These savory little Chicken-Vegetable Meatballs are an easy appetizer to serve on game day. Or they make an easy finger food for toddlers. Just prep the ingredients, mix together, roll into balls and bake.
The vegetables I used in this batch were carrots, spinach and green onion. The flavors are subtle enough for a toddler, without the adults feeling like you are sneaking something in that they might not like. You can sub other vegetables that you like, add seasonings, etc.
The meatballs are held together by flax meal and garbanzo flour, so anyone sensitive to gluten, nuts, eggs or dairy can enjoy them.
I like to serve these with a dressing or dip like my garlic-tahini dressing or my baba ghanoush dip.
For a baby or toddler who wants to self-feed, it’s a way to include vegetables like carrots or spinach that otherwise feel too mushy to eat at that age. There’s a little bit of grated apple for sweetness, but not so much that the adults object.
The meatballs are appropriate for 8 months and older.
And, even if there are no toddlers in your house, these make a flavorful meatball with a marinara sauce over pasta.
Much of the fresh color of the spinach and carrots remains in the meatballs because they don’t take long to bake. Yet because the vegetables are grated very fine, they blend well with the other flavors.
Why MCT oil to grease the pan?
I grease my pan with MCT oil because it is the best oil for preventing sticking that I’ve found. Plus, the little bit of oil helps the meatballs develop a nice golden crisp on the bottoms. It takes just a few drops in each well of the pan.
MCT oil stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides, and is the healthiest part of coconut oil. It is easier to digest than longer-chain fatty acids, is easily metabolized by the brain, and may help with maintaining a healthy weight. Win!
Can I make these oil-free?
Yes, you can bake the meatballs on parchment paper or a silpat mat, too. They will be a bit less crisp on the bottoms but will keep their shape during baking.
If using a mat, you can roll the meatballs smaller to get up to 30 to 36 per batch. Of course, smaller meatballs will bake faster, so check them after 12 minutes!
As always, if you have a chance to try this recipe, leave me a message in the comments so I know how it went!
Beth
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Appetizers and dips you may enjoy
Tahini-Garlic Dressing: 7-Ingredients
Garlicky Spinach-Artichoke Hummus
Baba Ghanoush Dip and Salad Dressing
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Shop chicken vegetable meatballs
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These little Chicken Vegetable Meatballs are an easy appetizer to serve on game day or a simple finger food for toddlers. Just prep the grated ingredients, mix together, roll into balls and bake. Then serve with your favorite dressing or dip.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ¼ cup grated apple
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- ½ cup chopped spinach
- ⅛ cup chopped green onion
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- ½ cup garbanzo flour
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Coconut or MCT oil, for greasing the pan, optional
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Gently fold together with your hands until everything is well incorporated. Let sit for the garbanzo and flax flours to plump a bit while you pre-heat the oven.
- Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Grease a mini-muffin tin with coconut or MCT oil. Or for a low-oil option, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.
- Roll meat mixture into 1″ balls, see note. The balls keep their shape during baking.
- Place the meatballs onto the baking sheet or muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and gently browned.
Notes
When rolling meatballs, use a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop to keep the amount of mixture the same for each ball. Also, I wear my dishwashing gloves when rolling them, to keep the mixture from sticking to my hands.
Storage: 3 days in fridge or 3 months in freezer
Keywords: chicken-vegetable meatball, toddler food, finger food, baked snack, game day food, appetizer
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Awesome recipe! I can’t wait to try this… I love chicken and this is a new way to cook it! Thank you!
Thanks, Holly. I love making favorites like this into party foods, and hope you will enjoy them!
I have never had a chicken meatball. I have made turkey ones and liked them very much. I am excited to try these. They sound delish!
Heather, I used to use a lot of turkey too but we’ve found lately we prefer the milder flavor of the chicken. But either would work well in this recipe!
These look delicious and perfect for my new air fryer! Thank you!
Robin, oh, I’d love to hear how they come out in the air fryer – I haven’t had a chance to try them that way. The small size should work well.
These look amazing! Did not know they could be eaten alone, sounds delicious!
Lucy, they contain lots of vegetables, which gives them a good flavor and texture even without a dip.
These will be great as appetizers for the Super Bowl
Angela, I’ll be making some for the Super Bowl too! They’re easy to make and serve, which is a plus.
These look great! Your photos are gorgeous as well!
Sydney, thanks so much for that supportive comment! Yes, my goal is make the photos look as good as the food, and glad to hear you think so.
This looks delicious! My sister and her family don’t eat red meat. I should make this for them!
