Turkey and mushroom meatballs with a herbaceous tomato sauce is 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.
Another bonus 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 or even a pork/beef mixture. Meatballs are fairly versatile; serve them with pasta, over rice or on their own as an appetizer.
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.
What is your favorite freezer meal? Let us know if you enjoyed these turkey and mushroom meatballs in the comments!
Freezer Meal: Turkey and Mushroom Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 cup mushrooms - chopped
- 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach - thawed and drained of liquid
- 2 eggs - beaten
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese - grated
- 1 tbsp. onion powder
- 1 garlic clove - chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 garlic clove - minced
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp. 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 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 meatballs out of freezer and transfer 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 meatballs (frozen) 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 and serve over pasta, rice, etc.
Equipment
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.
Hungry for more? Try our St. Patty’s Day Electric Skillet Beef & Black Beer Stew