Spaghetti and meatballs

Making and Freezing Baked Meatballs

March 24, 2015Danita

Spaghetti and meatballs

Spaghetti, probably one of the easiest weeknight meals of all time.  We used to have it just about every Wednesday night.  

Spaghetti and meatballs however, not so quick and easy.  It takes planning.  First, there’s remembering to get the hamburger out of the freezer, then there’s mixing and forming the meatballs, next there’s browning them and of course the longer they cook in the sauce, the better.  

Buying frozen meatballs is an option but I really prefer homemade.  Today’s Time Saving Tuesday Tip is a great way to keep meatballs on hand and ready to go….Baked Meatballs.

It’s quite simple, really.  It still takes a little time but the end result is a much larger quantity of meatballs.  

Here’s the Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Make a large batch of your favorite meatball recipe

baked meatballs

Place meatballs about 1 inch apart on a large baking sheet

* Although I forgot to do it, lining with foil will also cut down on your clean up time.  I should do that as a Time Saving Tuesday then maybe I could remember to do it every time*

Bake meatballs for about 30 minutes

You can leave them slightly under-done if desired, allowing them to finish cooking later in whatever sauce you use

baked meatballs

Remove from pan and cool

Use or freeze for later.

Freezing:

Place meatball on a clean baking sheet in a single layer so they aren’t touching

Put baking sheet in freezer, making sure it sits level

Freeze for 30 – 60 minutes or until frozen enough so that the meatballs don’t stick together in the bag

Place in a freezer bag and return to freezer

No need to thaw meatballs before placing them in sauce to heat through

What’s your favorite sauce for meatballs?

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

  • Jean Burnett

    April 11, 2015 at 11:19 AM

    My go to sauce for anything related to pasta is a version of Marcella Hazen’s 3 ingredient sauce – 1 can of San Marzano Tomatoes, stick blended, 1 peeled onion & 1 stick of butter. My addtion is a tablespoon of jarred pesto . Simmer for a half hour or so. If you don’t quite get it, try it. It will make a believer of you. Great for any recipe requiring a basic marinara sauce.

    1. Danita

      April 11, 2015 at 1:49 PM

      Jean,
      That sounds really good! My daughter and I just made homemade sauce for the first time last week. It was tasty but fresh tomatoes are so expensive here and not usually very good. We need to try your recipe. Thanks for stopping by and sharing!

  • Leslie

    March 24, 2015 at 9:48 AM

    I love meatballs but pork gives me wicked migraines so I could use turkey, these look so tasty! Thanks for sharing & happy Tuesday!

    1. Danita

      March 24, 2015 at 12:22 PM

      I’m sure turkey would be great. I usually just use ground beef. Thanks for stopping by Leslie!

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