Baby Led Weaning Meatballs
- April 10, 2021
- Last Updated: March 13, 2024
- 18 Comments
- Baby Led Weaning
These easy 4-ingredient baby led weaning meatballs are not only easy to prepare, but are the perfect, nutritious meatball recipe for baby led weaning and toddler feeding.
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Baby meatballs have been a staple baby led weaning food for both of my girls.
They make for such a great toddler meal idea since they are nutritionally dense, served with some breastmilk (from my favorite breastpump)!
We make meatballs (all kinds) often in our house and have made tons of varieties based on what we have. Plus, you can throw them in this meatball soup with kale to use them up.
Would you guess that baby meatballs are actually quite versatile?
We actually serve them often as a baby led weaning breakfast idea, too! When I make them in bulk, it’s so easy to just serve it to my 9 month old for breakfast or lunch.
Well, if you love watching babies eat food, like I do (isn’t it just the cutest thing?), you’ll be surprised at how adorable meatballs for babies are.
What makes meatballs for babies extra great for baby led weaning are that they are easy to hold (meatballs are the ultimate finger food for babies) and stick together for the baby to bite into.
Whether you prefer to use turkey or ground chicken for baby (like these ground chicken meatballs), it’s a great vehicle for serving protein, iron, and Vitamin C to baby.
Meatballs are top of the list for my favorite dinner recipes for babies.
And if you’re into these, check out all the other ways you can use sweet potato baby finger foods, like in baby pancakes.
They are also very nutrient-dense and easy to take out for a snack, with our favorite snack spinner.
We also love using a bison meatball recipe to introduce another high iron and protein source to babies (though I’d leave out the bbq sauce for babes!).
Same with lentils. So many options for a lentil recipe for babies.
Another nutrition fact about this baby meatball recipe is that the sweetpotatoes, which are high in Vitamin C, can help with iron absorption.
We love so many sweet potato recipes for kids for this reason. I always rely on several sweet potato recipes for baby led weaning.
We’ll usually start around 5-6 months with these breastmilk popsicles and then ease into baby led weaning with these meatballs.
Ingredients For This Recipe
That means you don’t have to worry about having a separate food to increase the iron – it’s all together for you in this handheld meatball for baby.
I almost always make a double or triple batch to freeze for when future Sarah feels overwhelmed and needs some frozen meals for toddlers!
Ingredients For Baby Led Weaning Meatballs
To make these weaning meatballs, all you need are 4 basic ingredients!
I love beef or turkey meatballs for baby led weaning, but feel free to use ground chicken if you please.
While babies can pick these up on their own, you could also mash smaller pieces with applesauce, yogurt or mashed avocado on some ezpz spoons!
Or, combine everything into a snack spinner and take it for a little picnic with your little bub.
These meatballs make for a great meal idea for a 1 year old and toddler food, too!
- 1 lb ground turkey, beef or chicken – I recommend using a high quality sourced meat when serving to babies. We get ours from Butcher Box.
- 2/3 mashed sweet potato, cooked
- 2/3 cup flour (chickpea flour, oat flour, almond flour, whole wheat) – I get these from Thrive Market!
- 2 eggs
- Sometimes, we’ll add in shredded zucchini as well – zucchini for baby led weaning is great!
These are the basic outline of my sweet potatoes and ground turkey burgers.
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Can A 6 Month Old Baby Eat Eggs?
I know many of you may be skeptical about introducing eggs to babies since they are an allergenic food. However, these baby meatballs are the perfect way to introduce eggs.
The latest research shows that introducing allergen foods earlier rather than later may reduce the risk of allergies later on.
I talk more about eggs specifically in this post about baby led weaning foods for 6 months.
How to Make Meatballs For Babies
Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
I stock up on oat flour and almond flour from Thrive Market, since you save money and have them delivered.
Make sure your sweet potatoes are pre-cooked (I just microwave them for 5-6 minutes) and then remove the skin.
Form into meatball shape and place on baking sheet.
You want the meatballs to hold together well, but be soft enough for babies to gum them if they don’t have any teeth.
This is where the mashed sweet potato works really well when combined with ground turkey.
For food safety reasons, use a food thermometer to check the interior temperature is 165 degrees. Definitely don’t want to serve undercooked meat products to your baby!
These baby friendly turkey meatballs have the best soft texture and ultimate nutrient offering.
So, baby can pick up on his own, or pre-load an ezpz spoon with a small amount.
They make for a great baby led weaning finger food at 7 months, too!
