These meatballs potatoes and green beans are an easy, flavorful dish perfect for any night of the week. Tender, juicy meatballs infused with BBQ sauce are cooked on a sheet pan with seasoned baby Yukon potatoes and green beans to create a dinner loaded with all your favorite comfort food flavors.
Most people think of spaghetti sauce or appetizers when they think of meatballs. We love those, but we think meatballs can be so much more. We love making them the main course in recipes with classic flavor like our meatball pasta bake, but we also like to get creative, whipping up unexpected flavors like Salisbury steak meatballs for dinner.
Our newest addition to our meatball recipe list is one that turns classic meatloaf into meatballs. We took a BBQ meatloaf recipe, rolled it into balls, and baked it on a sheet pan with potatoes and green beans to create a classic meatloaf meal in a new and different package. It’s so much fun to serve, and everyone always loves it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe is basically meatloaf balls on a sheet pan with potatoes and green beans, so it only uses simple ingredients.
- Easy to Make: Just mix the meat, roll into balls, and bake it with the veggies. That’s all there is to it!
- Classic Flavor: This recipe is meatloaf and vegetables in a new form, so it’s full of classic flavor.
- Customizable: You can change the seasonings and ingredients to suit your taste.
- Freezer-Friendly: You can make a double batch and freeze some for future meals.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- Ground Beef and Turkey: A mix of ground beef and turkey ensures the meatballs are juicy and flavorful without making the dish greasy.
- Cheez-Its: Cheez-Its take the place of breadcrumbs, binding the meatballs together and trapping moisture, while adding more flavor than regular breadcrumbs.
- Sauce: A mix of BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup adds plenty of moisture and flavor to the meatballs.
- Seasonings: Cajun seasoning, granulated garlic, onion powder, and smoked paprika add a deep, smoky, aromatic flavor to the meatballs.
Green Beans and Potatoes
- Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes: Baby Yukon Golds hold their shape while roasting and have a tender, soft texture on the inside.
- Green Beans: Green beans are the classic side for both potatoes and meatloaf.
- Sliced Mushrooms: Sliced mushrooms add earthy flavor and more texture to the recipe.
- Seasonings: Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and paprika add a big punch of flavor and a bit of heat to the veggies.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact measurements.
Flavor Variations
- Ground Meat: You can use lean ground beef exclusively in place of the ground beef and turkey mix. We don’t recommend pork or other fatty ground meats. They’ll make the dish greasy.
- BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite BBQ sauce for this recipe. They all add their own twist to the meatballs.
- Extra Spicy: Add red pepper flakes to the meatball mix in addition to the vegetable seasonings for an extra kick of heat.
- Mild: Cut the Cajun seasoning by half and omit the red pepper flakes for a dish with less heat.
- Potatoes: You could also use baby red potatoes for this recipe.
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with foil.
- Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Then, roll them into 2-inch balls and place them randomly on the baking sheets.
Green Beans and Potatoes
- Add the vegetable, olive oil, and seasonings to a large bowl and toss to coat.
- Place the seasoned vegetables on the baking sheets in an even layer.
- Bake until the meatballs are cooked and the potatoes are tender.
Hint
We find it easiest to mix the meatballs with our hands.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days in an airtight container. For longer storage, freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag with as much air removed as possible.
To reheat the meatballs potatoes and green beans, defrost them overnight in the refrigerator if frozen. Then, microwave individual portions at 1-minute interavals until heated through.
Pairing Suggestions
Because this dish is basically meatloaf and veggies – a classic comfort food dinner – we recommend pairing it with classic comfort food desserts. We love to serve this with mini banana bundt cakes, peach crisp, mini coconut cream pies, and other similar downhome desserts.
Tips
- Don’t overwork the meatball mixture. Overmixing leads to tough, dry meatballs.
- We don’t recommend fatty ground meat for this recipe. There’s nowhere for the fat to go, so the veggies will end up swimming in grease.
- If you can’t find baby potatoes, just dice regular potatoes into large chunks.
- Russet potatoes aren’t recommended for this recipe. They get too soft.
Frequently Asked Questions
Meatballs can be dry for a few reasons. First, if you don’t add enough eggs, liquid, or breadcrumbs, the meatballs will dry out as they cook. Second, overcooking the meatballs will dry them out. Finally, overmixing the meatball mixture causes the protein strands to contract too much as the meatballs cook, squeezing out their juice and making them dry.
There’s no one secret to juicy meatballs. Rather, it’s a combination of factors that lead to a juicy, tender final product. First, use finely ground meat whenever possible to help distribute moisture evenly throughout the meatballs. Second, use enough eggs, liquid, and breadcrumbs. These three ingredients combine to add moisture to the meat mixture and ensure the moisture stays inside the meatballs. Finally, don’t overwork the meat. Mix it just enough to combine everything. Too much mixing dries out the meatballs as they cook.
All you have to do to turn meatloaf into meatballs is simply roll the mixture into balls. Meatballs and meatloaf are really the same mixture in different shapes.
Try These Meatballs Potatoes and Green Beans
If you love meatballs and meatloaf, then this is the recipe for you! This simple sheet pan meatballs potatoes and green beans recipe is classic meatloaf with veggies, except the meatloaf is in a different shape! It’s an easy, fun variation of meatloaf dinner that everyone will love. You’ll love how easy it is to make, too! Give it a try.
More Delicious Easy Meals You’ll Enjoy
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Meatballs Potatoes and Green Beans (Easy Sheet Pan Meal)
Ingredients
Meatloaf Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup crushed Cheez-its
- 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
- 3 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Green Beans and Potatoes
- 4 cups fresh green beans, ends cut and cut in half
- 1.5 pounds baby gold potatoes, cut in half or quartered if they are too big
- 8 ounce sliced mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon Slap Ya Mama
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients together.
- Roll into 2-inch balls and randomly place on both baking sheets.
- In another bowl, add green beans, potatoes, mushrooms, seasonings, and olive oil. Toss to combine.
- Place on baking sheets with the meatballs. Spread out in an even layer.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until meatballs are cooked through and potatoes are tender.
Notes
- Don’t overwork the meatball mixture. Overmixing leads to tough, dry meatballs.
- We don’t recommend fatty ground meat for this recipe. There’s nowhere for the fat to go, so the veggies will end up swimming in grease.
- If you can’t find baby potatoes, just dice regular potatoes into large chunks.
- Russet potatoes aren’t recommended for this recipe. They get too soft.
