Baby Led Weaning Meatballs
- April 10, 2021
- Updated: July 8, 2026
- 28 Comments
These easy 4-ingredient turkey 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 recipe for all three of my kiddos. As a Registered Dietitian and family feeding expert, I love meatballs for so many reasons!
You can sneak so much nutrition into a meatball. They also make for a great toddler meal idea since they are nutrient-dense.
But don’t just save them for a meal – these turkey meatballs for baby are one of our favorite healthy snacks for meal prep that you can bulk prep pretty quickly. Double the recipe to freeze snacks for later.
We make meatballs (all kinds) often in our house, like red lentil meatballs or carrot meatballs, and have made tons of varieties based on what we have and any dietary considerations (ie – gluten-free, egg-free, etc.).
These turkey meatballs for baby are a constant favorite and you’ll see why this meatball recipe receives rave reviews!
Reader Review
“My 10mo is obsessed with these meatballs! I followed the recipe and use the beechnut baby oatmeal that’s already ground up. Binds everything perfectly and comes out moist and easy to chew. Thank you!!!!”
Alexandra
Reader Review
“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!!”
Jenna
Meatballs are one of my favorite meal ideas for 2 year olds, babies and older kids. It’s so easy to load up shredded veggies and even allergen powders in them (if you need to introduce allergens)!
Plus, you can throw them in a meatball soup with kale to use them up and serve them in a new way or freeze them in a stasher bag for an easy meal next week!
Also, meatballs are a great food to serve as family style meal because kids can pick them up and plate them themselves.
Why I Love These Turkey Meatballs for Baby
- Versatility – Would you guess that baby meatballs are actually quite versatile? We actually serve them often as a baby led weaning breakfast idea, too! I love to pair them with a puree to keep them moist, like this prune puree for baby.
- Easy to make in bulk and freeze – When I make them in bulk, it’s so easy to just serve them to my 9 month old for breakfast or lunch. An easy freezer food for toddlers (store in a stasher bag!) to easily reheat, or even for the postpartum mom!
- Easy finger food – Meatballs for babies are great for baby led weaning because they are easy to hold (meatballs are the ultimate finger food for babies) and stick together for the baby to bite into. You could also mash smaller pieces with applesauce, yogurt or mashed avocado on some ezpz spoons!
- Nutrient-rich– Whether you prefer to use turkey or ground chicken for baby (like these ground chicken meatballs or chicken zucchini meatballs), meatballs are a great vehicle for serving protein, iron, zinc, and Vitamin C to baby. Iron is a crucial nutrient for babies, especially breastfed babies as iron stores begin to decrease in baby’s stores after 6 months). Here are some other iron rich food for babies.
Ingredient Key Notes
To make these baby led weaning meatballs, all you need are 4 basic ingredients!
These meatballs make for a great meal idea for a 1 year old, but of course, great for toddlers and adults too! If you struggle with family meal ideas for toddlers, this is it.
- ground turkey, beef or chicken – I recommend using a high-quality sourced meat when serving to babies. We get ours from Butcher Box.
- mashed sweetpotato- Just microwave a sweetpotato for 5-6 minutes and scoop out the flesh for a shortcut! I always rely on several sweet potato recipes for baby led weaning since it cooks so quickly and mashes with things.
- flour – I like to use chickpea flour for the extra nutrition, but oat flour, almond flour or whole wheat flour all work too.
- eggs – Just make sure to introduce eggs separately before this baby meatball recipe if you have a high risk of family allergens.
- Optional – Sometimes, we’ll add in shredded zucchini or carrot in as well – zucchini for baby led weaning is great!
Quick Way to Cook Sweetpotato
Just microwave your sweetpotato for 5-6 minutes, let it cool, and scoop out the flesh. This saves you from turning on the oven and having to bake them.
Can A 6 Month Old Baby Eat Eggs?
I know many parents are 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 in a bowl. Add an allergen powder if you want to introduce an allergen (which research shows, we should do earlier rather than later to reduce risk of allergies later on).
Mixing Tip
Mix your batter really well – I like to use my hands and these plastic gloves! They are quick and efficient and it saves me from touching raw meat.
Form into a meatball shape and place on a 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 sweetpotato works really well when combined with ground turkey.
Bake for 25-30 minutes!
These baby friendly turkey meatballs have the best soft texture that your baby will love and you, as a parent, can feel safe about!
When serving, baby can pick up on the meatball on his or her own, you can mash it with other foods, or you could offer on a pre-loaded ezpz spoon with a small amount. They make for a great baby led weaning finger food at 7 months, too!
Use a Thermometer!
For food safety reasons, use a food thermometer to check that the interior temperature of your cooked meatballs is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Definitely don’t want to serve undercooked meat products to your baby!
FAQs
- How to Freeze Meatballs for Babies – Let your turkey meatballs cool to room temperature, and place in a stasher bag or 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 can also use whole wheat flour, oat flour, or almond flour. Coconut flour likely won’t work the same way because it’s denser and drier.
- 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!
More Baby Led Weaning Recipes
For 20+ baby led weaning recipes and tips, check out my baby led weaning ebook.
Stressed about feeding your baby?
Unsure what foods to offer?
Check out our baby led weaning ebook that has several recipes for every time of day and a sample feeding schedule!
More Baby Led Weaning Recipe Ideas
- Baby French Toast Sticks
- Waffles for babies
- 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
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey, beef or chicken
- 2/3 cup sweetpotato cooked and mashed
- 2/3 cup flour (chickpea flour, oat flour, whole wheat flour all work)
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Microwave your sweetpotato 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
Equipment
Nutrition
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Support Bucket List TummyMy sweet potato catched fire in the microwave. Be careful. Set the whole fire alarm off in the entire house.
I love these but can’t find a UK conversion for the “Cup” measurement.. Ideally in milligrams? Could you advise please? (I did look but everywhere came up with different answers and whether it was converting for wet or dry ingredients etc..)
Thanks!
I’d love to know that too! I made them once and they came out ok, but now I don’t remember the proportions I used and I’m trying to figure it out again!!! Especially that American cup measurements vary so much depending on the ingredient!
Too much flour. Only need 1 egg. Infants don’t need that much protein. I’ll be adding like 1/4 apple sauce or dip them in hummus /olive oil with Italian seasoning
How long can these kast in freezer
3-6 months! But will taste fresher if you can use them within 3-4 months.
My 10mo is obsessed with these meatballs! I’m not sure why there are any reviews of it being mushy. I follow the recipe and use the beechnut baby oatmeal that’s already ground up. Binds everything perfectly and comes out moist and easy to chew. Thank you!!!!
Should have read the comments before making! I made these for my 11 month old using oat flour and she would put it in her mouth and then promptly push it out of her mouth…then repeat..?? They’re pretty bland- wish I had added some onion or garlic powder before baking. I’m going to make some hummus, which she loves, and see if that helps her eat them. I would think ketchup has too much added sugar to be a healthy dipping sauce for her age.
I 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.
This is such a great, easy weeknight recipe!!!
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.
Mine came out mushy too, but seems that’s common with some of the other comments. I checked internal temp and it’s fine. @Sarah / what can I do to “unmush”?? For the start the mush is fine but I want my daughter to learn to take a proper bite of non-mush meatballs! 🙂
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!