Frozen Meatballs in Air Fryer

Frozen meatballs in air fryer come out tender and delicious in no time! Use your Ninja Foodi, Cosori or other brand to make this appetizer. If you have always made Crockpot frozen meatballs but don’t have time for that, use these directions and then toss with your favorite sauce.

Ninja Foodi Meatballs

Years ago I figured out how to make Instant Pot frozen meatballs, that was handy. It used high pressure with hot steam to puff up the once rock hard straight out of the freezer meat to perfection. Then I could add it into a pasta dish or toss with a sauce and serve with toothpicks.

Now that I am obsessed with easy Ninja Foodi recipes I had to figure it out in that machine too. It works a bit different and doesn’t take as long. That is a win win when you are in a pinch for more time.

Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs for Spaghetti

Sometimes I just crave some meat as a snack, but cooking frozen meat can be tricky. Throw these in, get them tender and pour some spaghetti sauce over them for a quick snack.

If you want to make cheesy spaghetti, these are a great add in as well. It doesn’t matter what brand you pick up, store brand is just fine as you can see.

Nothing else is necessary when cooking frozen meatballs from rock hard frozen to tender perfection in your hot air machine. Like I have said time and time again, you can air fry everything y’all.

Trader Joe’s Frozen Meatballs in Air Fryer

You can use any brand you might have bought. Store brand, more expensive, beef, turkey or chicken, they are all pretty much the same size so it doesn’t make much of a difference. Here are a few questions you might be thinking about before you get started on this:

You don’t even need non stick spray to make these perfect. I usually use that for everything but it isn’t necessary at all.

Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs

1. Bag of meatballs – frozen, if thawed you’d need less time
2. Cosori air fryer or brand you have at home

If you are making this an appetizer you could toss with things like:

• Teriyaki sauce
• Spaghetti sauce
• Barbecue sauce
• Mix jar of 18 oz. grape jelly with 12 oz. chili sauce to make grape jelly meatballs

Or just throw it into a pot of Instant Pot spaghetti to add protein to your meal!

Air Fryer Meatballs

NOW if you want to make these homemade with ground beef you can do that too. OR use half ground pork to add more flavor. With some bread crumbs you can make air fried meatballs using the link above.

We love that quick and easy recipe too. BUT when we want a really fast meatball recipe we revert to this one.

Biggest tip for both is to ensure they’re in a single layer in your air fryer basket. This way the outsides can get crispy all the way around.

Using your oven on a baking sheet we have added all ingredients into a large bowl to combine it all. Parmesan cheese is a great add in for this method too. For entire recipe including cook time, refer to our basic meatball recipe here.

1. Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees for 5 minutes. Dump frozen meatballs into air fryer basket and cook at 380 F.
2. Set timer to 8 minutes or until they are heated through to your liking. Add 1-2 minutes longer to get a crispier outside texture.
3. Warm spaghetti sauce if desired and toss with meatballs to serve.

This is what they look like smothered in tomato sauce with seasonings. Great as is really.

Ninja Foodi Frozen Meatballs

Want to compare this with other cooking methods? Of course you can microwave them right out of the bag but that is my last resort for anything.

Even frozen salmon in air fryer and air fryer corndogs are SO much better than nuking them only.

BUT another winner for dinner are frozen meatballs in a slow cooker too. Especially for a large group they’ll stay warm for hours right in the pot. You can find the link to that one at the top of this post. Takes a lot longer though…..

Nutritional facts such as calories and saturated fat will vary depending on the brand. Refer to the bag you buy for very accurate information.