These Make Ahead Meatballs are a life saver! Make a big batch and freeze them. Then at dinner time you just need to reheat and eat! Even better, they are Paleo, Gluten Free and Whole 30 compliant!
I am not lying when I tell you that these Make Ahead Meatballs are life savers. We all have those days where we don’t even think about dinner until dinnertime – and maybe we are tired or lazy or just don’t feel like cooking. And that is when the takeout usually happens. But if I have these Make Ahead Meatballs stashed in my freezer, dinner is saved! I usually make a batch of my Easy 20 Minute Marinara and throw a spaghetti squash in the microwave and then I have a low carb, homemade meal in 20 minutes. Of course if you are not going the low carb route you could make some pasta in the same amount of time, or serve the meatballs on crusty bread and make a meatball sandwich.
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I had been wanting to make a grain free meatball, and had played around with different binders – I even tried oats once! I really wanted to have a meatball that was gluten free, paleo and Whole 30 compliant. Then I found this recipe from Noshtastic, and it worked so well! I just made a few small changes and these became my go-to meatball. I don’t miss the breadcrumbs at all, and the egg does a good job binding them together.
Discovering that they freeze well was a game changer. After baking them, allow to cool completely. We use our foodsaver (affiliate link) to seal them into portions of 4 or 8 so that we can only thaw as many as we need per meal. If you don’t have a foodsaver, I would recommend freezing them individually on a baking sheet and then sealing in a freezer bag in smaller portions. We find that 2-3 meatballs per person is a good serving, but that may vary depending on the size of the meatballs and how hungry everyone is.
To reheat, I just throw the frozen meatballs into the marinara sauce and let them thaw and warm up as the sauce cooks. No need to remember to thaw them out in the morning!
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Make Ahead Meatballs (Paleo, Gluten Free, Whole 30)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with foil, set aside.
- Combine all ingredients until well mixed. Shape mixture into equal sized balls, about 2 tablespoons each (I used an ice cream scoop for easy portioning). When shaping balls, don't pack them too tightly or they may become tough.
- Arrange on the lined baking sheets, about 12 per sheet. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Can serve right away or freeze for later. Allow to cool completely before freezing. After cooling, separate into desired portions and seal in freezer bags or food saver bags and freeze.
Notes
Adapted from Noshtastic
Beef Stroganoff Recipe
julia covell says
Wonderful! So easy and tasty. Thanks Meghan!
Amanda says
How long do you cook them for frozen if hey have already been cooked once?
Meghan says
Hi Amanda – just enough to warm them up. I usually put them in with the marinara sauce when it is cooking and they thaw and warm up in there.
Jill says
These were easy to make. I made them as instructed. I personally like more flavor in mine so I may try to add sautéed onions, mushrooms, and some more seasonings. Super quick and a great base for what we like.
Meghan says
So glad you liked them Jill!
CAROLINE says
Easy, flavourful and flourless; thank you!
Meghan says
So glad you loved them!
keech says
Seasonings tasted really good, but the meatballs turned out too dry., not sure what all the diets are, but for me next time I would add in a splash of almond milk, an extra egg (for 2 lbs) & some parm. or Italian cheese.
Meghan says
Hi Keech – Yes I love adding Parmesan to the meatballs! I didn’t add it to this recipe because it isn’t paleo. Great idea on the almond milk!
Gwen says
These meatballs were great! Easy and fast enough to make for a weeknight and super convenient to store in the freezer for a last-minute dinner. Nice flavor too! I paired them with some tzatziki and zucchini noodles.
Meghan says
SO happy you liked them Gwen!
Molly says
I just made these with a slight variation- added diced mushrooms (about 1 cup) and a heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast. They came out so yummy and tender! These are a staple in my whole 30!
Meghan says
That sounds like such a great addition! Thanks Molly, I’m so glad you love them!
Denise Magers says
Do you have the nutrient info?
Meghan says
Hi Denise – I don’t at this time, I’m working on updating old posts. In the meantime, there are lots of free nutrition calculators out there to figure it out. Lots of people use my fitness pal or lose it.
