Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs burst with fall flavor thanks to dried apple pieces and fresh sage. Applesauce and sage-infused olive oil keep these baked meatballs juicy, never dry.
Hi folks,
I’ve got an easy healthy dinner for you, perfect for busy weeknights and back-to-school. Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs are made with lean protein (from lean ground chicken) and healthy fat (from olive oil). Not to mention, these meatballs are delicious! With apples and sage, these meatballs bring cozy fall flavor. No sauce needed. Add your favorite vegetable and starch for a complete meal.
We’re big fans of chicken apple sausage. You know, the kind that’s sold pre-cooked and it’s sort of sweet, and not really breakfast sausage although it would be good for breakfast too? I made a recipe for plain baked chicken meatballs one night, and then I had the idea to incorporate the chicken apple sausage flavors into a baked meatball. While these meatballs aren’t seasoned as strongly as sausage, they do have that subtle sweet apple taste from the sausage in the form of a juicy baked meatball. We enjoyed these for dinner with roast sweet potato and roast broccoli.
Ingredients for Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs
Here are the main ingredients. That’s fresh sage, an egg, applesauce, brown sugar, dried apple rings, lean ground chicken, and panko breadcrumbs. Not shown are olive oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. I bought unsulfured, unsweetened dried apple rings from New Zealand via Trader Joe’s. Even though I didn’t use most of the bag for meatballs, I have been enjoying snacking on the leftover apple rings. If you’d like to use homemade applesauce, check out my recipe for Instant Pot Applesauce.
How to Make Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs
First, mix the breadcrumbs and applesauce together in a small bowl. Many meatball recipes wet the breadcrumbs with milk or water to help keep the meatballs moist. Applesauce adds moisture as well as sweet apple flavor throughout the meatballs.
Next, heat the olive oil and cook the chopped sage for just a few minutes. Adding olive oil to the meatballs also helps keep them nice and juicy, and cooking the sage infuses the olive oil with sage flavor.
When the olive oil has cooled down a little, mix all the ingredients together in a big mixing bowl. Do not overmix.
When forming the meatballs, I usually wear nitrile food prep gloves. I’ll spray the gloves with olive oil spray, then roll the meatballs between my palms to smooth them out. I find this is the best way to prevent the meat from sticking to your hands. You can also just rub some oil over your hands before forming the meatballs.
Take care not to overcook the meatballs to keep them from drying out. Mine were done in 20 minutes. Check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Substitutions and Variations
Ground turkey can be easier to find at the supermarket than ground chicken. These meatballs are great made with turkey too. I think they would be good made with ground pork as well, especially since pork and apple really go well together, but I haven’t tried it yet. If you use a fattier meat, you may want to cut the olive oil by half.
If you have leftover pumpkin puree from fall baking, you can substitute pumpkin puree for the applesauce to change up the flavor profile a little. Pumpkin puree will work just as well to keep the meatballs moist.
Lastly, you can substitute dried cranberries for the dried apple rings. I have this idea to make a “Thanksgiving” version of the meatballs using ground turkey and dried cranberries.
If you make any changes to the recipe, leave a comment to let us know how it turns out.
What to Serve with Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs
In the picture at the top of this post, you can see I made meatball bowls with roast sweet potatoes and roast broccoli. Here are very basic directions:
For the sweet potatoes: Peel sweet potatoes (optional) and cut into ½ to ¾ inch chunks. Toss with olive oil (didn’t measure) and salt and pepper. Spread out on a sheet pan and bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Flip and bake 15 more minutes (30 minutes total).
For the broccoli: Toss broccoli chunks with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Some other side dish ideas: brown rice, oven fries, sautéed spinach, steamed green beans, kale apple slaw or salad
Are Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs Good Leftover?
Leftover meatballs will keep in the fridge for one week. Freeze to keep longer. Reheat in microwave.
Looking for more fall apple recipes? Check out my Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Pan Sauce or Apple Cider Braised Short Ribs.
If you make this recipe, please give the recipe a rating and/or leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!
Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs
Baked Chicken Apple Meatballs burst with fall flavor thanks to dried apple pieces and fresh sage. Applesauce and sage-infused olive oil keep these baked meatballs juicy, never dry.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 pound lean ground chicken
- 1/3 cup finely chopped dried apple rings
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Mix breadcrumbs and applesauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add sage and cook for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from heat and wait for it to cool slightly.
Add all remaining ingredients, breadcrumbs with applesauce, and olive oil with sage to a large bowl. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, but do not overmix. Form meatballs that are about 1-1.5 inch in diameter and space out on prepared sheet. (You can spray some cooking spray on your hands or food prep gloves to prevent the meat from sticking.)
Bake for 20 – 22 minutes, until meatballs reach internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Bon Appétit!
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