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Whole Food Freezer Meatballs

Sourdough breadcrumbs, fresh ground beef, egg, pureed onions, and a few choice seasonings combine to make 88 delicious meatballs, ready for your freezer and ready for your family.
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Before Baby Meals, Family Friendly, Freezer Friendly, Freezer Meals, Freezer Prep, meal prep, postpartum, Sourdough, Whole Food
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 16
Calories: 180kcal
Author: Little Home in the Making

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 ½" 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

How to make sourdough breadcrumbs: Use day old bread ends and dried slices for the best results. I like to toast mine in the oven for 5-10 minutes, cool, and then grind them in my food processor. You can also use a high powered blender. If you don't have access to sourdough bread, you can use store bought sourdough or sprouted bread. You could also substitute panko or conventional breadcrumbs if you desired to.
How to make pureed onions: Simply chop your onions and place them in your food processor or high powered blender until they become "juicy". Use a silicone spatula to scrape out the onion into the large bowl. 
Nutritional information is calculated via MyFitnessPal and is an estimate only.

Nutrition

Calories: 180kcal