloth or paper towel. Remove any excess moisture by squeezing and twisting the dish cloth or paper towel.
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze in a stasher bag or freezer-safe tupperware for up to 3 months.
TRY some of these other KID FRIENDLY RECIPES!
Cheesy Carrot Bites
Ingredients
- ¾ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup grated cheese I used mozzarella
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- Dash of salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Using the smallest hole size of a box grater, shred your carrots finely into a dish cloth or paper towel. Remove any excess moisture by squeezing and twisting the dish cloth or paper towel.
- Add shredded carrots to a large bowl. Add in the grated cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, pumpkin, and spices and mix.
- Roll the mixture into small balls (meatball shapes – using a cookie scooper helps) and place on a greased baking sheet or Silpat.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until edges start to brown.
- Pair with ranch/ketchup/hummus/favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
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