How to Cook Frozen Meatballs

This is how to cook frozen meatballs in air fryer, Instant Pot frozen meatballs, cooked in a slow cooker, baked in the oven, or microwaved. This is how to make frozen meatballs nice and tender for spaghetti or served as an appetizer.

We have done it all and want to share how to cook frozen meatballs with all of y’all now! The possibilities are endless with precooked ready made balls of meat. Whether you serve them as a snack or add into a casserole there are several ways to cook frozen meat to tender. Here are all the instructions you’ll need.

We should start with our favorite method first right?? I’m all about using my air fryer with these honestly. I love cooking them this way because you not only get the insides nice and tender but the texture on the outside is a bit crispy too.

How Long to Cook Frozen Meatballs in Air Fryer

I love a little bit of crisp, you may be the same way. Now you can just preheat your machine, throw in your air fryer frozen meatballs and they’re done in just 8 minutes. Then toss in your favorite bbq or grape jelly chili sauce for an appetizer or mix in with spaghetti. My kids will even just eat these as a quick after school snack sometimes.

How Long to Cook Frozen Meatballs in Slow Cooker

Want to cook a batch in sauce during the holidays as an appetizer? Crockpot frozen meatballs is probably your best bet taking just 3-4 hours to tender with bbq or teriyaki sauce. I like this method when there is company coming over because once they’re done you can just set to warm. Leave it right in the Crock with toothpicks on the side for everyone to enjoy the whole day.

How Long to Cook Frozen Meatballs in Oven

In a preheated oven at 350 F. you’d want to spread out on a baking sheet without overlapping and then bake for 20 minutes until heated thru to your liking. Check with a fork, cut in half and feel if warm enough.

How Long to Microwave Frozen Meatballs

This is the easiest I suppose, and explained on the back of every bag. The best way to do it so that they don’t dry out is to wet a few paper towels. Wrap them inside in a single layer on a plate and heat for about 2 minutes or until fully cooked and as tender as you’d like.

If you want to heat a whole bag of frozen buggers you will likely need to work in batches. Don’t overlap them to save time because they won’t heat evenly.

How Long to Cook Frozen Meatballs in Instant Pot

You can see our Instant Pot above where we do just that. Instant Pot frozen meatballs are really simple, and fast too. Cooked in a sauce or on a trivet with water below to steam in 5 minutes on high is simple. Also serving as a good vessel for when they are done you can also set this pot to warm for serving purposes if need be.

Can I cook frozen meatballs in sauce?

Yes you can!! If you want to make spaghetti or an appetizer with grape jelly sauce or teriyaki you should skip defrosting them and cook frozen meatballs in sauce instead. This will give them more flavor overall, no need to thaw them ahead of time just throw them together and heat.

OR just throw them in with our homemade sauce for Instant Pot Swedish meatballs without defrosting for a complete dinner.

How Long to Cook Frozen Uncooked Meatballs

If you do make them yourself, freeze, and now need to cook them it will take a bit longer. Since most bagged versions are already cooked, you’re just warming them up this cook time would be different. For oven baked frozen meatballs you would follow these directions:

1. It is best if you first toss them in your favorite sauce like:
   1. spaghetti sauce
   2. bbq sauce
   3. teriyaki sauce
2. Pour into a casserole dish and cover
3. Put meatballs in the oven inside once it is preheated at 350 F for 30 minutes
4. Lift lid off and cook uncovered for another 10 – 15 minutes until they are heated thru to the center and internal temperature reaches 165 F.

This is how long to cook meatballs on the stovetop once they’re thawed. Then you can pop them in the oven if you like.

What to Make with Frozen Meatballs

Yep! You can even just throw these babies in other dishes as is too though, not just plain with sauce. I have done this quite often in soups and casseroles. Since you are boiling or baking it anyway with everything else there isn’t any precooking required for things like Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup or our Swedish meatball casserole dish.

Love meatball soup or our Crockpot meatballs and gravy? We do too during the winter months and when I don’t have time to make homemade, these do the trick quite well. You can add them into Ninja Foodi spaghetti too.