These chicken sausage and sage meatballs make a delicious and much quicker alternative to a traditional Sunday roast. They give you all the best bits of a roast dinner without having to roast a whole chicken, cook chipolatas and prepare stuffing separately. It's a 3-in-1 recipe that makes getting a roast dinner on the table much easier, with the chicken, sausages and stuffing flavours all rolled into one delicious meatball.
They are absolutely delicious served with all your favourite roast trimmings and plenty of chicken gravy. And because they are so much quicker and easier than cooking a whole roast chicken, they make having a roast dinner during the week much more achievable, rather than saving roast dinner for Sunday lunch. For a quicker mid-week family dinner, serve with mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables and chicken gravy.
This recipe makes 23 large meatballs, so there's plenty to go around. It's enough to serve up to five adults, or four adults who really love to fill up on a roast dinner! You can also make the meatballs in advance, even the day before, so when it's time to cook your roast dinner, there's no fluffing around with roasting a whole chicken and cooking the chipolatas and stuffing separately.
Why These Are A 3-In-1 Roast Dinner
Chicken, sausages and stuffing are three of my favourite parts of a roast dinner, so why not combine them into one? These meatballs give you all three in one easy recipe. You simply mix the chicken mince, sausage meat and stuffing-style herbs and breadcrumbs together, roll into meatballs and bake.
It means less cooking, less washing up and a much quicker route to a proper roast dinner. If you love a roast dinner but don't always have time to roast a whole chicken, these chicken sausage meatballs are the perfect shortcut.
Why you'll love them
- Easy to make: Just mix, roll and bake. Skip roasting a whole chicken, chipolatas and making stuffing!
- Full of flavour: Sage, parsley and onion granules give the meatballs a lovely savoury roast chicken dinner flavour.
- Perfect with gravy: They're made for a roast dinner with lots of chicken gravy.
- Freezer-friendly: Make a batch ahead and freeze them for another family meal.
- Two cooking methods: Bake them in the oven or pan-fry them until golden.
What to serve with Chicken, Sausage and sage meatballs
For the full on epic meatball roast dinner, serve with all your usual chicken roast dinner side dishes. These are our favourite sides to serve them with:
- Roast potatoes
- Roast carrots
- Roast parsnips, like my Crunch Polenta Parsnips
- Peas
- Chicken gravy
They're also delicious served with mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables and of course, chicken gravy for an easy midweek family dinner.
Tips for making these roast dinner meatballs
Use a large baking tray - Giving the meatballs plenty of space helps them brown rather than steam. And don't skip on the baking paper, it will stop the meatballs sticking to the baking tray. It also means you don't need to add oil.
Don't over-mix - Mix the ingredients until just combined so the meatballs stay tender.
Make them ahead - Preparing them the day before is a great way to make a roast dinner much easier.
Turn them if pan-frying - Regularly turning the meatballs helps them brown evenly all over. Just be careful that you don't leave them too long on one side or have the pan up to high so they don't burn.
Which Cooking Method Is Best: Baking Or Pan-Frying?
You can either bake or pan-fry these chicken sausage and sage meatballs, and both methods work well. The main difference is the amount of colour you get on the outside and how much attention they need while cooking.
Baking them in the oven is my preferred method, especially when I'm making them as part of a roast dinner. They don't get a huge amount of colour on the outside when baked, but they will still be delicious and cooked through. Bake them for 20-25 minutes, then make sure they are fully cooked before serving. The easiest way to check is with a meat thermometer. If you don't have one, cut one meatball open through the middle and check that it's cooked all the way through with no pink meat remaining.
Pan-frying gives you much more colour on the outside and can be around five minutes quicker, taking roughly 15 minutes. However, you need to turn the meatballs regularly so they brown evenly and cook through. If you're already juggling roast potatoes, vegetables and all the other trimmings, this can be a little fiddly.
So while pan-frying gives you those lovely golden-brown edges and can be slightly quicker, I actually prefer to bung the meatballs in the oven and forget about them while I get on with the rest of the roast dinner. For me, the convenience of baking wins every time!
FAQs for my Chicken Sausage and Sage Meatballs
Chicken mince: This forms the main base of the meatballs and keeps them lighter and higher in protein than using sausage meat alone. It also allows you to skip roasting a whole chicken!
