Best Make Ahead Meatballs Recipes

MAKE-AHEAD MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls, about 12 dozen. , Place meatballs on greased racks in shallow baking pans. Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes or until no longer pink, turning often; drain. Cool. , Freeze option: Freeze cooled meatballs in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Reheat on a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan in a preheated 350° oven until heated through.,

MAKE-AHEAD FREEZER MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except beef.
• Mix in beef well, and shape into meatballs.
• Place all on single layer in pan.
• Bake 20 minutes at 350.
• Remove and drain on paper towels, and let cool 15 minutes.
• Put in freezer bag or freezer container or use immediately.

MAKE-AHEAD SHEET-PAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Place bread in a large bowl, pour milk over, and let sit until moistened, about 5 minutes. Squeeze bread with your hands to remove excess milk; discard milk. Tear bread into pea-size pieces and return to bowl.
• Add beef, sausage, eggs, Parmesan, and salt to bread. Using your hands, gently mix until evenly distributed (do not overmix).
• To serve immediately:
• Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 500°F. Lightly coat three 18x13" rimmed baking sheets with oil. Fill a small bowl with cool water. Moisten your hands and roll meat mixture between palms into ping pong-size balls (about 1.5" diameter; 1.2 oz. each), occasionally moistening hands as needed. Arrange meatballs 1/2" apart on prepared sheets.
• Roast meatballs, rotating racks top to bottom once halfway through, until lightly browned and cooked through, 8-10 minutes.
• To freeze to serve later:
• Line two 18x13" rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Fill a small bowl with cool water. Moisten your hands and roll meat mixture between palms into ping pong-size balls (about 1.5" diameter; 1.2 oz. each), occasionally moistening hands as needed. Arrange meatballs 1/4" apart on prepared sheets. Freeze on sheets until firm, about 1 hour. Transfer to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag and freeze up to 3 months.
• To cook meatballs from frozen, preheat oven to 500°F. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Transfer desired amount of frozen meatballs to prepared sheet and roast, turning once halfway through, until lightly browned and cooked through, 10-12 minutes.

GREEK MEATBALLS WITH GREEN BEANS AND TOMATOES (MAKE-AHEAD FREEZER MEAL)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together onion, feta cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, garlic, oregano, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add turkey, salt, and pepper; mix until well combined.
• Use wet hands to form mixture into twenty 1 ½- to 2-inch meatballs. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and slightly firm, 10 to 12 minutes; meatballs will not be fully cooked at this point. Let meatballs cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• Combine cooled meatballs and green beans in a large, resealable freezer bag. Tightly seal the bag, allowing as much air to escape as possible. Freeze for up to one month.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Empty frozen meatballs and beans onto a large, rimmed baking sheet. Add cherry tomatoes and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Bake in the preheated 425 degree F (220 degree C) oven until veggies are tender and meatballs are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together Greek yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, dill, and salt for tzatziki sauce.
• Serve meatballs and veggies with pita rounds and tzatziki sauce.

MAKE AHEAD SWEET AND SOUR COCKTAIL MEATBALLS

Steps:

• MAKE MEATBALLS: Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Using fork, mash bread, milk, and egg yolks in large bowl until smooth.
• Add pork, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper and mix until incorporated. Add beef and knead gently until combined.
• BAKE MEATBALLS: Form mixture into 1 1/4 inch meatballs (you should have about 80). Bake meatballs on 2 rimmed baking sheets until cooked through and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through cooking.
• Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer to large zipper lock freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
• MAKE SAUCE: Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat until shimmering. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk in tomato sauce, preserves, sugar, Worcestershire, mustard, and epper flakes and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Let cool to room temperature. Transfer to airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month.
• TO SERVE: Reheat sauce, covered and stirring occasionally, in Dutch oven
• over medium low heat. Once sauce reaches simmer, stir in frozen
• meatballs and cook until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve.

MAKE-AHEAD MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• spray a broiler pan with Pam.
• Heat a sillet over medium high heat and add oil. Add the onion and cook onion in the oil until softened (3-5 minutes);stir in garlic and cook another minute.
• In a bowl combine ground beef (I used bison), onion mixture, and spices (parlsey - pepper). Stir in egg.
• For into 1-inch meatballs and place on broiler pand and bake for 10 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked.
• Freeze meatballs on cookie sheet and then place in an airtight container until ready to use.

