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These broccoli cheddar meatballs are a flavorful and veggie packed way to serve meat to your little one!
Attempt number two at easy ways to serve meat to my son! I made a huge batch of meatballs two different ways, the other being tomato mozzarella, if you’d like to check those out. I’m definitely am trying to work on finding some easy protein sources beyond just dairy, so this was another try and finding those!
Broccoli and cheddar cheese are favorites for my son, so figured why not throw them in a meatball and see how it goes! Unfortunately, he wanted no part in these ๐ He’s getting much more particular when it comes to new foods! He’s also been really going through it with teething for what seems like forever at this point. That’s definitely impacted his appetite – poor guy.
However, my husband and I can confirm that these are actually delicious, even if my tiny taste tester didn’t want to try them. I’ll be serving them to him another time and I have a feeling he will love them! I think your baby will love them too.
BABY LED WEANING
This recipe will work for babies 6 months and up once they have been safely introduced to the allergens in the recipe.
One thing to note – big globs of melted cheese can be a choking hazard. Feel free to adjust cheese amount to fit what works best for your little one.
For information on how to safely serve foods to babies depending on their age (plus so much more), I recommend Solid Starts. The app is free and has tons of information!
ALLERGENS
This recipe contains wheat, egg, and dairy.
GF breadcrumbs should work here just fine.
I have not yet tried egg free, but I plan to try with an egg replacement, here’s one that has good reviews and is available online, if you’d like to give it a go! Once I try I will update here.
If your baby cannot do dairy, you could do a vegan cheddar.
STORAGE
Store these in the fridge for 4 days max, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat – you can thaw overnight then microwave for 30 seconds, or just microwave from frozen for a minute or two.
SUBSTITUTES & ADD INS
I have read that oats pulsed in a food processor or blender can work instead of breadcrumbs if you’d like to give that a go!
You can make these any size you’d like! Feel free to change things up with the cheese.
TOOLS USED/RECOMMENDED
Cutting board and knife
Mixing bowl
Sheet pan
Parchment paper – I buy precut online because I find dealing with a roll of parchment to be the most annoying thing ๐
Cookie scoop – I love using this to scoop meatballs, pancake batter, and tons more. I use this thing ALL the time when cooking for my son (and just in general)
Meat thermometer – I will never cook meat without using one! We have a expensive one because my husband cooks meat all the time, but this one is affordable and looks great. I like that it has printed on their the safe temperatures for meat so you never need to look it up!
More easy and delicious recipes for your little one found here!
Broccoli Cheddar Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey mine was 93% lean. any ground meat should work!
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
- 1 cup broccoli steamed and chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 and line your baking sheet with parchment
- Steam your broccoli until fork tender and chop
- Add broccoli to a mixing bowl, then add in remaining ingredients
- Mix everything until just combined (but do not over mix. I used a food safe glove to mix because I think using your hands is what works best!)
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon add around 1.5 tablespoons of the mixture to your baking sheet
- Can leave as is, or roll into balls
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until internal temperature reads 165
- Serve and enjoy!
I hope your little one is more open to trying these than mine was ๐ I know they’ll be a hit! Happy cooking!
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