Sausage meat: This adds plenty of flavour and helps make the meatballs juicy, with all the familiar flavour you want from sausages in a roast dinner.
Panko breadcrumbs: These help bind the mixture together and give the meatballs a lovely texture. Regular breadcrumbs can be used instead of panko breadcrumbs, although panko gives the meatballs a slightly lighter texture.
Dried sage: Sage gives these meatballs that classic roast dinner and stuffing flavour.
Dried parsley: This adds a little extra herby flavour.
Onion granules: These add savoury flavour without needing to chop and cook fresh onion. If you don't have onion granules, you can use finely grated fresh onion, although this will add extra moisture to the mixture.
Egg: The egg helps bind all the ingredients together so the meatballs hold their shape.
Salt & black pepper: These season the meatballs and bring all the flavours together.
These are perfect for serving with roast dinner sides! Some ideas are; crispy roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots, peas, broccoli, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings or any of your favourite roast dinner sides. And don't forget plenty of chicken gravy!
For an even easier midweek meal, serve with mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables and of course, of chicken gravy.
Nope, for a quick quicker version I recommend saving with mashed potatoes steamed vegetables and of course lashings of chicken gravy.
This recipe makes 23 large meatballs. That's enough to serve up to five adults, depending on what you serve alongside them, or around four adults with big appetites!
Yes, you can prepare these roast dinner meatballs ahead of time, which makes getting a roast dinner on the table even easier. Once you have rolled the meatballs, arrange them on a large plate or platter, cover them with clingfilm and store them in the fridge. Cook them within 24 hours.
This is a great option if you want to do most of the preparation the day before. Then, when you're ready to make your roast dinner, the meatballs are ready to go straight into the oven.
Yes, you can freeze these meatballs raw and cook them another time. Arrange the uncooked meatballs on a large plate and freeze until solid, then transfer them to a freezer bag or airtight container. Alternatively, freeze in one layer in an extra large resealable food bag, laid flat.
When you want to cook them, defrost them thoroughly in the fridge for 24 hours and cook within 24 hours of defrosting. Cook according to the recipe instructions, making sure they are cooked through before serving.
The meatballs should be cooked through in the centre, with no pink meat remaining. If you're using a food thermometer, the centre should reach 75°C.
Yes, leftover cooked meatballs can be frozen. Allow them to cool completely, then place them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze.
Defrost the meatballs thoroughly in the fridge for 24 hours before re-heating. I find the microwave is the best way to reheat these meatballs. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through and serve immediately.
Yes. Leftover meatballs can be reheated in the microwave, which I find is the easiest and best way to reheat them. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through and serve immediately. Make sure leftovers have been stored correctly in the fridge or freezer before reheating.
These chicken and sausage meatballs are NOT SUITABLE for a gluten-free, egg-free or dairy-free diet because the ingredients you use may contain gluten, egg and/or dairy. Always check the labels of your sausage meat, breadcrumbs and other ingredients, as ingredients and allergen information can vary between brands. They are not suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diets.
To make them gluten-free, you can leave the breadcrumbs out, but this will make the texture of the meatballs a little harder. You'll also need to make sure the sausage meat that is labelled gluten-free.
Adapting My Chicken, Sausage & Sage Meatballs For Your Family
Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Chicken, Sausage & Sage Meatballs recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, which will help make it easier to eat together as a family.
Making My Chicken, Sausage & Sage Meatballs Suitable for Toddlers
These roast dinner meatballs are suitable for 12 months +. Smash down well or cut into 8th's or quarters depending on age.
I've also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook.
You might like…
Together to Eat is reader-supported. I may earn a small commission from anything bought through links found here.
Chicken Sausage & Sage Meatballs
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken mince
- 400 g sausage meat
- 35 g panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 tsps onion granules
- 1 egg
- Black pepper & a little salt
SERVE WITH
- Chicken gravy
- Roast or mashed potatoes
- Roasted or steamed vegetables
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400ºf/gas 6. Line an extra large baking tray/sheet pan with baking paper (see below to pan fry).
- Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl with your hands. Roll into walnut size meatballs and lay on the baking tray.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
TO PAN FRY
- Heat ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large shallow pan over a medium heat and when hot, add the meatballs. Fry for around 15 minutes, turning often until deep golden brown and cooked through.
Baby & Toddler
STORAGE
Nutrition - per serving
Comments
No Comments