TASTY MAKE-AHEAD MEATBALLS W/ GRAVY

Steps:

• 1. Mix together the crushed corn chips, milk, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix into ground beef. Shape into 60 1-inch balls. Bake in large, shallow baking pan at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, shaking pan often to turn meatballs.
• 2. To serve later, cover and chill the meatballs. Store in refrigerator, or freezer for longer storage.
• 3. SOUR CREAM GRAVY: In 3-quart saucepan melt butter. Add onion; cook till tender. Blend in flour. Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir until bubbly. Stir in sour cream; heat til warm, do not boil. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Sauce can be frozen, but do not add sour cream until after thawing sauce. To Serve Meatballs After Freezing: Warm in low oven until heated through, or put meatballs in gravy and heat through.

MAKE AHEAD PINEAPPLE MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients until sugar dissolves.
• Using cooking spray or olive oil, grease a 9x13 casserole dish.
• In a large bowl, combine the last five ingredients, mixing well with your hands.
• Roll into 2 cm balls and place, single layer into the casserole dish.
• Lay drained pineapple slices over the top of the meatballs, single layer.
• Pour sauce over meatballs & pineapples.
• Bake for 60 minutes.
• Serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate or freeze.
• Enjoy!

MAKE-AHEAD BAKED MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat eggs.
• Add the next five ingredients.
• Add beef; mix well.
• Lightly pat meat mixture into a 1-inch thick rectangle.
• Cut the rectangle into squares the desired size of your meatballs.
• Shape each square into a ball.
• Place in single layers on ungreased 15X10 inch baking pans.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until no longer pink; turning occasionally; drain.
• Serve or cool and place desired number of meatballs into freezer containers.
• May be frozen for up to 3 months.

MAKE-AHEAD MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients and knead until thoroughly combined. Shape in to 1 inch meatballs. Place meatballs in a single layer on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes (until no longer pink in center). Divide into batches and freeze. A serving of 5 meatballs has ~140 calories.

MAKE-AHEAD ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Mix ground beef, onion, bread crumbs, milk, egg, salt and pepper. Shape mixture into thirty 1-inch balls. Place in ungreased rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches.
• Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until no longer pink in center and juice is clear. (To serve immediately, continue as directed in step 5--except decrease simmer time to 15 minutes.)
• Place meatballs on ungreased cookie sheet. Freeze uncovered about 20 minutes or until firm. Place partially frozen meatballs in heavy plastic bag or freezer container. Seal, label and freeze no longer than 3 months.
• About 25 minutes before serving, mix chili sauce, water, pasta sauce and mustard in 2-quart saucepan. Add meatballs. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until meatballs are hot.

MAKE-AHEAD SWEET AND SOUR COCKTAIL MEATBALLS

Steps:

• MAKE MEATBALLS Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Using fork, mash bread, milk, and egg yolks in large bowl until smooth. Add pork, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper and mix until incorporated. Add beef and knead gently until combined.
• BAKE MEATBALLS Form mixture into 1¼-inch meatballs (you should have about 80). Bake meatballs on 2 rimmed baking sheets until cooked through and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through cooking. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Transfer to large zipper-lock freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
• MAKE SAUCE Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in tomato sauce, preserves, sugar, Worcestershire, mustard, and pepper flakes and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Transfer to airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month.
• TO SERVE Reheat sauce, covered and stirring occasionally, in Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Once sauce reaches simmer, stir in frozen meatballs and cook until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve.

MAKE-AHEAD MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat eggs.
• Add the next five ingredients.
• Add beef; mix well.
• Shape into 1-in. balls, about 12 dozen.
• Place meatballs on greased racks in shallow baking pans.
• Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until no longer pink, turning often; drain.
• Cool.
• Place about 30 meatballs each into freezer containers.
• May be frozen for up to 3 months.
• Yield: 5 batches (about 30 meatballs per batch).