Freezer Meatballs are easy to make, SO good, and extra convenient for busy weeknights!
Looking for more freezer-friendly meals? Try these Easy Beef Pasties and Slow Cooker Tri-tip Sandwiches !
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I love every recipe I post here (well, except these Samoa Cupcakes –shredded coconut is gross, y’all 😉 ), but sometimes I work on a recipe, and I get a little extra obsessed with it. These Freezer Meatballs are one of those.
They are sooooooo good!!!
Meatballs are kind of the perfect food for freezing because making them is just time-consuming enough that it makes sense to make a big batch of them at once rather than lots of little batches, and because since they are nice and moist, they freeze and reheat beautifully. Plus they are incredibly versatile so you can use them in tons of different meals and not get sick of them.
I don’t eat a ton of red meat, especially ground beef, but the last couple weeks, while I’ve been testing this recipe, it has been meatball central around here, and I couldn’t have been happier.
This recipe will make about 32 meatballs. You fully cook them, freeze them, and then any time you feel like spaghetti and meatballs, instead of having to make an entire meatball batch, you just pull a handful of these out of the freezer, reheat, and enjoy.
Aside from being super convenient, my favorite thing about these freezer meatballs is that they taste AMAZING. My recipe uses half ground beef and half sausage, so they are extra flavorful. They’re fabulous with spaghetti and red sauce, in meatball sandwiches (recipe coming soon!), or just as a snack when you need a little protein.
What’s your favorite way to eat meatballs?
Ingredients
- ▢ 1/2 large onion grated
- ▢ 1/3 cup skim milk
- ▢ 1 egg
- ▢ 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ▢ 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 2oz ) shredded Parmesan cheese
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning *
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes omit for less heat
- ▢ 1 pound lean ground beef
- ▢ 1 pound Italian sausage * hot or mild, casings removed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil and lightly grease.
- In a large bowl, combine first 11 ingredients (everything except the meats) and stir until well combined. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add ground beef and sausage and use your hands to mix well. Form 1 1/2-inch/ 1.5-ounce meatballs and place on baking sheets, 16 to a sheet for 32 total. Bake meatballs for 10 minutes, swap top and bottom trays (if baking both at the same time) and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink inside/have an internal temperature of 165°. Serve and enjoy or freeze.
Notes
- In Sauce Simmer in sauce for 15 to 25 minutes until heated through.
- Microwave (best for just a few meatballs) Place meatballs in a single layer in a microwave-safe dish and cover with a couple layers of damp paper towels. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping the meatballs every minute or so.
- In the Oven Preheat oven to 350°F. Place meatballs in a single layer, 1/2-inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.
This Naan Chicken Alfredo Pizza is super easy, so good, and just a bit classier than your usual delivery pizza.
You guys know I love pizza. I’ve made it quite a few ways for the blog, classic Margherita Pizza , Hawaiian Naan Pizza (with The Best Homemade Pizza Sauce in existence ), even turned pizza into Pizza Tarts ! But what I haven’t had on the blog is a pizza with white sauce. Until today!
Say hello to my Naan Chicken Alfredo Pizza! This is the perfect pizza to make when you have a little leftover chicken or too many fresh tomatoes from the garden and need something simple-to-make for dinner. It is super easy, so good, and just a bit classier than your usual delivery pizza.
I’ve been obsessed with using Naan as a pizza base for the last few months because it’s uber-convenient and the perfect texture and thickness for a good pizza crust, but if your local stores aren’t stocking it yet, you can use a medium store-bought pizza crust or double the recipe and make a large pizza.
This Chicken Alfredo Pizza starts with a nice thick Alfredo sauce. Unlike classic Alfredo sauces , which only use butter, cream, and cheese, this one starts with a roux so you end up with a sauce heavy enough to stand up to everything you are piling on top of it. It’s creamy, cheesy, and garlicky.
Then you add some cooked chicken, mozzarella, and tomatoes. I used cherry tomatoes, but you can chop up any kind you like and use them. Toss in the oven until the cheese is all melty and beautiful and then it’s pizza party time! The rich creaminess of the Alfredo sauce along with the hint of sweetness from the tomatoes and salty mozzarella will light up all the little pleasure centers in your brain, and trust me, you’ll never want this party to end.
Naan Chicken Alfredo Pizza Recipe Notes
- If you are having trouble finding naan at your grocery store, my local stores sell it in their bakery section, usually in packs of four (the naan in these photos is Stonefire brand).
- Naan freezes well, so if I have extras, I like to wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer bag for later use.
- If you don’t have cooked chicken on hand, my post on How to Cook Chicken Breasts is my favorite way to cook chicken for recipes like this.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 small ( 8oz ) boneless skinless chicken breast cooked and diced
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1oz ) butter
- ▢ 1 clove garlic minced or crushed
- ▢ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 1oz ) shredded Parmesan cheese
- ▢ Pinch of red pepper flakes
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
- ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ▢ 1 cup ( 4oz ) shredded mozzarella
- ▢ 2 Naan loaves
- ▢ Basil optional for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until golden, 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, whisking continuously until lightly brown, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in milk and continue to whisk constantly until sauce is thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste.
- Place naan on a baking sheet and divide Alfredo sauce between the 2 naan loaves. Top with cooked, diced chicken and mozzarella. Add tomatoes.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until crust is toasted and cheese melted. Top with basil if desired and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Adapted From Food Network
All you need is a few pantry staples to make this super chocolaty and delicious Small-batch Chocolate Frosting.
Hey, folks. Happy Monday, and if you are in the US, Happy Labor Day. I hope you’re enjoying your three-day weekend.
As promised , I have another small-batch frosting for you today. This time, Small-batch Chocolate Frosting. Or as some might say (me, I say it), the best frosting.
This chocolate frosting is an American buttercream, which means it’s one of the easiest frostings you can possibly make, and you almost certainly have the ingredients to make it any time the urge strikes because you just need butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and a little milk or cream.
I like to throw a little espresso powder in there to give it an even deeper chocolate flavor (the hint of coffee flavor really brings it out) but that’s a totally optional ingredient and the frosting is still impossibly good without it.
With or without espresso, it’s fantastically rich and fudgy, the type of frosting you kind of want to just eat out of the bowl before it even makes its way to your cupcakes. 😉
Since this is a small-batch frosting recipe, it makes about 3/4 cup, which will frost four big swirls on cupcakes, six smaller swirls, or up to eight cookies or cupcakes when frosted with a knife.
I’ve used it on my Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes on the site, and it’s A++ over Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes as well.
Looking for more Small-batch Frosting Recipes ? Try my Vanilla Frosting , Cookie Dough Frosting , Strawberry Frosting , and Oreo Frosting (all small-batch!)
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ Handheld electric mixer optional but helpful
Chocolate Frosting
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened*
- ▢ 1 cup ( 120g ) powdered sugar sifted
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 20g ) cocoa powder sifted
- ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons milk plus more as needed
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ Pinch of espresso powder optional
- ▢ Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, beat softened butter until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well-combined and fluffy. Add more milk by the 1/4 teaspoon if necessary until frosting reaches your desired consistency.
Notes
Freezer Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1/2 large onion grated
- 1/3 cup skim milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup ( 2oz ) shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning *
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes omit for less heat
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage * hot or mild, casings removed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil and lightly grease.
- In a large bowl, combine first 11 ingredients (everything except the meats) and stir until well combined. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add ground beef and sausage and use your hands to mix well. Form 1 1/2-inch/ 1.5-ounce meatballs and place on baking sheets, 16 to a sheet for 32 total. Bake meatballs for 10 minutes, swap top and bottom trays (if baking both at the same time) and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink inside/have an internal temperature of 165°. Serve and enjoy or freeze.
Notes
- In Sauce Simmer in sauce for 15 to 25 minutes until heated through.
- Microwave (best for just a few meatballs) Place meatballs in a single layer in a microwave-safe dish and cover with a couple layers of damp paper towels. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping the meatballs every minute or so.
- In the Oven Preheat oven to 350°F. Place meatballs in a single layer, 1/2-inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.
