Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole

You don’t even have to boil the pasta before making this Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole. It only needs six ingredients. It’s easy to make because you just put the ingredients in a casserole dish and let it bake. This meatball casserole is the easiest family-friendly dinner ever. It uses frozen meatballs and jarred pasta sauce, which are both easy to find.

Recipe for Meatball Casserole: Dump and Bake

My kids love pasta dishes like this easy dump-and-bake meatball casserole! The flavors are mild, it takes less than five minutes to make, and kids always love it at the dinner table. You can’t ask for much more than that 😉

You just “dump” this meatball casserole into one baking dish, and the oven does the rest. Frozen meatballs, jarred pasta sauce, and dried pasta make it quick and easy to get ready for anyone.

My family loves simple pasta dinner recipes like this Easy Garlic Parmesan Pasta or my Creamy Tomato Beef Pasta. Everyone loves pasta and cheese!

You don’t even have to boil the pasta before making this Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole. It only needs six ingredients. You just “dump” the ingredients into a casserole dish and let it bake, so it’s quick to make. This meatball casserole with frozen meatballs is the easiest, most family-friendly dinner you can make.

Five minutes of prep time
Time to cook: 40 minutes
The whole thing took 45 minutes.

A 9×13-inch ceramic baking dish
Grater for cheese

Items

◯ Uncooked rotini pasta in a box (16 oz)
◯ 3 cups of water
◯ 1 jar (24 oz) of pasta sauce
◯ 1 bag (14 oz) of frozen, precooked meatballs that have been thawed
◯ 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
◯ 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Things You Need to Make a Meatball Casserole

Rotini Pasta: You don’t have to boil it before making this casserole! This is why the prep is so easy: you just put the dry, uncooked pasta in the baking dish.

Water

You can use any kind of pasta sauce you like! I usually go with the classic tomato and basil, but there are a lot of other choices, like garden vegetable, parmesan, spicy vodka, roasted garlic, three cheese, and more. You can even use spaghetti sauce or pasta sauce that you have left over from a meal.

Frozen Pre-Cooked Meatballs: Before you make the casserole, you need to let these thaw all the way. I put the bag of frozen meatballs in the fridge the night before or the morning of and they’re ready to use by dinner time.

Salt that is kosher

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Optional Toppings: You can sprinkle some freshly grated parmesan cheese and/or chopped fresh parsley on top of the casserole before serving if you want.

How to Make a Simple Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole with Frozen Meatballs

With just five ingredients and five minutes of prep time, this meatball casserole is easy to make! You just put everything in a 9×13 baking dish and you’re ready to bake. Before you start, turn the oven up to 425 degrees F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. I use a ceramic baking dish, but you could also use a glass or nonstick dish.

How to Do It

Set the oven to 425°F. Use cooking spray to coat a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Put the uncooked pasta in the baking dish, then add the water, pasta sauce, meatballs, and salt. Put tin foil over the pan. Put the dried pasta, water, pasta sauce, meatballs, and kosher salt in a pot and let it sit. Put tin foil over the pan.

Bake for 35 minutes, stirring everything together halfway through. Cook: Set the timer for 35 minutes. At the halfway point of the cooking time, which is about 18 minutes, stir everything together.
After it’s done, stir the pasta again and sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Cheese: After the first cooking time is up, mix the casserole again and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. You should cook it for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
If you want, you can serve it with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese or chopped fresh parsley.

Questions and Answers about Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole

Ideas for Changes and Substitutions

Meatballs: You can use any kind of frozen meatballs in this recipe. There are many great options, such as Italian, homestyle, and more. The recipe below calls for a 14 oz package, so make sure you use that one.

Pasta Sauce: You can use any kind of pasta sauce you like as long as it comes in a 24 oz jar. If you want even more meatball goodness, try a “mini meatball” pasta sauce, a garden vegetable pasta sauce, or my favorite, the classic tomato and basil sauce.

Dried Seasonings: This meatball casserole is meant to be a simple, dump-and-go recipe that doesn’t take much work on your part. You can add as much spice to this as you want, of course. Add some Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and other spices. I like kosher salt better because it’s easy to make, easy to use, and kid-friendly.

Cheese: You could add more cheese to this casserole to make it even better. Put some slices of provolone cheese or another kind of cheese on the bottom before you sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. You can also add some parmesan cheese.

Can I do it ahead of time?

Of course you can! Make this recipe even easier by getting everything ready ahead of time. Follow the recipe to make the casserole, then wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. Put it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it for dinner that night.
I don’t think you should make this the night before and leave it in the water all night.
You only need a few minutes to get everything ready for this recipe, which is very easy to follow. You can make it in the morning and put it in the fridge, but I suggest putting it together right before baking it.

Should I stir it halfway through?

