Easy Baked Meatballs Recipe with Three Ingredients

You don’t have to thaw the meatballs first for this easy baked meatballs recipe with only three ingredients. They are covered in marinara sauce and gooey mozzarella, making them an easy and delicious meal for the whole family.

When you have a lot of hungry mouths to feed on a busy weeknight, waiting for meatballs to thaw is one of the most annoying things that can happen. I left out that step in this easy recipe for baked meatballs. You just dump everything in and bake it, so busy moms can do other things. It’s easy to figure out how to cook frozen meatballs here.

It’s comfort food that doesn’t break the bank. These cheesy baked meatballs are not only very easy to make, but they can also be served in many different ways. You can have it with pasta, over mashed potatoes, or anything else you want. It makes a lot of food, so it’s easy to feed a lot of people, even if some of them are picky eaters. I mean, who can say no to all that cheese?

Ingredients

• 1 jar (24 ounces) of marinara sauce
• 24 ounces of frozen cooked meatballs
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella

Notes on Ingredients

Meatballs: We’re using frozen cooked meatballs to make things easier. Use the kind you like best. It would taste good in the Italian style.

I got a jar of Mezzetta marinara sauce, but you can use any brand you like. It has a big part, so make sure you like the taste!

Mozzarella is a great cheese for melting, and it goes great with marinara.

If you have more time, you can make your own marinara. Mezzetta, Rao’s, and DeLallo are some of my favorite brands.

This recipe is for 1-inch frozen meatballs that you can buy at the store. You can use bigger meatballs, but they will take longer to cook. You can also thaw them first.

When the middle of the meatballs reaches 160F, they are done. Use a cheap instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the food.

Instructions

1. Set your oven to 375F and move the rack to the middle.
2. Put a layer of frozen meatballs in a greased 9×13 casserole dish (I use Pam cooking spray). If you are using cooked meatballs that have been thawed, go to step 4.
3. After 20 minutes, take the casserole dish out of the oven and let the meatballs cool.

4. Put the marinara sauce on top of the meatballs and mix them together. Spread it out evenly, and then add the cheese on top.
5. Put the meatballs back in the oven for another 15–20 minutes, or until they are hot and bubbly. The middle of the meatballs should be 160F. You can broil the cheese for a few minutes to make it brown.

You don’t have to, but you can broil this to get the cheese brown. Just be sure to keep a close eye on it.

If you want to change things up, you can easily swap out the mozzarella for cheddar or a Tex-Mex blend.

If you don’t like marinara, you can use another jarred tomato-based pasta sauce instead.

Serving Suggestions

I always want to eat them as is with a big piece of my Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread and a salad on the side. Try my Homemade Olive Garden Salad Dressing on mixed greens. This combination works for me every time.

You could also serve it over pasta. A twist on spaghetti and meatballs is always a good idea.

Rice or Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes are also great choices. With a very easy veggie dish like my Easy Brussels Sprouts and Bacon, it’s a great dinner for a weeknight.

Storage and Leftovers

You can keep the meatballs in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in a container that doesn’t let air in.

You can heat it up slowly in a covered saucepan or microwave. If you want to reheat the whole casserole dish, put it in the oven at 350F until the meatballs are 160F inside.

Because of the dairy, I don’t think you should freeze leftovers.

Additional Tips

For this recipe, you need 1″ frozen cooked meatballs. You might need to cook them longer if your frozen meatballs are a lot bigger. If you’re not sure, for step 3, just follow the instructions on the package of meatballs for the oven, and then keep going with the recipe as usual. If you want, you can use cooked meatballs that you made yourself. Just make sure they are 160F in the middle before serving.

This recipe makes about 45 one-inch meatballs, which is enough for everyone to have 5–6 meatballs. This recipe is very flexible, so you can use as many meatballs as you want. If you want to make this with fewer meatballs, you could always use less cheese and sauce and bake it in an 8×8 pan instead of a 9×13 pan.