If you just like to buy a bag of premade frozen meatballs you can skip down a bit and read my list of different serving ideas. But first I’m going to share a few meatball recipes.
Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey or pork or combo
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup crushed plain crackers or bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 clove minced garlic optional
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley if you have some
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all this up and then form into small balls with your hands. The meat mix will stick less if you wet your hands with cold water before starting to form the meat balls.
- Bake at 350 until done, about 25 to 30 minutes. You can also fry them in a skillet for 10 minutes or so if you’d rather. Cut one open to make sure they’re done if in doubt.
If you’re really in a hurry, some folks like to press their meatball mixture flat in a jelly roll pan, then score it into small squares and then bake. You’ll need to cut them again after baking.
Not So Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey or pork or combo
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup crushed plain crackers or bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley if you have some
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all this up and then form into small balls with your hands. The meat mix will stick less if you wet your hands with cold water before starting to form the meat balls.
- Bake at 350 until done, about 25 to 30 minutes. You can also fry them in a skillet for 10 minutes or so if you’d rather. Cut one open to make sure they’re done if in doubt.
How to Freeze Meatballs
It’s easy to flash freeze meatballs, so you can just take out as many as you need later. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until they’re frozen. Put them in a freezer bag or vacuum pack them. If you vacuum pack them, you can either make multiple bags, each with the number of meatballs you’re likely to need at a time. Or make the bag oversized. Later you can cut it open, take out what you need and then vacuum seal it again.
Different Ways to Serve Meatballs
Spaghetti and Meatballs. Of course you can serve meatballs and marinara sauce over spaghetti. It’s classic and it’s good! If you’re starting with frozen meatballs, just add them to the sauce as it cooks.
Meatballs and Sauce over Rice or Egg Noodles or Mashed Potatoes. Heat the meatballs up in a saucepan with just enough water to cover. Add a tablespoon of beef broth base or bouillon (or heat in beef broth if you have some). Simmer for half an hour. Just before simmering mix 3 Tbs of cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water and stir in to thicken the sauce.
Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy. Follow the recipe above but add some sauteed fresh mushrooms or a can of mushroom pieces to the gravy.
Meatball Sandwich. Heat the meatballs and place in a French roll. Top with some warmed leftover spaghetti sauce and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted.
Barbecue Meatball Sandwich. Heat the meatballs with some barbecue sauce. Add some of those crunchy Durkee fried onions or sauteed onions if you’d like. Serve in a French roll.
Meatballs with Cream of Mushroom Soup. Heat the meatballs in a can or two of cream of mushroom soup (or make your own cream of soup). Again, serve with whatever starch you like: mashed potatoes, rice, egg noodles, etc. You can also add a packet of onion soup mix for a different flavor.
Meatballs with Mushroom Cream Sauce. Make your own cream of mushroom soup but stir in some sour cream at the end. Mix in the meatballs and pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so (longer if the meatballs were still frozen.)
Add to Your Favorite Soup. Here’s a soup with spinach and meatballs.
If you’ve got young kids, you can always just heat them and serve with some ketchup on the side for dipping.
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