These turkey meatballs with a herbaceous tomato sauce are a quick and easy freezer meal that can save you time on those busy evenings. In our home, we have a lot of nights like that, which is why we prepare ahead with some freezer meals that you can just pop in the oven!
You can even double or triple this meatball recipe for several make-ahead meals, if your freezer has the room for it.
You will see how easy it is to make your own delicious meatballs and sauce for that crazy on-the-go lifestyle. Make-ahead freezer meals are a great alternative to buying prepackaged meals from the grocery store that may contain undesirable ingredients.
Meatballs are very versatile. You can add your favorite herbs and seasonings like fresh dill (just like I do in these amazing Mediterranean meatballs).
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- ground turkey
- button mushrooms
- frozen chopped spinach - thawed and drained of liquid
- eggs - beaten
- bread crumbs
- Parmesan cheese - grated
- onion powder
- garlic
- salt and pepper
For the Sauce:
- olive oil
- garlic
- dried oregano
- tomato sauce
- fresh parsley - chopped
- bay leaves
- salt and pepper
Variations
- Another bonus to this recipe is you can adjust the seasoning and flavors to your liking.
- If you aren’t keen on turkey, you could always swap it out for ground beef, chicken, a pork/beef mixture or you could even use bison for a bison meatball recipe.
- Meatballs are fairly versatile; serve them with pasta, over rice or on their own as an appetizer.
How to Make it
Preparation and Freezing Instructions:
- In a bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients until well combined.
- Shape into 1 ½ inch balls. Place them on a sheet pan lined with wax paper, making sure they aren’t touching. Transfer to the freezer until sauce is prepared.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil to medium heat. Sauté the garlic and oregano for about 30 seconds.
- Add remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for around 8 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove bay leaves and let cool.
- Take the meatballs out of the freezer and transfer them from the sheet pan to a large zip-top freezer bag (about 10 x 10 inches). Pour the sauce in a separate medium zip-top bag (around 7 x 8 inches). Place the sauce bag inside the meatball bag and freeze.
Baking Instructions:
- When it’s time to prepare the meal - place the frozen meatballs in a shallow baking pan. Bake uncovered in the oven at 400ºF for around 25 minutes, or until they are no longer pink.
- Thaw the sauce package in cold water. Then open it up and heat the sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and serve over pasta, rice, or on their own.
Pro Tips
- Freeze the meatballs individually first. When you freeze the meatballs individually on wax paper before adding them to the zip-top bag, this helps prevent them from sticking together when it’s time to separate them for baking.
- Cool the sauce. You want to make sure the sauce cools before pouring it into a freezer bag, but remember not to leave it out for more than 2 hours to avoid harmful bacteria.
- Label the bags. Be sure to label the bags with the date of preparation so that you know when they need to be cooked by.
Recipe FAQs
For best results, raw meatballs can be frozen for up to two months.
Yes! Raw meatballs can be cooked from frozen, making them an easy and convenient freezer meal. Just place the frozen meatballs on a baking sheet and pop them into a 400°F oven for about 25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
You can defrost frozen, raw meatballs in the fridge overnight for food safety purposes. Do not leave them out at room temperature. Make sure you cook them within the next 1 to 2 days once thawed.
If you tried this 🍗 Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Freezer Meal Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. And please share the recipe!
📋Recipe
Freezer Meal: Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup button mushrooms - chopped
- 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach - thawed and drained of liquid
- 2 eggs - beaten
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese - grated
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 garlic clove - chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove - minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley - chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper - to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients until well combined.
- Shape into 1 ½ inch balls. Place them on a sheet pan lined with wax paper, making sure they aren’t touching. Transfer to the freezer until sauce is prepared.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil to medium heat. Sauté the garlic and oregano for about 30 seconds.
- Add remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for around 8 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove bay leaves and let cool.
- Take the meatballs out of the freezer and transfer them from the sheet pan to a large zip-top freezer bag (about 10 x 10 inches). Pour the sauce in a separate medium zip-top bag (around 7 x 8 inches). Place the sauce bag inside the meatball bag and freeze.
Baking Instructions:
- When it’s time to prepare the meal - place the frozen meatballs in a shallow baking pan. Bake uncovered in the oven at 400ºF for around 25 minutes, or until they are no longer pink.
- Thaw the sauce package in cold water. Then open it up and heat the sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and serve over pasta, rice, or on their own.
Notes
- If you aren’t keen on turkey, you could always swap it out for ground beef, chicken or even a pork/beef mixture.
- When you freeze the meatballs individually on wax paper before adding them to the zip-top bag, this helps prevent them from sticking together when it’s time to separate them for baking.
- You want to make sure the sauce cools before pouring it into a freezer bag, but remember not to leave it out for more than 2 hours to avoid harmful bacteria.
- For best results, the raw meatballs/sauce can be frozen for up to two months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information on In the Kitch is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may not include toppings and/or sauces.
Leave a Reply