Amber says
Thank you for this recipe. I have ground bison. Do you think that would work or would it be too dry seeing as it isn’t as fatty???
Meghan says
Hi Amber – I think they would be pretty dry since it is such a lean meat. Maybe if you mixed it half bison with half pork? You just want some fat in there keep them moist. Especially since these don’t have any breadcrumbs in them, which usually helps them from being too tough.
Joanie says
I was wondering if anyone has used sweet Italian pork sausage for this recipe?
Meghan says
Hi Joanie – I haven’t tried it, but it sounds like it would taste amazing!
kate says
I have! It’s very good. Two drawbacks: it ups the calorie content and they’re weird to use for a Swedish meatball (I like to split the batch and use half for Italian and half for Swedish).
Amanda says
This recipe is a go-to for me now, I double the spices and add the red peppers too. Also, I do 1lb of each ground italian sausage (pork), beef and turkey and turns out moist and delicious 🙂
Meghan says
Adding sausage sounds so good! I’m so happy you love them!
COLLEEN BONCOSKY says
Moisture can be added by adding some finely chopped mushrooms. For a sweeter flavor, a little unsweetened applesauce added is nice.
Meghan says
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing Colleen!
Rebecca S says
Hi! How much applesauce would you suggest?
Thank you!
Colleen Boncosky says
I would start with 3/4 cup applesauce to 1.5 lbs. ground beef.
Emily says
Thank you for this recipe. I just made them for my daughter who was just diagnosed with celiac. She (age 4), and her brother (8) both loved them! I did add a little extra s+p but left the red pepper flakes out.
Meghan says
Hi Emily – I’m so glad to hear that your kids loved them!
Kayley says
I wonder if I can place these into a crock pot in their raw state and cook in a sauce? The only thing I worry about is having a lot of fat in my sauce, only because if it is a lot of fat that cooks out then the sauce can get kind of weird. Any thoughts or has anyone tried it? Thanks!
Meghan says
Hi Kayley – I have never tried this so I can’t be sure! I know some people cook raw meatballs in sauce so I imagine it would work, but I can’t say for sure how they would turn out. If you do try it, let us know!
Dee says
Hello trying to make for a friend that is gluten, egg & diary free. what can I use instead of egg? thanks
Meghan says
Hi Dee – you could try leaving the egg out. It is a binder, so they may not stay together as well, but I think they will still work. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Let me know how they turn out!
Johny says
Use uncooked brown rice.
Arely says
My mom made them for me with out get but she boiled them they stayed together better than when they baked and she only used beef no pork I’m allergic to pork and gluten and egg. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Meghan says
Hi Arely, that is a great tip for making them without the egg! Thank you for your comment!
Jennifer says
Flax egg to replace egg shoulwork the same . I sub this for many recipes but haven’t tried n this one yet. One tbsp of ground flax mixed in two tbsp of water Aleta it for a gel for about 10 minutes = one egg
Meghan says
Thanks Jennifer, great tips!
merri says
I was just wondering how many meatballs this recipe made….
Meghan says
Hi Merri,
It varies depending on how big you make them, but it makes approximately 24 meatballs. Hope that helps!
Sandy says
Oh this is great! My husband can’t have gluten and I have an urge this week to make meatballs (i haven’t made them in a long time). I’m going to make them ahead tonight so we can enjoy them Thursday. Thank-you for the recipe.
Meghan says
Hi Sandy – Yay, so happy you are making them! I hope you love them!
Logan says
Awesome meatballs – made them tonight and freezing for the week.
any chance you have the nutrition facts per meatball? i’m adhering to a pretty strict calorie and carb diet at the moment. I’ll try to work it out as well.
Thanks again!
Meghan says
Hi Logan, I’m so glad you loved the meatballs! I don’t currently have nutrition info for this recipe, but if you are on a strict diet it is probably better for you to do the calculations on your own anyway. The nutrition information can vary so greatly depending on the exact ingredients, brands and amounts you use, plus all nutrition calculators will vary a bit due to their own algorithms. My Fitness Pal or Lose it! are great, free nutrition calculators that I have used to figure out nutritional info. Hope that helps!
jackie says
Delicious! Just made them as you said paying attention to fatter meats…and added sautéed onions. Yummy. Thank you!
