How to cook meatballs on the stove with sauce is here. Make as a cast iron appetizer or with noodles for skillet spaghetti. Cook frozen meatballs or homemade with ground beef or turkey in spaghetti sauce, teriyaki or chili and grape jelly.
This is how to cook meatballs on the stovetop so they are juicy and full of flavor. Golden brown on the outside they are easy to make as a complete high protein meal or enjoy as a snack. Just one of our super easy ground beef recipes here on our site. (affiliate links present)
How to Cook Meatballs on Stovetop
You’re going to want at least a 12 inch cast iron skillet or this makes a great dutch oven recipe too. If you are going to make spaghetti on stovetop at the end you’ll want to use the latter because you’ll need more space.
The most common meat for these is beef ground however you could mix it with another if you’d like. Personally I love a bit of Jimmy Dean spicy ground sausage mixed in because it adds a ton of flavor and some heat. Turkey and ground chicken meatballs are lower in fat but a different texture for sure.
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There are ton of ways to serve these up, they’re not just for baked spaghetti y’all. If you have people coming over for the big game or want an Italian Christmas dinner dish this is a great one. Just pair with long toothpicks and serve right in the pan on a trivet.
Now you might have a few questions. I have had a few thus far and am answering them here in case they are on your mind too. Let me know below if you have others.
Defrost them first (if they’re frozen meatballs) using directions on the back of the bag. The easiest and quickest way to do this in a bowl in your microwave for a few minutes.
1. Once thawed, add 2 tbsp of olive oil into a skillet
2. Add meat and brown on the outsides for a few minutes
3. If you are adding a sauce do that now and allow to bubble slowly for 10-12 minutes until warmed
You can but they will likely fall apart more than if you browned the outsides first. This will do two things; help them stay together in the sauce as they cook and keep the moisture inside so they are more tender and juicy when served.
How to Cook Meatballs in Sauce
I will share with you both methods though we rarely ever make this without homemade spaghetti sauce inside the pot. You can also bake by following our how long to bake meatballs in the oven recipe that is killer during the holidays.
If you have your own family favorite recipe for the meat mixture then by all means use that. You can just follow our directions below in regards to cook time and temp. We have used our Ninja Foodi meatloaf recipe and formed that into balls too and that was delicious. A simple mixture would be;
Homemade Meatball Ingredients
- Ground beef or half ground sausage and half beef
- Breadcrumbs
- Milk
- Minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Onion powder and any other seasonings you want
- You’ll need a few tbsp of olive oil too to brown them nicely on the outside like you see here. That will not only give them a bit of texture but the sear will keep the moisture locked in so they become as moist and tender as possible.
- Pick a sauce you love to simmer them in like teriyaki or spaghetti sauce
Skillet Spaghetti
Now if you wanted to make spaghetti and meatballs this way, it’s rather delicious too. You’ll want to boil the noodles separately until tender but slightly al dente (my preference). You’d want to start off with a much larger pan than this 12″ if just cooking the meat. High sides is important to keep a mess from being created all over your stove.
How do you cook frozen meatballs on the stove?
You would use the same instructions for cooking frozen meatballs in sauce too. Timing may take a bit longer than homemade with ground beef but simmer until fork tender to your liking. No need to defrost ahead of time, just combine with sauce over medium heat stirring intermittently.
- Follow the same directions for making meatballs in a cast iron skillet first
- Boil pasta over medium high heat until slightly al dente.
- Then drain the cooked noodles and pour those in your cast iron pan (dutch oven works best since there will be more than just your skillet meatballs to combine.
- Gently fold everything together so it’s all nicely coated, you may want another 1/2 jar of sauce for this version
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan on top!
You don’t have to use long pasta with this one either. You can make a batch of Instant Pot penne pasta or medium size shells until al dente to toss with these, smaller may be easier to eat for little ones.
How Long to Cook Meatballs in Sauce
I mean from start to finish including you combining your meatball mixture and forming them into the shape and size you want, it’s probably 30 minutes on the stove. If you wanted to sear the outside, pour in the sauce and bake meatballs inside a preheated oven at 375 F. you’d need about 20 minutes for that. Instant Pot meatballs in sauce is just a few minutes once it reaches pressure.
Now in the case that you wanted to make homemade air fryer meatballs I would not do so in sauce. Instead, heat until crisped and golden brown and then toss with that at the end to coat. You are looking at about 12 minutes or so for those.
- In a large bowl, combine your beef (or make turkey meatballs for lower faat), breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, onion powder, salt and black pepper.
- Shape into about 24 homemade meatballs without breadcrumbs or use a recipe of your choice
- They should all be the same size.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil and swirl around the pan to coat. Cook the Italian meatballs in batches.
- Be careful not to crowd the pan, cook until browned on all sides.
- Drain any excess grease.
- Add all of the meatballs to the skillet and pour the marinara sauce over the top. Cover and simmer for 20 or 15 minutes if smaller in size.
There are tons of ways to serve these, below photo is just one but fun for kids for sure. If you can find those small slider buns or sweet Hawaiian rolls, cut them in half and serve one in the middle with a slice of cheese!
How to save leftover meatballs
You will want to keep them smothered with as much sauce as possible ideally. Use a container with a lid and reheat within 48 hours. A pot over medium heat will work to warm again, or put into the microwave for about 2 minutes stirring halfway thru until warmed. A great “free” second dish to enjoy later. 😉
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How to Cook Meatballs on the Stovetop
Equipment
- 1 skillet or cast iron skillet, with a lid
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 lb ground beef or half ground sausage and half beef
- 1/2 c breadcrumbs
- 1/2 c milk
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce 24 oz.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the beef, breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, onion powder, salt and black pepper. Shape the mixture into 24 meatballs.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil and swirl around the pan to coat. Cook the meatballs in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan, until browned on all sides. Drain any excess grease.
- Add all of the meatballs to the skillet and pour the marinara sauce over the meatballs. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve inside slider buns with a slice of provolone for a fun dinner idea, or on top of spaghetti noodles.
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