I strongly suggest making this dinner when you can stir it halfway through. Stirring the casserole lets all the pasta mix with the water and get soft while it cooks.
It’s fine if you can’t stir it halfway through the cooking time. Just know that some parts of the pasta noodles will be crunchy because you didn’t stir them into the water halfway through.

Can I Use Another Type of Pasta in This Dump and Bake Casserole?

Yes, you can, but make sure it’s about the same size as the spiral rotini.
Penne pasta or mini bow-ties are two other shapes of pasta that will work. You could also use medium shell pasta. I only ever make this casserole with rotini noodles, so that’s what I suggest. If you use a bigger or different type of pasta than rotini, the baking time might be a little different.
I like rotini because it has the right shape and all those grooves and spirals that keep the sauce in.

Is it okay to use homemade pasta sauce instead of jarred?

Of course! This is a great way to use up extra pasta sauce. When I make this Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Beef Spaghetti Sauce, I always seem to have extra. That one has even more meat in it! You could also make my Easy Spaghetti Sauce Recipe or my Homemade Spaghetti Meat Sauce.
Three cups of pasta sauce is equal to a 24-ounce jar.

Tips for Making Recipes

Here are some of my best tips to help you make this recipe work in your own kitchen ♥

Stir Halfway Through: The best way to cook this casserole is to stir it all together halfway through the cooking time. This makes sure that all of the pasta is covered in the sauce and water mixture, which keeps the ends from drying out and making the food crunchy.
Use a Good Quality Pasta Sauce: Since this recipe only has a few ingredients, it’s important to use tasty ones. I like Rao’s Homemade or Classico pasta sauce. Rao’s is the best pasta sauce by far, but it costs a lot. I like to use the classic tomato basil pasta sauce when I make this recipe, but you can use any sauce you like.
Kosher Salt: I suggest using kosher salt because it brings out the flavors of the other ingredients without making the dish taste too salty. You can use other salts, like sea salt or table salt, but you might not need as much. Begin with 1/2 teaspoon or 3/4 teaspoon and add more as needed.
Thaw the Meatballs: The recipe calls for frozen meatballs, but you need to thaw them first before putting them in the casserole dish. I put the bag of frozen meatballs in the fridge that morning. When it’s time to make dinner, I take them out. If the meatballs are frozen, they won’t cook and get hot while the casserole is cooking. To thaw frozen meatballs, put them in the fridge overnight or early in the morning on the day you want to eat them. If you’re in a hurry and forgot to put them in the fridge, you can try thawing them in the microwave. Before you put them in the casserole dish, you have to let them thaw all the way.
Size of Meatballs: You will need a bag of frozen meatballs that weighs 14 ounces. You can get this size at the store. Make sure the bigger meatballs, like the ones from Coctso, are thawed before you use them. You might also want to cut them in half. If you can’t find a 14-ounce package of meatballs at the store, you can use one that is 18 ounces or buy the bigger package (28 ounces) and use half of it in the casserole. I think that 14 ounces of frozen meatballs is about the same as 3 cups. You might want to cut the bigger meatballs in half so that they are about the same size as the ones you buy at the store.

Why Do I Have to Stir It Halfway Through Cooking?

Stirring everything together is important so that all the pasta gets covered in the water and sauce. This will also stop any pieces of the pasta noodles from hardening and becoming crunchy.

Pasta Sauce: Because there aren’t many ingredients, it’s important to use a pasta sauce that tastes good and is of high quality. When I make this recipe, I like to use Rao’s homemade pasta sauce. Classico is another great brand that tastes good. You can use any kind or flavor of pasta sauce you want. I always use tomato and basil sauce, but you could also use garden vegetable sauce, mini meatball pasta sauce, spicy vodka pasta sauce, cheese pasta sauce, parmesan, roasted garlic, and more.

Dried Seasonings: This recipe is meant to be easy and quick, but you can add more spices to the casserole if you want. You could try adding Italian seasoning, dried garlic powder, or dried basil. You can put any dried spices you want in this casserole.

Cheese: For the best taste and texture when melted, shred mozzarella cheese from a block instead of buying it already shredded in a bag. You can also add more cheese by putting a layer of sliced cheese on top of the shredded cheese. If you’re going to use sliced cheese, use provolone, muenster, or mozzarella cheese. You can also sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top of the casserole before you serve it.

Suggestions for Serving

Add some chopped cucumbers and grape tomatoes to a side salad, like a bag of leafy greens.

I also like to buy salad mixes that are already mixed and ready to use, like Caesar salad, at the store.

You could serve it with my Cheesy Garlic Bread, Easy Breadsticks Recipe, Garlic Parmesan Knots, or these gooey Cheese Bombs that you make in the air fryer.

Or try some of these Slow Cooker Sweet Glazed Carrots, which are sweet like candy, as a side dish for your veggies.

Nutrition Information