Meghan says
Yay! So glad to hear that! The onions sound like a great addition!
Richa Gupta says
These Make ahead meatballs could come so handy for a quick dinner!
Carolyn says
These look perfect for dinner! Yum!
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen says
Definitely going to have to make these for my daughter!
Megan @ Megunprocessed says
Make ahead meals make things so much easier!
Meghan says
Thanks Megan!
lisa says
I made these.. and the flavor was good, but despite my attention to packing the loosely they were still very stiff and tough. any tips on making them more tender?
Meghan says
Hi Lisa – the lack of breadcrumbs make them a little tougher. The best way to deal with that is to add more fat. So you can increase the ground pork to a 2-1 ratio (2 lbs pork to 1 lb beef) Also be sure you are using a higher fat beef like an 80/20 instead of a low fat ground beef. I also really like to simmer these in marinara sauce as a way to reheat them, it makes them much juicier. Here is my easy marinara sauce recipe that I always use with these: https://www.foxandbriar.com/twenty-minute-classic-marinara-sauce/ – I hope that helps!
Sarah says
What about turkey burger? I cannot eat red meat so we always use turkey. I never really tell a difference between ground beef and ground turkey anymore, but I see all the meatball recipes call for both beef and pork. I was just curious as to why they need both and if it would make a difference using just ground turkey.
Meghan says
Hi Sarah – you can definitely try it with ground turkey, but turkey usually has less fat and that tends to make the meatballs dry. I haven’t tried it myself but I think it would work (although, as I said, the meatballs may be a bit dry). You may even think about adding an extra egg to make up for some of the fat lost. Let me know how it turns out!
Aydrey says
I use chopped up green bell peppers in my turkey burgers which makes them less dry.
Meghan says
That sounds like it adds great flavor too!
COLLEEN BONCOSKY says
To prevent dry meatballs, try adding some finely chopped mushrooms. They have a lot of moisture.
Cookie says
Thanks so much for your incredible recipes! I was only looking for “healthy” marinara sauce but found the meatballs and printed both.
Meghan says
Hi Cookie, Yay! Thank you so much for your comment! I hope you love both of the recipes, they are regulars in our house!
Sabrina B. says
appreciate your testing this recipe with egg binding, I was curious to see what might work without the bread binder, also great tip about freezing ahead of time, especially since I like meatballs for a lot things, even on their own!
Meghan says
Thanks Sabrina! I hope you enjoy them!
Catey says
What kind of ground pork? Like ground Italian sausage?
Meghan says
Hi Catey – I just used regular ground pork in these – no flavorings. But I’m sure they would be good with sausage too!
Katie says
When you freeze these how do you reheat/cook them from frozen to fresh?
Meghan says
Hi Katie – I usually reheat them in marinara sauce. I just toss them in the sauce while they are still frozen and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Sarah says
Yum! I can’t wait to make these, since beef and pork has been part of my pregnancy cravings these days. Is there a particular type of marinara sauce you like to use?
Meghan says
Hi Sarah! Yay, I am so glad you are making them! I always use my Easy 20 minute Marinara Sauce, linked at the bottom of the recipe or here: http://www.foxandbriar.com/twenty-minute-classic-marinara-sauce/ Let me know how they turn out!
annie says
Oh wow, this recipe comes at a PERFECT time for me. Earlier this week, I made spaghetti & meatballs for my husband’s dinner. He was surprised that I “knew how to make meatballs”…..until I sheepishly pulled the ready-made Kroger meatballs out of the fridge. He eats meat, I don’t, and I’m always iffy on how to cook it for him. But now I can whip up these lovingly-made meatballs, without worrying that I’m gonna mess it up.
Meghan says
Aww, Annie! I still think you are the best wife ever for making your hubs meaty dinners when you are a vegetarian. I hope he loves these!