FAQs
- How to Freeze Meatballs for Babies – These are the easiest meatballs to freeze. Just let them cool to room temperature, and place in a freezer friendly ziplock bag, sealed tightly. When reheating, just put them in the microwave for a few minutes. Don’t overheat them or they will be too tough and hard to chew.
- Can I Use A Different Flour? Yes, you do not need to use chickpea flour. You can also use whole wheat flour, oat flour, or almond flour. Coconut flour likely won’t work the same way because it’s much denser and more dry.
- What Should You Serve this Toddler Meatball Recipe With? If you’re serving this to toddlers, you’ll probably need some sides. We like to pair with a green veggie (asparagus, peas, broccoli) or even a side of naan bread. For babies, this cantaloupe puree or acorn squash in the air fryer are both great because they have Vitamin C to help absorb iron!
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More Baby Led Weaning Recipe Ideas
- Baby French Toast Sticks
- Waffles for babies
- Air Fryer Turkey Burgers
- Acorn Squash for Baby
- Baby Led Weaning Carrots
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges
- Crispy Parsnip Fries
- Baby Salmon Cakes (great way to introduce seafood!)
Baby Led Weaning Turkey Meatballs
These easy 4-ingredient baby led weaning meatballs are not only easy to prepare, but are the perfect, nutritious meatball recipe for baby led weaning and toddler feeding.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey, beef or chicken
- 2/3 cup sweet potato (cooked and mashed)
- 2/3 cup flour (chickpea flour, oat flour, whole wheat flour)
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Microwave your sweet potato for 5 minutes and let cool and remove skin.
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Form into meatball shape and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until meatballs are fully cooked and reach 165 degrees internally.
Notes
To freeze: Let meatballs cool to room temperature. Stick them in a tightly sealed ziplock bag in an even layer and place in the freezer. To reheat, stick in the microwave for 2-4 minutes, checking periodically to make sure they don't burn.
To add more flavor, consider using hummus, guacamole or ketchup as a dipping sauce.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 91Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 29mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 8g
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Support Bucket List TummyI made these and they are still mushy in the middle I can’t tell if they are undercooked. I don’t have a meat thermometer to check. I baked them for an hour and still straight mush in the middle. I added zucchini and really mashed my potatoes until smooth so I wonder if that is why.
These have been such a life saver! Our baby has several food allergies, including egg – he eats baked egg only to build tolerance. Thank you for creating such a simple and easily modifiable recipe for baby protein. The taste and texture have been perfect, and we’ve been able to add ingredients as we’re comfortable challenging new foods. This recipe has remove so much food anxiety for us, thank you!!
Hi, I made these and baked them for about twice as long as the called for time and theyre still gushy in the middle… I’m worried they’re undercooked still? I used turkey
Same thing happened to me 🙁
The same thing happened to me too! What did you end up doing? I don’t have a thermometer to check them I baked them for an hour and still mush!
Hello! Can i sub with plain flour? Thanks!
Yes, you can.
Loved them for my baby and myself lol.
I added a bit of ground flaxseed too.
My 10 month old loved these! I mixed them in with just the tiniest bit of no salt tomato sauce for some extra flavor. My husband and I enjoyed them too!
Your directions say to freeze the meatballs. Is there any reason I can’t store some in the fridge instead for a limited time?
So glad to hear that! You can definitely store in the fridge for a few days.
I made this and my 8 month old and my 2.5 year old did not like this at all. It was pretty bland and it needed something.
Sorry to hear they didn’t enjoy them. Did you try a dip, like ketchup or hummus? That usually helps. Babies can’t have a lot of salt, so these aren’t super salty or herby.
Hi Sarah! Can’t wait to make these 🙂 Have you ever used baby oatmeal instead of flour? Trying to boost those nutrients even more!
I haven’t tried that but I think it should work fine 🙂
Thank you for this recipe and this comment! My daughter LOVES these meatballs! I sub baby oatmeal for the flour after seeing this comment. And I sprinkle in some onion powder and garlic powder. I pan fry the ground meat ahead of time and bake for about 10ish mins. I double batch and freeze and these are great for grab and go and to have on those crazy days. Thank you!!
This is a great recipe! I added a little italian seasoning and some finely chopped broccoli as well for a little extra vitamins and they came out really tasty! These freeze well too! Was babysitting for picky eaters and they LOVED these
Thank you for sharing! So glad the picky eaters liked them 🙂
Your lil daughter’s pic belongs on Gerber food jars!