You guys know how I feel about meatballs, right? Well I’m also a huge fan of cooking things on a sheet pan. So I decided to bring these two favorite things of mine together to make these Sheet Pan BBQ Meatballs, complete with roasted peppers and onions, and big slices of sweet pineapple. This meal is delicious, easy, and packs up well for meal prep! WIN.
Use Two Sheet Pans for Best Results
While you can do this all on one sheet pan, you’ll definitely get better results using two pans. Why? Because the peppers and onions caramelize better when they have room to breathe. If they’re too crowded, the steam will get trapped they’ll just get kind of soft instead of having those nice brown flavorful edges. Of course, if convenience is your priority, you may choose to use one pan.
Can I Use a Different Meat?
Absolutely! These meatballs work great with ground pork, beef, or chicken instead of the ground turkey listed in the recipe below.
Do I Need to Line The Sheet Pans?
This is really up to you. I ended up lining the sheet pan I used for my meatballs with parchment paper and left the sheet pan with the peppers, onions, and pineapple unlined. Lining the sheet pan makes clean up a lot easier, but you do get less caramelization since the vegetables are not in direct contact with the hot pan. So, if you prefer easy clean up, go ahead and line both pans. If you prize flavor over convenience, leave the pan (or pans) unlined.
Sheet Pan BBQ Meatballs
Servings 4Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb. ground turkey ($3.89)
- 1 large egg ($0.21)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs ($0.07)
- 6 Tbsp BBQ sauce, divided ($0.20)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
Sides
- 1 20oz. can pineapple slices (in juice) ($0.89)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.50)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
- 1 cup long grain white rice (uncooked) ($0.40)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Combine the ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, 2 Tbsp of BBQ sauce (reserve the remaining ¼ cup for later), garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt in a bowl. Mix the ingredients together by hand until evenly combined.
- Divide and shape the meat mixture into 16 meatballs. This is easiest by first dividing the mixture into four equal portions, then dividing and shaping each of those portions into four meatballs. The mixture may be fairly wet. That is okay. Place the meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet and set aside.
- Slice the bell pepper and onion into ¼-inch wide strips. Place the pepper and onion slices on a second baking sheet (lined or unlined, your choice) and drizzle with cooking oil. Toss to coat, then season with salt. Spread the peppers and onions evenly over one side of the baking sheet.
- Remove the pineapple slices from the can and blot them dry with paper towel. Lay the pineapple slices over the second half of the baking sheet with the peppers and onions.
- Place both baking sheets in the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes.
- While the sheet pans are in the oven, begin cooking the rice. Add the rice and 1.5 cups water to a sauce pot. Place a lid on top and bring the water up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low. Let the rice simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the rice rest, undisturbed and with the lid on, until the rest of the meal is finished.
- After roasting for 15 minutes, take the sheet pan with the vegetables out and give the peppers and onions a stir. Use a brush to lightly coat the pineapple slices with about 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce. Return that sheet pan to the oven.
- Remove the sheet pan with the meatballs and use the brush to lightly coat the meatballs with the remaining 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce. Return the sheet pan to the oven. Finish roasting both sheet pans for an additional 10 minutes.
- After the meatballs, peppers, onions, and pineapple have finished roasting, it's time to serve! Fluff the rice with a fork, then add about ¾ cup rice to each bowl or meal prep container. Divide the meatballs, peppers, onions, and pineapple slices between the four bowls. Top with sliced green onion, then enjoy!
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Equipment
Nutrition
How to Make Sheet Pan BBQ Meatballs – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Combine 1 lb. ground turkey, one large egg, ¼ cup breadcrumbs, 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce (save the remaining ¼ cup for later), ¼ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp smoked paprika, and ½ tsp salt in a bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until evenly combined.
Divide and shape the meat mixture into 16 meatballs. I do this by first dividing the mixture into four portions, then dividing and shaping each of those portions into four meatballs. Place the meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Set them aside.
Slice one yellow onion and one red bell pepper into ¼-inch wide strips. Place the peppers and onions on a second baking sheet and drizzle with 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Toss to coat in the oil, then season with ⅛ tsp salt.
Move the peppers and onions over to one side of the baking sheet. Remove the pineapple slices from the can and blot them dry with paper towel. Place the pineapple slices on the other half of the baking sheet with the peppers and onions. Transfer both sheet pans to the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
While the meatballs, peppers, onions, and pineapple are cooking, begin the rice. Add 1 cup long grain white rice to a sauce pot with 1.5 cups water. Place a lid on top, turn the heat on to high, and bring the water up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the rice simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the rice rest, undisturbed and lid in place, until the rest of the meat is finished.
