This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and highly recommend. You can read my full disclosure .
If you forgot to take out something for dinner, don’t panic. This easy Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs recipe cooks from frozen and doesn’t require you to thaw a thing. It comes together in about 15 minutes using two main ingredients. Enjoy this with my air fryer spaghetti squash or air fryer eggplant for a quick and easy low-carb meal.
Why Make This
- Cooks from frozen without thawing: this recipe cooks from frozen and doesn’t require you to thaw anything. This is the perfect weeknight dish when you forgot to take something out for dinner.
- Two main ingredients: you can obviously go crazy with toppings like grated parmesan, but you only need meatballs and sauce for this dish.
Ingredients Needed
- Frozen Meatballs: I got previously cooked meatballs. I do not thaw them out before cooking. I got a package that came with 28 meatballs per pound and a half.
- Marinara Sauce: You can use any marinara sauce from the store of make a batch of marinara sauce in minutes at home.
How to Make Frozen Meatballs in an Air Fryer
- Add the frozen meatballs to the air fryer cooking basket.
- Air Fry on 400 degrees for 6 minutes.
- Flip the meatballs and continue air frying on 400 degrees for 5-6 more minutes to cook the meatballs through.
- Add the meatballs to a bowl and coat them with sauce. Top with grated parmesan cheese, basil and/or parsley.
Top Tips & FAQs
- Check labels to keep carbs in check: You can get any kind of previously cooked meatballs, but those with 8g of carbs or less per serving, tend to be more meat and less breading. For me, this not only tastes better, but also allows you to have these as part of a low-carb meal if you want.
- Warm your sauce: To keep this simple, I warmed my marinara sauce in the microwave for 90 seconds when the meatballs were done. This way, I could toss the meatballs in the sauce and have this be ready quickly without much fuss.
- Add salt, pepper and toppings to taste: this dish just requires two main ingredients, but you could add Parmesan Cheese, salt, pepper, parsley and basil to your preference.
I cooked the meatballs for about 12 minutes. The cook time depends on the size of your meatballs though as well as if your meatballs are already cooked. In this recipe, I used previously cooked meatballs.
You can use this recipe to heat frozen meatballs in your air fryer.
Some might choose to skip frying their meatballs because it requires a lot of oil. But, frying and air frying take less time than baking. Since air frying doesn’t require any oil and allows you to save time, compared to baking, I prefer to make my meatballs in my air fryer.
Recipes to Enjoy This With
More Meatball Recipes
If you try this recipe, please stop back and leave it a star rating and/or a review in the comments. Stay connected & share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb Meatballs, Do not thaw. You can get any kind of previously cooked meatballs – but those with 8g of carbs or less, tend to be more meat and less breading
- 1 cup Marinara Sauce, I warmed mine in the microwave for 90 seconds when the meatballs were done
Instructions
- Add the frozen meatballs to the air fryer cooking basket.
- Air Fry on 400 degrees for 6 minutes.
- Flip the meatballs.
- Air Fry on 400 degrees for 5-6 more minutes to cook the meatballs through.
- Add the meatballs to a bowl and coat them with sauce.
- Optional: Top with parmesan cheese, basil and/or parsley.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
Leave a Reply