Even the kids will love these super easy homemade meatballs!
Looking for a simple but delicious weeknight dinner? These easy homemade meatballs are my go to! They please the kids, the Italian husband loves them… oh, and they have veggies sneakily hidden inside that only you will know about!
Meatballs are versatile and pretty much everyone love them. This recipe is super easy to make and even easier to customize! Eating keto? Swap out traditional breadcrumbs for ground pork rinds!
Not feeling pasta? Put them in a hoagie and make some delicious meatball subs! Don’t worry, we will talk about some more simple meatball swaps you can make in a minute, but for now… Let’s get to the meat of the story so to speak. The easy homemade meatball recipe (with secret hidden veggies).
Homemade Hidden Veggie Meatballs
Personally, I like to use two different ground meats for my meatballs. A combination of ground beef and ground Italian sausage. This gives the meatballs a really nice flavor. So grab out a large mixing bowl and start combining your meats.
Let that sit for a moment while you grab your secret ingredient. Zucchini! For this recipe, I took a whole zucchini and used my cheese grater to make it almost unnoticeable when mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
Mixing in zucchini will help up the flavor and the health benefits of your dinner, while your kids are none the wiser that they are really eating veggie meatballs!
Once you have the zucchini in your bowl, mix in a small container of ricotta cheese, breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, and two eggs.
Combine well! I have found that it is much easier to use my hands for this part as a spoon never really gets everything properly mixed.
Form your meatballs and place them on a cooking sheet. I prefer to use a cast iron skillet. Honestly, I think everything tastes better when cooked in cast iron so it is my go to for almost ever recipe I make.
Once you have your formed meatballs, you are going to want to cook them at 425° for about 20 minutes. Time will vary based on your oven. It is always good to check to make sure you don’t over cook or under-cook your food.
Once your homemade meatballs are done, top them with your favorite pasta sauce.
Then you can enjoy these simple veggie meatballs over pasta, on a sandwich, or just eat them as they are!
Simple Ways To Customize This Recipe
You don’t have to simply take this recipe at face value! Meatballs are super simple to change up according to your own personal taste.
As I mentioned earlier, you can swap the breadcrumbs for a keto friendly ground pork rind. I have done this swap myself in the past and it really is delicious.
The meats can also be swapped out as you please. They are great with only one ground meat or any combination of ground pork, beef, turkey or chicken! Not wanting meat at all? Lentils are a great vegetarian alternative!
Not a fan of zucchini? Not an issue! You can swap out any veggie of your choice. Mushrooms make for a great addition, as well as squash, riced cauliflower, or even cooked spinach!
Homemade Meatballs with Hidden Veggies
Easy homemade meatballs with hidden veggies! A great weeknight dinner to please the whole family. These hidden veggie meatballs are delicious, easy to make, and easy to customize
Ingredients
- 1 Lb Ground Beef
- 1 Lb Ground Italian Sausage
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Small Container Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 Zucchini
Instructions
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Grate the peeled zucchini and place it into a large mixing bowl
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Mix the remaining ingredients together in the bowl
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Form meatballs and place them on a baking sheet or cast iron skillet
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Bake at 425° for about 20 minutes or until cooked through
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Top with your favorite pasta sauce and enjoy on top of pasta or as a meatball sub!
Do you like adding in hidden veggies to your weeknight recipes? Let me know below and don’t forget to follow along for more family friendly recipes often!
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Jessi is the creative mind behind The Coffee Mom, a popular blog that combines parenting advice, travel tips, and a love for all things Disney. As a trusted Disney influencer and passionate storyteller, Jessi’s authentic insights and relatable content resonate with readers worldwide.
What a great way to hide the veggies. My kids would love this dish so I need to make this.
Do you know that it’s an all-American myth that you eat pasta with meatballs? I’ll tell you as an Italian! xD However, the recipe is incredible, but follow my advice as a true Italian: mezzogiorno pasta with meat sauce, in which you cook meatballs, and for dinner meatballs with sauce!
Now that sounds delicious! My husband’s great grandmother was from Italy, but I never got to meet her. He always tells me stories about her cooking though!
Oo yes, I do love my meatballs. I’ll have to make these the next time we have a pasta dish. I bet we’ll love them.
They are so good! If you try them out, let me know what you think!
Forget the kids, I need the hidden veggies for me! Lol. Can’t wait to try.
Let me know what you think if you try them out!
We switched from eating pork and beef lately, I can substitute the meat to tofu. Thanks for the recipe.
I would love to hear how it turns out with Tofo for sure!
woah, these meatballs look amazingly delicious. If I had time I would have tried this by myself but this is worth sharing. Thanks
This is a great way to add veggies in the diet. I would also try a combination of ground beef and ground Italian sausage; it seems delicious.
Oh what a great idea to help kids eat their veggies. Plus it looks delish!
you had me at hidden veggies. my 5 and 3 year olds would love these and would have no idea haha
I am so drooling right now by just looking at this recipe. I have been craving for meatball pasta and sandwich this past few day.
I need to try this asap!
Hiding the veggies is such a great idea, especially if you have fussy eaters who refuse to eat their greens!
These meat balls looking really really tempting. I am saving this recipe for weekend. I am going to try this at home for sure. Thanks a lot
I love this! Does this work on boyfriends too? hahahaha…
Ha ha I believe it would! My husband had no idea I put zucchini in the meatballs lol
What a great way to include veggies. I add finely chopped peppers and carrots too.
This looks amazing! Forget the kids, might need some for myself!
This is going to be a very nice dish. Meat balls and pasta always makes a best pair. This is going to do great with a bottle of wine.
I love meatballs and make them often, however I’ve never thought about adding zucchini to the mix, what a great idea especially since we all love this veggie. I’ll try your recipe!
I love making my own meatball because I can make the size that I like. Sometimes buying from outside doesn’t feel fulfilling compared to making it myself. That’s why it feels much better to make it myself.