Charlene, they are really good and don’t take long to make – a great option for people who are avoiding red meat!
These look so good! I might have to make them the next time my book club has a party. I’m always looking for good and easy appetizers.
Thanks, Lora, these do make a good book club appetizer because they hold together well, so are easy to eat – and they don’t take long to mix up. Enjoy!
Delicious! I bet the apple and carrot give it a nice moisture and sweetness. Thanks for this recipe!
Thanks, Malia, you are right – just enough sweetness to make them feel like a snack rather than dinner, I think. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Yum this looks do delicious! Can’t wait to try
Thanks, Lisa – they are delicious! I hope you have a chance to try them soon!
They look delicious, and the sauce is always a clincher for me.
Thanks, Maria, I’m always up for dipping food in sauce too – I love how you can customize the flavors that way.
These look really good, especially with the sauce. I can’t wait to try them.
Thanks, Cindy, the best part is that because they’re pretty mild they can go with different sauces – use your favorite!
These look delicious and I cannot wait to give them a try!
Thanks, Jen, they are delicious and I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
These look and sound really good! I like how they’re a wee bit crispy.
Katharine, these are really designed for my grandson, who will be more likely to eat them if they have a slight crispiness and are not mushy at all. It works for the adults too!
I like this concept to bake in the oven. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer, what I like about the oven-baking is that the meatballs develop a light crust on the bottom, which everyone likes. Enjoy!
These looks sooo good! This isa great layout of the recipe, including the pics.
Amy, thank you so much! My goal is to make the food look as good as it really is, and I always hope I’ve succeeded.
These look like they sure wouldn’t last long if you get my drift 🙂
Suzan, haha, yes you are right about that drift! I often make a double batch just for that reason.
You know, I never thought to place the meatballs in the muffin pan….awesome!
Vanessa, these meatballs hold their shape so well you don’t really need to use the muffin tin unless you want them crisp a little bit up the sides – but that’s really popular. Enjoy!
I’ve never tried anything like this, but your pictures look so good! I wonder if I could make this in my air fryer. I try to cook everything in that thing these days. Ha! Thanks for the recipe.
Stacey, I haven’t tried these in the air fryer, but that’s because I just got one for Christmas. If you do have a chance to try them that way, please let me know! They should work great.
These look absolutely delicious! I can ‘t wait to eat!
★★★★★
Tricia, they are tasty and easy. I hope you get a chance to try them and let me know what you think!!
I am going to have to give these a try! We do meatballs often but really don’t make them veg enriched. They sound so good, especially with the sauce!
Christina, thanks so much! I love the extra color and flavor, plus that you can add whatever vegetables you like. Enjoy!
This looks so delicious!
Brianna, thank you! They are, and easy too.
These look super yummy! I’m glad they’re made gluten free as well. I’m saving the recipe for later!
Tara, thank you! Some recipes are fairly easy to make gluten-free, and this is one of them. Enjoy!
Those look really good! I love all the veggies that are in them, without them really looking like veggies- perfect for my 8 year old who seems to have a special 6th sense that he uses to detect veggies, lol! Thanks for the recipe!
Robin, haha, yes I know what you mean about that 6th sense. I hope this one will work for him!
I love the idea of using chicken for a meatball! These look delicious!
Trisha, chicken really appeals to people at parties and these are really popular. I hope you enjoy them.
This looks yummy and easy. I think I will try it for my grandson. Thanks for sharing!
Shirley, I hope your grandson likes them as much as mine does. Finger foods are so easy for little ones to manage!
This looks like a great game day delight, thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Christopher, thank you! They make a great snack or appetizer, for sure.
Oh my goodness… these look so good. I could do these and portion out enough for me into vacuum sealer bags and keep them in the freezer. They look like they’d be good just about anytime.
Susan, you’re right about them being good in lots of ways – even as a burrito filling. thanks!
I have never heard of this but they sound delicious!
Thanks, Michele, they are easy and fun to serve, as well as tasty!
These look so different and I love the fruit and veggie inclusion!! Printing this one off to give a try.
Thanks so much! (And do you go by T.M.?) They’re colorful without being too different from a meatball. I hope you’ll let me know if you have a chance to try them!
Delicious! They look like great snacks!
Beatriz, thanks so much! It’s one way the toddler will eat chicken, and it makes the adults happy too.
These look sooooo yummy!!!!
Thanks, Lisa, they are, and easy enough to make often.
Looks like a good recipe! I’m plant based. I’ll have to try this with the ground Beyond Meat.
Cindy, thanks! I’d love to know how they turn out. I’m working on a plant-based version myself, probably based on chickpeas.