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Learn how to cook frozen meatballs in your air fryer with this easy Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs recipe. It comes together in about 15 minutes using two main ingredients. Plus, it’s perfect, especially if you forgot to take out something for dinner because it doesn’t require you to thaw a thing. Enjoy this with my air fryer spaghetti squash or air fryer eggplant for a quick and easy low-carb meal.
Why Air Fry Frozen Meatballs
- Cooks from frozen without thawing: Instead of going to the grocery store to buy ground beef to make raw meatballs to cook, or going to Ikea for their Swedish meatballs, just purchase a bag of frozen meatballs. This recipe cooks from frozen and doesn’t require you to thaw anything. This is the perfect weeknight dish, whether you forgot to take something out for dinner, looking for a quick meal, or just want an easy snack, this is a quick way to tame your appetite in just minutes. With a quick cooking process, add this to your list of easy air fryer recipes.
- Two main ingredients: you can obviously go crazy with toppings like grated parmesan and different sauces, but you only need meatballs and sauce for this dish, which will help you make an easy meal.
- Perfect for busy weeknights: using precooked frozen meatballs is easier than you making your own meatballs from scratch, making it the perfect meal starter.
Ingredients Needed
Making frozen meatballs in an air fryer is super easy. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Frozen Meatballs: I got precooked meatballs. I do not thaw them out before cooking. I got a package that came with 28 meatballs per pound and a half. I’m using turkey meatballs, but you can use pork, beef meatballs, or chicken meatballs.
- Marinara Sauce: You can use any marinara sauce from the store of make a batch of marinara sauce in minutes at home.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for step-by-step instructions and exact ingredient amounts.
How to Cook Frozen Meatballs in an Air Fryer
- Optional: Line the bottom of the air fryer basket with parchment paper to reduce clean up time, or spray the bottom of the basket with cooking spray to prevent your meatballs from sticking.
- Add the frozen meatballs to the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Air Fry on 400 degrees for a cooking time of 6 minutes.
- Flip the meatballs and continue air frying on 400 degrees for 5-6 more minutes to cook the meatballs through, which will also give them a nice golden brown color.
- Use a pair of tongs to add the tender meatballs to a bowl and coat them with marinara (pasta sauce), BBQ sauce, sweet chili sauce, sweet & sour sauce, or whatever your favorite sauce is. 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.
How to Store Air-Fried Meatballs
The best way to store any leftover meatballs from this Air Fryer Meatballs recipe is in an airtight container for the next day (up to 5 days).
I cooked my frozen meatballs for about 12 minutes. The cook time depends on the size of your meatballs as well as if your meatballs are already cooked. For larger meatballs or raw meatballs, you can add more time. The meatballs should have an internal temperature of 165 degrees since they are made from ground meat.
You can use this recipe to heat frozen meatballs in your air fryer. Heating them will take less time. So, check in after 3-5 minutes.
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
- Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash
- Air Fryer Eggplant
- Squash in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Vegetable Recipes
- Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash: a low carb substitute for mashed potatoes
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!
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