Easy homemade meatballs with vegetables and oats for added moisture, flavor and nutrients!
Baked Meatballs
Ingredients
½ cup finely grated carrot
1 egg
½ cup oats (old fashioned rolled or quick-cooking)
¼ cup skim or 1% milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon oregano
1 pound lean ground meat (15% fat or less; try beef, pork, lamb, turkey or chicken)
Directions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Rinse or scrub fresh vegetables under running water before preparing.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients except ground meat.
- Add the ground meat and mix in evenly.
- Using your hands, shape the mixture into 21 (about 2-inch) meatballs. Arrange the meatballs on the baking sheet with space between each one. Bake in 2 batches or on 2 baking sheets if needed. Wash hands with soap and water after touching raw meat and eggs.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through (165 degrees F with a food thermometer) and the outsides are browned.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
Notes
- Try other seasonings such as Italian seasoning or use soy sauce instead of salt.
- No carrot? Use chopped frozen spinach or grated zucchini instead.
- Enjoy with Quick Tomato Pasta Sauce, Veggie Stew or in our Mix and Match Stir-fry.
- Use lactose-free or a plant-based milk if desired.
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Comments
We have substituted ground lamb in this recipe and it was delicious. Our local school district purchased local lamb to be processed and we tested several recipes with our local procurement specialist, this was the best! This recipe will be tested at local schools this school year. With the lamb, it is important to bake them and then remove them from the grease and place it in the sauce for meatball subs. Excess amounts of fat can tend to add an off flavor. This would be a great recipe to quantify!
This is a nice and simple recipe for meatballs. I like adding oats for some whole grain and veggies that add moisture and flavor. I've made with ground beef and ground turkey and a mixture...all were good. One meal we served the meatballs with Veggie Stew and Stovetop Polenta. Yum!