I had the idea to develop a lunchbox meatball recipe with “hidden” vegetables for all the kids returning back to school over the coming weeks… so I googled “most nutritious vegetable” and of course Kale came up. I really don’t enjoy eating kale personally, I just think there are other foods out there which taste much nicer. These meatballs taste fantastic, because the parmesan cheese hides the kale taste wonderfully – it does not however hide the colour! If your kids love the colour green, they’re going to love these in their lunchboxes. Love Nik xx
skinnymixer's Lunchbox Meatballs
Author: skinnymixer's
Recipe type: lunchbox
Ingredients
- 100 g | 3.5 oz parmesan cheese, cubed small
- 40 g | 1.4 oz kale leaves, roughly chopped, stem removed (or other vegetables such as zucchini, spinach)
- 500 g | 17.6 oz regular beef mince
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of pepper
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Add parmesan and kale to the mixer bowl, blend for 5 sec/speed 9/MC on. Scrape bowl down.
- Add remaining ingredients, except for the oil, and mix for 5 sec/speed 4/MC on or until just combined.
- Form into small meatballs and lightly fry in a medium frypan until golden brown and cooked.
Notes
Bellini Users
Use your sharp blade for this recipe and ensure your parmesan is in SMALL CUBES.
At step 1 add extra chopping time if required.
At step 2 extend mixing time if required, until just combined.
Use your sharp blade for this recipe and ensure your parmesan is in SMALL CUBES.
At step 1 add extra chopping time if required.
At step 2 extend mixing time if required, until just combined.
Can’t get enough of these, they’re delicious
Do you just put them in the lunchbox and eat them cold or should they be re-heated?
Straight from the freezer into the Lunchboxes here. They defrost by lunch.
Thanks again for another delicious recipe Nik! We made these with chicken mince; fresh garlic and onion which I sautéed in thermie before mixing it with the other ingredients; lemon thyme, spinach leaves and some basil. We then cooked them in the oven for approximately 15 minutes at 180 degrees. Miss 3 cannot get enough of them combined with your sweet potato mash 😋
Could you use premium mince instead of regular?
I want to make these but I can’t use onion or garlic powder (my babies been told no fructose) Any suggestions what I can substitute with?
garlic infused oil and greens of spring onions?
Just use herbs like parsley, chives, basil
Don’t use the onions. The dish is still delicious
The real thing? That’s what I use 😊
Oh my gosh so delicious! I used pork mince as it’s what I had, and chia seeds instead of parmesan, then baked them in the oven for 20 minutes. They were amazing and my 10 month old loved them, even my fussy 3 year old ate them. Definitely a winner! Thanks Nik!
How many serves does this create? Diabetic, trying to work out exchanges. Cheers.
Depends on how big you roll them. I’m diabetic and roll them bite size then just grab a few to make up close to the grams of protein etc I’m allowed 😊
Mmmm…MMMMMMM was sceptical these might be a bit boring or too green for the fussy kids. But yummeee!! Specially with a bit of golden crispness from frying.
May i ask, what can i substitute the cheese with, or can i omit them and the recipe will still be ok.
I have an 18 month old who has a milk allergy.
Thank you in advance 🙂
I use some chia and nutritial yeast 🙂
Hi there!
Just wondering if these are freezer friendly????
Sure are
I’ve ignored this recipe for ages because I was sure that my three fussy daughters wouldn’t like them. Wrong! I made them this afternoon and they couldn’t get enough. Next time I’ll be making a double batch. Thank you for another great recipe!
Help! Mine are sticking to my pan! What have i done wrong?
Delicious and so easy!
Thank you! Another great recipe.
I used turkey mince and had 30g Kale plus 30g Spinach.
Both husband and child have enjoyed them in their lunchboxes each day!
These were delicious. The kids absolutely loved them. I added a bit of bacon & used spinach instead of zucchini. I was going to give them to the kids for lunch but by the time hubby & the kids have finished “tasting” them they were all gone. The kids even asked for another batch tomorrow.
Have made four batches of these, our family love them and are now a regular in school lunches, thank you Nike 🙂
We had never tried kale before, so I thought this might be a great introduction.
Well…. YUM! Made first batch and they were devoured by the whole family before they could be put in the fridge for safe keeping 😂
Added some basil to our second batch. They may make it to the fridge because we are all so full!
Loved these so much – especially since our daughter has been told no more grains. Perfect lunchbox addition.
I will try these as am minding miss 3 & miss 5 for a few days. Mum will be happy I can put some veg in anything they eat.
this looks great. has anyone tried this in the varoma?
Yum. Substituted the cheese for Fetta instead and it was perfect. Very juicy.
Oh my god! Yum!!
I added half a zucchini, a carrot and some spinach as I needed to use them up, increased the mince slightly to make more.
8 also added a little more spices.
Delicious!
160 degrees in the air fryer for 10 minutes worked
Delicious!! Followed the recipe without any changes and they were perfect!! Paired nicely with Thermobexta’s tomato sauce
Oh what a great idea! I’ll bake them in the oven though, for a little bit less fat. We love kale here (boerenkool in Dutch!!), so I plan to up the Kale grams ;-). Thanks Nic!
How long would you bake these in the oven for? On a tray?
I cooked for about 15-20 min on 180 in the oven. They looked a bit wet from the fat coming out of the mince, so I panfried them for a couple minutes either side to crisp them up.
Looks great … I will omit the cheese and add herbs instead of using cheese to make it paleo when I want to make it paleo for family members who are paleo..