After having roasted for 15 minutes, remove the sheet pan with the peppers, onions, and pineapple from the oven. Give the peppers and onions a stir. Use a brush to lightly coat the pineapple with 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce. Return the sheet pan to the oven.
Remove the sheet pan with the meatballs and use the brush to lightly coat them with the remaining 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce. Return the sheet pan to the oven. Finish roasting both sheet pans for an additional 10 minutes.
After the final 10 minutes you should have some nice caramelization on the peppers and onions and the meatballs will be cooked through.
Fluff the rice with a fork, then add ¾ cup rice to each bowl or meal prep container. Divide the peppers, onions, BBQ meatballs, and pineapple slices between each bowl or container. Top with sliced green onions and serve, or refrigerate until ready to eat (3-4 days).
What a delicious meal!!
Excellent!! Will try it for sure.
I made this last night and loved it. Turkey was on sale so I made a double batch and threw half the meat balls in the freezer. I used 3 lined sheet pans so I could control the cook time on each and have easy clean up. I also chopped up my scallions and mixed them in the rice with a little olive oil. It was delicious with some extra bbq sauce on the side for dunking the meat balls. Great weeknight meal and good for meal prep!
I made this a second time with the frozen meatballs I made the first time. I also added more bell pepper and thinly sliced carrot for more veg. It turned out great. I highly recommend doubling the meat and freezing a batch (uncooked) for later use. I also used Trader Joes freezer rice that comes out perfect in 3 minutes!
My family LOVED these meatballs! We used Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce (original) and it was amazing. They were gone in a flash with the 3 of us. My son and husband tore it up, ha. Will be making again for sure.
Absolutely delicious !! Love a great sheet pan dinner! Will be making again!!!
Do you remember which fat % of ground turkey you used? Wondering if 85/15% would work since it’s the cheapest. Thanks!
I believe it was 93/7. You can definitely use a higher fat, though. :)
This was sooo good! I have made many sheet pan combinations, but the pineapple slices raised the bar! I followed the recipe except I substituted ground pork and I made the meatballs smaller, almost half your size. The advice of two sheet pans was great. I added a cubed sweet potato to the mix of vegetables. It was a great meal prep and so delicious!
I would like to make these for my son, who has an egg allergy. Are you familiar with any egg substitutes? I have used dry egg substitutes in baking, but obviously that wouldn’t work here. I would like to try with Just Egg, wondering if you have any advice? Also wondering if you have any egg-free meatball recipes. Meatballs are just so awesome for toddlers!
Unfortunately I haven’t worked with any egg substitutes, so I don’t have one to recommend. I do have one meatball recipe with no egg, my beef kofta meatballs. The egg helps bind the meat together so it stays in a ball instead of just crumbling into ground meat, so you sometimes need to be a bit more careful with the meatballs that have no egg. :)
My son has an egg allergy too. I just prepped with apple sauce like I do for meatloaf. I used a quarter of a cup. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🤣
I realize this is an old comment, but google chia seed egg substitute or flax seed egg substitute. They work great in almost everything!
Really good! Really easy. I had my 4 yr old make the meatballs, and he had so much fun helping me. It kind of reminded me of your sweet and sour sheet pan chicken, which is good, but I liked this even better.
Made this last night! Doubled the meatballs to have leftovers. It is very yummy! Highly recommend. Thanks for a great recipe!
I didn’t get my timing right on the vegetables and let the pineapple go too long. It still tasted great and even after serving 2 people, we have leftovers.
great looking recipe! I will try this out soon
Made this for dinner tonight and loved it! I just got some new bbq sauce from a trip to KC that was perfect in this recipe. This will be a new go-to especially for meal prep. Great meal for after the gym!
Do you think this would work with “Beyond Beef?” My husband bought a pack, and this looks like a lot of flavors to compensate for it being meatless.
That’s a great idea! I used some vegan frozen meatballs, and made the rest of the recipe. It was tasty, but I bet the beyond beef would be even better. Will try that next time!
Made this tonight exactly as written. Meatballs were a huge hit, even with the 3 year old. My husband and I really liked the combination of pineapple, peppers, and onions. 3 meatballs and 1/2 cup rice was about right for me, portion-wise. Husband ate 6 or 7 and thought they’re just great.
I would loved to have that in weekend. Nice Recipe. And the $ is the best part of the recipe, love the idea. Thanks