These Breakfast Meatballs are a high-protein alternative to a traditional breakfast recipe. Easy to prep in advance and take on the go!
I'm breaking the standard American breakfast with these Breakfast Meatballs. In fact, my hope is to revamp the way Americans think about and eat breakfast with every breakfast recipe I post here.
You see the traditional American breakfast usually consists of low protein foods which a breakfast deficient in protein will lead to more hunger later in the day. Protein is a key macronutrient in balancing blood sugar and keeping hunger stable.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard the phrase from my weight loss clients - "I don't know what to eat." So, why not meatballs? Who says you can't eat meatballs for breakfast? You can eat anything you want for breakfast. What's important is that it has the protein you need, it's practical for your lifestyle and it is something you enjoy!
These healthy breakfast meatballs are a great solution for those who don't love eggs or need other protein options in the morning! It's a high protein, high vegetable breakfast which I always recommend to my clients to keep their blood sugar balanced.
Make them ahead of time, store in the fridge and warm up all week long for a hearty breakfast. They're also easily customizable so you can put just about any veggie or green you like in them.Â
They're also what I call a low maintenance recipe, meaning, they're easy to make. You can't mess them up and you can tell all your friends you're eating meatballs for breakfast!
Breakfast Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra lean ground turkey breast
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced in a blender
- 1/4 cup fresh spinach roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Place red bell pepper in a blender and pulse several times until it's diced finely. It should be somewhat liquidly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine turkey breast, garlic powder, sage, salt, pepper, red bell pepper and chopped spinach with your hands.
- Roll the mixture into 16 bite-sized balls. A small ice cream scoop will help with this.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil.
- Bake at 325 F 10 minutes then using a tongs flip the balls cooking another 10 minutes until slightly browned.
- Remove from the oven. Serve immediately or cool completely before storing in the fridge.
Video
Notes
- Any ground meat would work with this recipe.
- If you use a higher fat meat, you can omit the extra virgin olive oil as there will be enough fat in the recipe.
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my nutrition clients.
Nutrition
These are awesome! Such a unique breakfast idea. I've made them 3 times now.
Hi Megan! I love what you are preaching about protein for breakfast, and I agree. I have toast a lot, but it's the sprouted kind with some sort of fat on it, to even it all out. I don't know if I could crave meatballs for breakfast, but I could totally get after these for lunch! Yum!
Hey Girl! I'm sure your insulin is better balanced then the average person eating a standard American diet so eat that sprouted toast girl!
They look great, and I cannot wait to try them, but I really do not like peppers, is there anything else that can be used as a substitution? I would think it would be as simple as adding say broccoli or something similar but I saw that you put the peppers in the blender until almost liquid so I am assuming these meatballs need that extra liquid to make them work?
You really can't taste the bell peppers in these because they're riced. You could omit them, but I used a lean ground meat so they need moisture. You could sub zucchini, cauliflower rice or broccoli rice I'm sure.
Hi! Not sure if you’ll see this on here years later, but for subbing with zucchini, would you still finely chop it or would you recommend putting it in a food processor to liquidize it? Excited for these!
You could finely chop it or pulse it a few times in a food processor. I wouldn't process it complete as it would liquidize it.
The sage in these sounds lovely! I need to find some new breakfast recipes for Dave, he's been eating the same foods everyday.
It's so hard when you have allergies to figure out what to eat. Hope you give them a try for him!
Yum, these sound like they would be great to grab and heat up at work during the week.
Oh yes! Perfect for taking along.
These would be perfect for my hubby! He has a sensitivity to eggs so struggles to get protein in the morning! We usually do collagen smoothies and oatmeal but this would be a good change!
Sounds like a good option for him. Let me know if you try it!