This recipe checks several boxes for me: super kid friendly, versatile, economical, can be prepped and saved in mass quantities. I make a double or triple sized batch and bake them off, which I also like because kitchen clean up is a breeze (I’m tired of cleaning my kitchen).
The flavors are pretty simple so we can have them in marinara with pasta, make them Swedish or stroganoff style, cook them up with brown gravy and mashed potatoes. One trick to cooking in bulk is making it versatile so you don’t get bored with the same meal over and over. The above recipes are all very different.
My last selling point on making these in a big batch: it doesn’t take much more time to roll out more meatballs, but you’ll save yourself a ton of time and effort when you pull a batch of these out of the freezer. Make a mess in your kitchen once. The next time you want these for dinner, just heat them up in your sauce and serve with the sides.
This recipe is meant for two meals, but can certainly multiply it out for 3 or 4.
Big Batch Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound package Jimmy Dean Natural Sausage
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 2 teaspoon splash of olive oil
- ½ yellow onion
- 2 whole carrots
- 2 stalks of celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup plain breadcrumbs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Mince onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. I do this in a mini food processor.
- Sauté veggies in olive oil in a medium pot until they are softened. Remove to a plate and let cool.
- In a very large bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, eggs, breadcrumbs, cook veggies, cheese, salt and pepper.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop to roll out meatballs and place in rows on cookie sheet.
- Once they’re all rolled out, bake for 20-25 minutes. Pull out one meatball and cut into it to make sure they are cooked through.
- Serve half for dinner in desired sauce. Let the other half cool. Put in Food Saver bag or zip top freezer bag, and freeze for next time. Also optional to use quart size bags and save in individual portions.
Notes
- Add meatballs to favorite pasta sauce. Pour over spaghetti or penne. Serve with a green salad.
- Make a dark gravy: butter, flour, beef stock, kitchen bouquet. Add meatballs. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans (reminds me of old school TV dinners).
- Stogenoff: cook onions and mushrooms in butter, add dry Sherry and beef stock. Stir in room temp sour cream and parsley. Serve over egg noodles and a side of broccoli.
- Coat with a ginger teriyaki sauce for a fun appetizer (just leave out parmesan cheese if you plan to make them this way).
hannah @ familyfoodfreezer says
Love cooking in bulk! Something I do all the time! Great looking recipe 🙂