Quick, easy and perfect for all family sizes!
I have many fast, healthy recipes in my repertoire, but this one stands out for its low effort preparation and the quantity that it yields. For 6 months I am able to grab a small bag of meatballs from the freezer to get me out of a pinch when food is running low and more commonly, when TIME is running low. Most of my proteins live in the freezer and unless I’ve given it some thought beforehand, it’s not going to be easily accessible. These meatballs can do both! Pull them out of the freezer and reheat on a small cookie sheet at 350-375 degrees for roughly 15 minutes. Use parchment paper for easy cleanup. Pair with a vegetable and you’re ready to eat!
I recommend making a double or triple batch of these if you want them to last 6 months, pulling them out as you need them once a week or so. If doubling or trippling, use a few large bowls to divide the ingredients (roughly) equally because by the time you get to adding the milk, you’ll see that you need a much larger bowl to accommodate multiple batches at the same time.
Making a triple batch is the easiest way to divide the ground meats as they are often sold in 2 pound packages. Bake meatballs on parchment paper then slide the paper onto a large cutting board (a partner comes in handy here) to place in the freezer too cool/freeze.
Once the meatballs are at least cooled, you can transfer them into freezer bags. For the perfect one meal portion for 2 people, I used quart bags. 9 Meatballs fit perfectly into a quart sized freezer bag. These come in particularly handy at my house on Fridays, when the food I prepped for the week is running out but I might still have some fresh veggies to prep alongside these. This helps me avoid getting tripped up by the prospect of easy take-out.
I wouldn’t normally call myself a meatball fan; ordering a meatball sub or a meatball dinner is never something I would do. I’m not even a super fan of crockpot meatballs you’d find at a party, even dipped in delicious sauces. However, the flavor of these meatball is great and I enjoy them every time! The only change I made to the original recipe that I think helped make these extra tasty is that I used a flavored pork sausage from my father-in-law’s meat shop. Even with two thirds of the ground meats being plain, the meatballs tasted like they had a ton of seasonings added, but as you can see, there’s nothing special here on the seasonings front.
Recipe credit goes to Sweetheart Manor in Burley, Idaho.
Sweetheart Manor Meatball Recipe
- 4 eggs
- 8 slices torn-up bread
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 c. chopped onions
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 lbs ground meet (use a three-way mixture of lean ground beef, ground turkey and ground pork sausage) *I used a mixture also but purchased seasoned pork sausage for added flavor.
Mix ingredients together, scoop with melon scoop or small to medium cookie scoop. Bake on cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
Meatballs can be frozen, pre-baking, until firm on cookie sheets then placed in freezer bags or vacuum seal bags for freezer storage.
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Addie Kelzer is a certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant. She believes that by making fitness and good food practical, her clients will hold the power to positively change their health and the health of those closest to them.