Balanced Bites: Sweet Potato and Spinach Meatballs for any Meal (AIP, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free)
These baked sweet potato and spinach meatballs are perfect for meal prep, freezer-friendly, and kid-approved—great for snacks, lunches, or on-the-go meals. A balanced meal in one bite!
Whether you need something to help balance your breakfasts, lunches or dinner, this easy meatball recipe will have you covered. Need a healthy snack, at home or on the go? These meatballs will not disappoint!
Eat them hot, eat them cold, these nutritious gluten-free and egg-free meatballs will keep you going!
Why you will love these Sweet Potato and Spinach Meatballs
These baked sweet potato and spinach meatballs are grain-free, egg-free, dairy-free and free from nightshades, making them compliant to many diets, including the elimination phase of Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), Paleo and Whole30.
This easy meatball recipe is excellent to help meal prep for the week or that upcoming trip. They keep well and freeze well, making them an excellent choice for preparing some backup food.
Portable snacks for when you are on the go, these well balanced meatballs will keep you going for busy days in the office, that long trip you have planned, or that picnic in the park! These sweet potato and spinach meatballs contain protein, healthy carbs, fiber, and vegetables. They are the perfect bite to sneak some vegetables into your child’s diet! The sweetness of the sweet potato hides the healthy spinach well. Read more here about how nutritious sweet potatoes are.
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Sweet potato
- Fresh baby spinach
- Parsley (fresh or dried)
- Salt
Step-by-Step guide on how to make sweet potato and spinach meatballs. The numbers on the pictures correspond with the numbers below.
How to make Sweet Potato and Spinach Meatballs
- Peel and dice up your sweet potato. Place it in a microwave safe dish and microwave sweet potatoes until cooked. We like to use a large CorningWare. This way we can mix everything in one bowl and we have less dishes to clean afterwards. You might want to consider not covering the sweet potato for the entire cook time, to allow some of the moisture to evaporate. If the sweet potatoes are too wet you are adding too much moisture to the mixture. This is another reason we prefer to microwave the sweet potatoes, rather than cook them.
- Once cooked, let the sweet potato cool to room temperature. You will want it fully cooled before mixing in the rest of the ingredients because we want the meat to stay cold for food safety. Plus we don’t want the warm sweet potato to melt the fat in the beef. If I know I will be making sweet potato and spinach meatballs, I will prepare the sweet potato earlier the day so it can cool down and I don’t have to wait for it.
- When you are ready to make this easy meatball recipe, preheat the oven to 380°F or 190°C.
- Mash the sweet potato with a fork and spread evenly in the dish.
- Chop up the spinach and parsley as fine as you can.
- For easier mixing, layer the spinach on top of the sweet potato. Add salt and parsley, also sprinkling it evenly across the mixture.
- Add ground beef and mix everything together. Work the ground beef to let the niacin in the ground beef bond the meat. This will help make everything stick together. But do not overwork the meat, otherwise the meatballs become too dense. Approximately 5 to 10 minutes should be enough.
- Shape into meatballs of approximately 1.5 inches in diameter and place on a nonstick baking sheet. Make sure to roll them for some time, again to let the niacin work and make them stick together. If you still see cracks and creases in the meatball you will want to roll it for a bit longer, until it is smooth all around. We average about 35 meatballs of this size.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Once the meatballs start browning on top, flip them over to brown the other side.
- The meatballs are cooked once they reach an internal temperature of 170°F (75°C).
- Remove from the oven and let cool before storing, or serve immediately.
- To reheat the meatballs, place them in the microwave and warm up in 30 second increments. Or bake in the oven.
TIP: to make clean up easier you can line the baking sheet with aluminum, making a tray in the sheet. This way you can throw it all out once the fat has solidified.
Tips to help with Meal Prep
Microwaving sweet potatoes is super easy and quick! It makes life so much easier and helps with meal prep. Alternatively, if you have some leftover sweet potato, you can use those too.
I like to prepare the sweet potato earlier in the day or the day before to give it enough time to cool.
We like to bake a big batch of these easy AIP meatballs all at once. This means less cleaning, less time in the kitchen and helps prepare us for the week. But you can easily split this recipe into smaller portions to match your needs.
Perfect for any Meal or Adventure
These little baked sweet potato and spinach meatballs are incredibly versatile!
Breakfast: pair with sauteed vegetables and mushrooms for a hearty start to the day. Add some sweet potato patties to balance this meal out.
Lunch/Dinner: Serve alongside some roasted vegetable or a salad.
Easy Baked Snacks: Pack a few meatballs for a well rounded and balanced snack during hikes, road trips or a picnic. Perfect for when you are on the go!
Variations and Substitutions
I have not tried it, but you could substitute the spinach with kale and you will probably get a very similar end result. This is especially if you are on a low-oxalate diet or have a histamine intolerance. If you are on a low-oxalate diet, you might want to reduce the amount of sweet potato, or monitor your oxalate intake.
If you are in the AIP reintroduction phase, you can also add some black pepper or other seed based spices. Coriander or curry powder would be amazing in these sweet potato and spinach meatballs to shake things up.
You can also play around with adding some onion powder or garlic powder.
Storage Tips
These paleo meatballs keep very well, and taste just as good once they are warmed up.
Let the sweet potato and spinach meatballs cool completely before storing!
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container. These meatballs will easily keep for 5 days in the refrigerator.
To freeze: Place meatballs in a freezer safe container. No need to add anything between the meatballs. They might stick slightly, but should easily come apart. They can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Once you need them, remove as many as you like and warm up in the microwave or bake in the oven.
Final Thoughts
A nourishing and balanced diet helps fuel and heal the body. These healthy sweet potato and spinach meatballs are an example of how we can create delicious and balanced meals and snacks. Whether you are in the middle of the AIP elimination phase or just looking to change up your meal plan, this recipe is for you!
I would love to hear your thoughts on these patties! If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below or share some pictures on Instagram and tag me @thrive.and.balance.
Sweet Potato and Spinach Meatball Recipe
Equipment
- large, sharp kitchen knife
- peeler
- cutting board
- microwave
- large CorningWare
- baking sheet (non-stick or use aluminum foil)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup finely chopped spinach
- 1 tbsp parsley (dried) OR ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Peel and cube the sweet potato. Microwave until tender (appr 6-8 minutes depending on the size).
- Let sweet potato cool until room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 380°F (190°C).
- Mash sweet potato with a fork.
- Finely chop the spinach and parsley.
- Layer the spinach, parsley and salt on the sweet potato.
- Add ground beef and mix until thoroughly mixed throughout.
- Roll the meatballs with your hands.
- Place on a non-stick oven dish. If you want to make clean up a bit easier, you can can line the pan with aluminum.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops brown. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes. When the internal temperature reaches 170°F (75°C) the meatballs are ready.
Notes
Recipes for Inspiration
If you like this recipe, you might want to check out my other recipes for some good pairing ideas or some alternative suggestions:
