These whole food freezer meatballs are the PERFECT meal prep option! Sourdough breadcrumbs, fresh ground beef, and a few choice seasonings combine to make 88 delicious meatballs, ready for your freezer and ready for your family.
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It’s so great having meals in the freezer, ready for those crazy days. You know what I’m talking about. We all have those insane days where nothing seems to go right, and before you know it it’s supper time and all you have is a stale loaf of bread and a wilted head of lettuce. What on earth am I going to make for supper?
Most of those days end up with a call for pizza, or maybe you end up at the grocery store last minute, buying a rotisserie chicken. While those are fine options on occasion, it certainly is helpful when you have something on back up in your freezer. These delicious whole food freezer meatballs are the perfect secret weapon for dinner success. Since they are precooked, then frozen, you don’t need to thaw or wait long periods of time to transform them into a delicious meal. Not only that, there are endless options for preparing your frozen meatballs.
Recipes Using Freezer Meatballs:
- Swedish Meatballs (check out this recipe from 100 Days of Real Food)
- Meatball Subs or Sandwiches
- Baked Meatballs and Marinara
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs
- Italian Wedding Soup (try this recipe from Cooking Classy)
- Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- And the list goes on!
I have loved having these in my freezer far more than any other freezer meal I’ve prepped in the past. I can go from freezer to table in about 30 minutes, including sauce. That’s a real win for me, since most homemade freezer meals take about an hour or more to bake from frozen.
Freezer Meatballs from Scratch
I’ve long been a from-scratch kind of gal when it comes to cooking, but when I had my son, a lot of things changed. I no longer had ample time to cook from scratch, and often had to balance a colicky baby on top of my home duties. It was particularly hard cooking supper, since that is the time most babies get on the fussy side. I soon learned that I had to take shortcuts I previously wouldn’t have taken, and I ended up relying on a lot more store-bought foods that I wanted to.
That was just a season, and I have a little more time now to dedicate to cooking from scratch, but things can go sideways really quick! That’s why I love making up a gigantic batch of these Whole Food Freezer Meatballs on the easy days. Once they are baked, cooled, and frozen, they are ready to be made into a quick meal on a difficult night. I’m always so thankful that I put the hard work in to make sure I had a back up plan. Best of all, I feel great feeding my family these meatballs. Since they are made from scratch with whole food ingredients, I know exactly what I’m feeding them.
Because I’m making these myself, I can use sourdough bread crumbs. Not only does this make the most of my leftover sourdough bread, but also makes for a nourishing and delicious meatball. If you don’t make sourdough bread, you can make breadcrumbs from store bought sprouted bread. I find the bread ends particularly useful. When I bought sprouted loaves, I would keep the bread ends in a bag in the freezer until I had enough to use for making breadcrumbs.
How to Make Sourdough Breadcrumbs
Sourdough breadcrumbs are made from stale or toasted sourdough bread. I find the ends of the bread to be particularly useful for this, since they tend to dry out faster. If my sourdough bread is fresh, my husband eats up the ends quick because they are his favorite part 😂. If I make it earlier in the day when he’s not home, I normally get to set some of those bread ends aside to make sourdough breadcrumbs with later.
You can also use dried out slices, or even fresh slices. If you’re using fresh slices, make sure you toast them well to dry them out. I like to place my sourdough bread pieces on a pizza stone and set my oven to 350F. I go about my kitchen chores, and check on the bread every so often. Once it is good and dry, I take it out of the oven to cool. If your bread is several days old and not very dry, you can totally skip this step.
Then, I use my food processor (I have this one) to grind the dried sourdough bread pieces to a small crumb. Your sourdough breadcrumbs will not get as fine as store-bought conventional breadcrumbs. They will look more similar in size to panko style breadcrumbs.
So, in summary:
- Dry out your leftover bread
- Combine in the food processor
- Process until they form coarse crumbs
- Ta-da! You’ve made sourdough bread crumbs!
Are There Any Alternatives to Sourdough Breadcrumbs?
Yes! Not everyone is a regular sourdough baker, and so substitutions will have to be made in this case! You can use pretty much any leftover bread that you have, so long as it is dry. I used to save the ends of my sprouted bread loaves in the freezer until I had enough to make a batch of breadcrumbs. This is a great option, especially if you prefer your grains to be soured or sprouted, as is recommended in Nourishing Traditions.
Here’s a full list of recommended substitutions:
- Crumbs made from store-bought sprouted bread
- Breadcrumbs made from store or market-bought sourdough bread
- Old fashioned oats, ground to a fine texture (make sure you measure them after grinding)
- Quick oats
- Whole wheat or regular panko bread crumbs
If you have any other suggestions for using in place of the breadcrumbs, be sure to drop it in the comments below. 👇
Perfect Freezer Meal for Postpartum/After Baby
So much of what’s available in the realm of postpartum freezer meals have a lot of processed ingredients. For the most part, who cares?! You just had a baby. Do what you gotta do mama!
That being said, if you are the one doing the preparation, it’s nice to include some meals you know that will be healthy and easy. Also, keeping in mind that you may have dietary restrictions. These whole food freezer meatballs are perfect for that. You can have whoever is helping you with the baby add about 20-25 meatballs to a baking dish, top with sauce, and bake until warmed through. My favorite emergency meal is:
- 25 precooked frozen meatballs
- 1 jar organic pasta sauce
- Shredded mozzarella or parmesan
Just add the meatballs to an 8X8 baking dish, cover in the jar of sauce, top with cheese, and cover. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350F, or until meatballs are warmed through. Serve with a quick salad and you are set to go.
It doesn’t get too much easier than that!
What Do I Need to Make Freezer Meatballs?
- Lean Ground Beef: This is the perfect choice for meatballs. Since most of the fat is removed, you won’t end up with a lot of grease in your pan after cooking. I find higher fat ground beefs leave for soggy bottomes. Grass fed beef is naturally lean, so you won’t have to worry if you’re opting for that.
- Onions: Two medium yellow onions are used in this recipe. They are pureed with a food processor or small blender, meaning you don’t have big chunks of onion sticking out of your meatballs. This is particularly great for those picky eaters in your family.
- Eggs: These act as a binder. 4 large eggs (about 1 egg per pound of ground beef) is what you’ll need for these freezer meatballs.
- Sourdough Breadcrumbs: Or any of the alternatives listed above. Oats are a great option if you’re gluten free!
- Mineral Salt: Whenever you’re cooking from scratch, you’re going to want a little salt. Real Salt is my favorite brand of mineral salt, but you can use whatever you like.
- Seasoning: These seasonings are on the traditional side, which means the meatballs can be used for a variety of dishes. I mostly use mine with tomato sauce, but I’ve made both honey garlic and Swedish meatballs with great success!
Recommended Tools:
- Cookie Scoop: this is used to ensure all of the meatballs are perfectly portioned. This ensures even cooking, which means you won’t have some meatballs done long before others.
- Food Processor: A food processor makes easy work of grinding up tough sourdough bread for whole food breadcrumbs. Also excellent for grating large amounts of cheese, this is one appliance I can’t do without.
- Full Size Baking Sheet: Most baking sheets you buy will be the half sheet size. The full sheet is the size that is used in most commercial kitchens and bakeries. I have one of these, and all 88 meatballs fit on one baking sheet. 2 half size sheets can work in place of the full size baking sheet.
- Silicone Baking Mat: I’ve had my Silpat brand half sheet baking mat for years (well, almost a decade). It’s still going strong, and it’s great for keeping your baking sheets in good condition. This one is a full sheet size, meaning it fits the large commercial baking sheets.
How Do I Make Freezer Meatballs?
Make the Meat Mixture: Combine the lean ground beef, pureed onions, eggs, and sourdough breadcrumbs. Sprinkle in the mineral salt and the seasonings. Mix well, using your hands when necessary.
Portion and Roll: Use a #40 (1.5 tbsp) cookie scoop to perfectly portion the dough, and then roll it between your hands to make a sphere.
Place and Bake: Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet, ensuring there is adequate room around each meatball. Bake for 30 minutes.
Check the Temperature: Check several meatballs, around the edges and to the middle of the baking sheet. You need to see a temperature of 160F for 5 seconds or longer.
Drain: Remove the meatballs to a draining rack, or paper-towel lined baking sheets.
How Do I Freeze Homemade Meatballs?
- Once the meatballs have cooled completely, move them to clean baking sheets lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Place the baking sheets in the freezer, ensuring they are resting on a flat surface.
- Once the meatballs have frozen solid, move them to gallon size freezer bags.
- Remove any extra air from the bags and seal. Store them in the back of your freezer or in a deep freezer.
- Use as you would frozen prepared meatballs in any recipes you have or cook in a 350F oven until heated throughout.
Check out the recipe card below 👇
Whole Food Freezer Meatballs
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Lean Ground Beef
- 2 medium Onions pureed
- 4 large Eggs beaten
- 2 cups Sourdough Breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp. Mineral Salt
- 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp. Dried Basil
- 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Add the eggs, breadcrumbs, and pureed onion to a very large bowl. Mix well with a fork to combine.
- Combine all of the seasonings in a small bowl and mix well.
- Add the ground beef to the egg, breadcrumb, and pureed onion mixture. Sprinkle with the seasonings, and mix well with a large wooden spoon.
- Once it becomes difficult to mix with a spoon, use clean hands to ensure the meat, seasonings, breadcrumb, eggs, and onion are uniformly combined.
- Prepare a full size baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper, or two half size sheets.
- Use a medium (#40 or 1.5 Tbsp. size) cookie scoop to perfectly portion the ground beef mixture, and then roll each portion between your hands to form a round meatball. Place the meatball on the prepared baking sheet.
- Continue with the rest of the meat mixture, leaving 1/2" of space around each meatball to ensure even cooking.
- Once all of the meatballs have been made, and are placed on the prepared baking sheet(s), place them in the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads at least 160F. Ensure to check meatballs on the edges, as well as the middle to ensure even cooking. Some may be cooked, while others need to continue to bake.
- Once the meatballs have cooked through, remove them from the oven and drain off any excess fat. Remove the meatballs from the baking sheet, and place them on a wire rack to drain. I like to place an extra baking sheet under them to catch the fat. If you don't have a wire rack, you can drain them on paper towel lined plates.
Freezing Instructions
- Once the meatballs have cooled completely, move them to clean baking sheets lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Place the baking sheets in the freezer, ensuring they are resting on a flat surface.
- Once the meatballs have frozen solid, move them to gallon size freezer bags.
- Remove any extra air from the bags and seal. Store them in the back of your freezer or in a deep freezer.
- Use as you would frozen prepared meatballs in any recipes you have or cook in a 350F oven until heated throughout.
Notes
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