Breakfast Meatballs are such a fun alternative to boring sausage or bacon for your breakfast or brunch! The perfect combo of savory and sweet, with a little maple syrup to make them extra delicious!
Level Up Your Morning With My Breakfast Meatballs
How are breakfast meatballs not a WHOLE THING in the world? These sweet and savory sausage meatballs are the perfect addition to any breakfast or brunch menu. Sweet apples paired with cheese, sausage, and lot s of seasoning are just what you pancakes have been missing. Don’t forget the maple syrup!!
Breakfast Meatballs Ingredients:
- breakfast sausage
- peeled and grated Granny Smith Apple
- plain breadcrumbs
- grated sharp cheddar cheese
- grated onion
- dried thyme
- maple syrup
They really are a quick side for a weekend breakfast or brunch, and certainly can be made ahead for weekday breakfasts as well. You could even assemble the meatballs in the evening and bake them the next morning.
I HIGHLY recommend you serve them with my most favorite Brown Sugar Pancakes. You’ll thank me later!
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat lightly with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the sausage, apples, breadcrumbs, cheese, onion, and thyme with a wooden spoon or your hands.
- Form the mixture into golfball-sized meatballs, about 1 1/2- inches in diameter. Place evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs have cooked through.
- Drizzle with maple syrup and serve warm
And I highly recommend a healthy drizzle of maple syrup on top. SO good!
Variations:
Even though I think these meatballs are perfect as-is you can absolutely change up the recipe for your tastes or what you have on-hand. Here are some ideas:
- Any type of apple will work in this recipe!
- You can use seasoned breadcrumbs if you prefer! The added seasoning won’t change things too much!
- Use any kid of cheese you like, although I prefer a sharp cheese so you can really taste it!
- I love breakfast sausage in these, like Jimmy Dean, but you can use any type of ground sausage you prefer.
Breakfast Meatballs
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20 meatballs 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Breakfast Meatballs are such a fun alternative to boring sausage or bacon for your breakfast or brunch! The perfect combo of savory and sweet, with a little maple syrup to make them extra delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 1 small Granny Smith Apple, peeled and grated (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup grated onion
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat lightly with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the sausage, apples, breadcrumbs, cheese, onion, and thyme with a wooden spoon or your hands.
- Form the mixture into golfball-sized meatballs, about 1 1/2- inches in diameter. Place evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs have cooked through.
- Drizzle with maple syrup and serve warm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 meatball
- Calories: 43
- Sugar: 6.2 g
- Sodium: 36.8 mg
- Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.9 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0.5 mg
I made them with gluten free crumbs for a few people in our Bible study group that are gluten free. The whole group, gluten free or not, were WOWED by them! I doubled the recipe and could have made more. These are fantastic! Do use parchment paper when you bake them though.
Hi! Are you able to make these ahead of time and freeze them?
Oh yes, absolutely! These meatballs freeze really well! Thaw them in the refrigerator or cook them from frozen.
Can these be kept warm in a crockpot, or will they get wanky?
they would be perfect kept warm in the crock pot!
Can I make these without the cheese? I am doing a baby shower brunch and I have 2 guests who can’t eat cheese.
sure!
Made 10 pds worth of these for a Ladies Prayer Breakfast. They were wonderful.
Easy to put together. Used a small ice cream scoop to dispense and keep uniform.
One major tip: use parchment paper vs foil. My first batch, cooked for the exact time and temp. The foil burned and set off my smoke alarm ?
Tge parchment paper does not burn and keeps the bottom golden brown vs burnt ..
So worth making…
So glad you liked them! And thank you for the feedback on the foil!
Made these for Easter brunch and they were delicious! Made them the night before and popped them in the oven after church. Everyone loved them. Took a bit longer to cook and put them under the broiler for added color
Thanks for another breakfast recipe. I like that I can prepare it at night and just warm it in the morning.
Genius idea! xo laura