Meatball Baked Bean and Potato Waffle Pie

This subtly smokey Meatball, Baked Bean and Potato Waffle Pie is my go-to dinner for super busy days as it’s a hands-off cook that takes just 5 minutes of prep work, no chopping or peeling involved. It also has just 5 ingredients and the only washing up you’ll have after dinner (aside from your tableware) is a dish and a spoon. 

For this pie we going to cheat and use shop-bought meatballs to keep prep time down and using potato waffles as an alternative to mashed potato is SUCH a time saver. And in our opinion, the crispy outside of the waffles and fluffy inside makes an even better topping than mashed potatoes.

And while this pie might sound pretty basic, it tastes anything but. As well as meatballs and baked beans snuggled under the potato waffles, there’s also tinned chopped tomatoes and smoked paprika, packing in heaps of flavour into this dish of pure comfort. 

And did I mention it’s also super kid friendly?! Meatballs, baked beans and potato waffles are usually the foods of kids dreams! And if you happen to have a tomato chunk hater, no problem, you can use passata (or tinned crushed tomatoes in the US) instead. Oh and the smoked paprika does not make it spicy, just warming and flavourful. If you have a baby or toddler you would like to share this meal with you can see my recommendations for adapting this recipe for your family here >

As only the meatballs are fresh in this dish, if you keep a pack of them in the freezer alongside the potato waffles, this makes a great emergency meal as the other 3 ingredients are store cupboard essentials. 

The Stars of my Meatball Baked Bean and Potato Waffle Pie

The Meatballs

For a family of four (or more if your kids are young) you’ll want to go for a pack of 24 beef meatballs.

The Potato Waffles

I like to use Bird’s Eye Potato Waffles as I know I can fit eight of them side by side in my largest oven-proof dish. Other makes will work too, but because they are frozen you’ll want them to fit in whole numbers as you won’t be able to cut them in half. If you are a potato loving family then you can bake a few extra potato waffles on an oven tray / sheetpan as per packet instructions.

Eating More Sustainably

If you wanted too, you could use a smaller pack of meatballs and add more baked beans to compensate. 

What to Bake my Meatball Baked Bean & Potato Waffle Pie in

For this meal I always use my largest oven-proof dish which is 35cm x 25cm. This is also the best size to fit the meatballs and the eight Bird’s Eye Potato Waffles. A dish that’s slightly larger or slightly smaller should be fine too.

Kids Cook Too

This is a great dinner to get the kids making as it’s so simple they can pretty much do all of it with a little help.

Feed a Crowd

You can double this Meatball Baked Bean and Potato Waffle Pie recipe if you have two large oven proof dishes.

Storing My Meatball Baked Bean and Potato Waffle Pie

You can store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). You can also freeze them, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot all the way through. If you want the potato waffles to remain crispy, you’ll need to reheat the leftovers in the oven, not the microwave.

For more on safe food storage and reheating read here >

Diet Details

My Meatball Baked Bean and Potato Waffle Pie is gluten, diary, egg and nut-free.

Adapting My Meatball Baked Bean and Potato Waffle Pie 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 Meatball Baked Bean and Potato Waffle recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, to help make it easier for you to eat together as a family.

Keeping Younger Children & Fussy Eaters Happy

Most children and even many fussy eaters like meatballs, baked beans and potato waffles making this a good choice for fussy easters. However, we are adding tinned chopped tomatoes too which many young children don’t like. They are usually ok with smooth tomato sauces though, so if you have one of these picky eaters, switch out the tinned chopped (or crushed) tomatoes and substitute for the same weight in passata (or tomato puree in the US). If your fussy eater doesn’t like spicy food, don’t worry about the paprika in this dish, it doesn’t make it spicy, it just gives off a smokey warming flavour. 

See more from me on fussy eaters here >

Making My Meatball Baked Bean & Potato Waffle Pie Suitable for Baby Weaning  

If you’d like to share this meal with a baby or toddler, just hold back on the salt. You can switch to no-added sugar baked beans too if you like. And don’t worry about the smoked paprika, it just gives the pie a smokey flavour and is very mild. Remember, it’s good to introduce baby to mild spice from the second stage of weaning.

How to Serve to Babies & Toddlers 

BABY-LED WEANING 

6-8 Months

Cut their meatballs into thin strips or eighths. Smash down large chunks of tomato with a fork and flatten their beans. Cut their potato waffles in half lengthways.

9-11 Months

Break up or smash down their meatballs into smaller pieces with the back of a fork. Smash down large chunks of tomato with a fork and flatten their beans. Cut their potato waffles in half lengthways.

12 Months +

Chop their meatballs into bite-size pieces. Large chunks of tomato can be smashed down with a fork but their beans can be left whole now. Cut their potato waffles into bite-size pieces. 

SPOON FED-WEANING

6 months

Roughly chop their meatballs and add to your stick blender pot or food chopper (if you have that one that purées) along with some beans and tomato and whizz into a purée. Add a little warm boiled water to loosen as needed. Serve with the potato waffles sliced in half lengthways.

7-9 months

You’ll need to roughly chop their meatballs and add to your food chopper along with some beans and tomatoes. Use short sharp pulses to finely chop, checking and adding a little warm no or low-salt beef stock or warm boiled water to loosen as you go. Serve with the potato waffles sliced in half lengthways.

10-12 months

Add roughly chopped meatballs, beans and tomato sauce to your food chopper pot. Gradually pulse, just a few times then check the consistency. It should lumpy with small meatball pieces. If it needs loosening, add a little warm no or low-salt beef stock. Serve with the potato waffles sliced in half lengthways.

Toddlers

Chop their meatballs into bite-size pieces. Large chunks of tomato can be smashed down with a fork but their beans can be left whole now. Cut their potato waffles into bite-size pieces.

I’ve also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook. For more info on how I keep my family meals suitable for baby weaning, read here >

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