Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs that are juicy and cooked to perfection, a great recipe for kids and grown ups too. They are healthy and made from scratch with fresh ingredients, and they make the perfect bite for a nutritious lunch or a nice picnic.
Meatballs are one of the most popular dishes all around the world. Whether they are fried, baked, cooked in a sauce, meat-based, vegetarian or vegan, they are enjoyed by people of all ages.
Growing up, meatball soup was, and still is with us, one of our favourite dishes no matter the season. As for a nice starter or a snack in between meals, a good old meatball can never fail. Beef meatballs might be the most popular, but with us, chicken is always a winner.
Baking meatballs might sound a bit daunting, as one might think this process could dry up the meatballs, but it's far from the truth. If the ingredients are used well, the baked meatballs should be as juicy and delicious as the fried ones. And I'll show you how!
HOW TO BAKE CHICKEN AND APPLE MEATBALLS
These meatballs can be served as a starter, or enjoyed as part of a nutritious meal in the baby-led weaning journey. If cooked for +6 months babies, salt must be omitted, otherwise for older kids and grown ups, salt can be added to taste.
- in a large bowl, add the chicken mince, fresh breadcrumbs, minced onion, egg, grated apple, chopped dill, parsley, black pepper and salt
NOTE! If you can't find minced/ground chicken, you can buy chicken breasts or any other part of the chicken and mince it yourself in the kitchen aid, for me it works brilliantly.
- mix well to get a paste
- dust flour onto a board, and with wet hands, shape balls out of the mixture - depending on the size of the meatballs, you should get about 20 or so
- arrange them on a baking tray lined with non stick paper
- spray them generously with cooking oil spray, that will prevent them from sticking, and will help colour nicely
- bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for about 30 minutes or until cooked through - you can shake the tray half the way through or turn them onto the other side to ensure even baking
TIPS AND TRICKS
Fresh breadcrumbs are inexpensive and quick to whip up if you have a food processor, otherwise store-bought breadcrumbs are fine to use too - just refrigerate the meatballs for 15-20 minutes prior to baking.
The egg is used not only as a binding agent, but it also helps with the moisture, so I do recommend using it. If the mixture seems soft at this stage, refrigerating helps firm up the meatballs.
You can add more fresh or dried herbs of your choice, spring onions or chives would make a fantastic addition. I chose to mince the onion, but you can also chop it finely, or even grate it. Chunkier pieces of onion won't look as nice, plus they might not cook properly.
You can serve the meatballs as a snack, or as a main meal in a tomato sauce either with pasta, mash, bulgur wheat, couscous, and so on. My Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella-Stuffed Pork Meatballs, Healthy Swedish Meatballs or Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Casserole are a few examples on how we like to serve the meatballs.
Do give these delicious chicken and apple meatballs a try, they are quick and easy to make, and even a complete beginner in the kitchen would absolutely smash them!
If you’ve tried these BAKED CHICKEN APPLE MEATBALLS or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs that are juicy and cooked to perfection, a great recipe for kids and grown ups too. They are healthy and made from scratch with fresh ingredients, and they make the perfect bite for a nutritious lunch or a nice picnic.
- 500 g chicken mince
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 onion
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1/ tablespoon fresh dill
- 1 apple
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking oil spray
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Peel and mince the onion or chop it very finely.
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Peel, core and grate the apple.
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In a large bowl, add the minced chicken, minced onion, egg, grated apple, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley and dill, and seasoning.
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Mix well to make a paste.
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Dust a board with flour, then, with wet hands, shape 20 meatballs, and coat with flour.
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Arrange the meatballs on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper.
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Spray generously with cooking oil spray.
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Bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes or until cooked through - you can turn them onto the other side or shake the tray half the way through to ensure an even baking.
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