Meatball casserole is what I make when dinner must be comforting, simple and completely not fascinated about creating extra dishes than crucial. It has all of the acquainted issues folks really need on the table- pasta, sauce, meatballs, and melted cheese- and not one of the pointless drama.
Why This Meatball Casserole Works
Low-effort in the very best manner. Frozen meatballs, jarred marinara, dry pasta, and mozzarella flip right into a full dinner with out further pots and a protracted prep record.
Comfort meals with out a number of work. You nonetheless get pasta, sauce, meatballs, and melted cheese, which is precisely what most individuals are hoping for from a casserole like this.
Great household dinner recipe. This is the sort of meal that feels acquainted, filling, and simple to placed on the desk on a busy evening.
Ingredients for Meatball Casserole
Here’s a quick-reference guidelines of the frequent components you’ll want for this household favourite recipe. A full record of components with measurements is out there within the printable recipe card under.
- Frozen meatballs – search for Italian meatballs from the frozen meals part of your grocery retailer.
- Penne rigate pasta – penne works properly for this recipe, nevertheless, you can substitute most different medium-sized pasta, like rotini, rigatoni, ziti, or Gemelli.
- Pasta sauce – a easy marinara sauce or tomato sauce works properly for this recipe, nevertheless, be happy to decide on a taste that fits your tastes. If you want a sturdy sauce, add one other 1-2 teaspoons of dry Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or onion powder. Or to be a giant hit, all of them.
- Water – water is required to assist the pasta bake and develop into tender.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – you need to use both common or part-skim mozzarella shredded cheese for this recipe. Next time I’ll do a mixture of cheese and extra cheese.
How to Make Meatball Casserole (Step-by-Step)
One of my favourite components of this recipe is that it’s tremendous fast and simple. try precisely methods to make it under.
- Add pasta and water. In a casserole dish or 9 x 13” pan coated with cooking spray, add the raw pasta, water, and pasta sauce. Stir these collectively properly.
- Defrost meatballs. In your microwave, utilizing the defrost setting, defrost the meatballs. Once the meatballs are not frozen, add them to the pasta and sauce combination. If they aren’t defrosted, they gained’t have sufficient time to prepare dinner, however make sure that additionally they aren’t sizzling, in any other case they gained’t be juicy meatballs.
- Cover and bake. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake the casserole. About midway by way of baking, stir the combination to make sure the pasta and meatballs bake evenly.
- Top with cheese and bake. Add the shredded mozzarella cheese to the highest of the casserole and bake till the cheese is totally melted and light-weight golden brown.
- Enjoy. Serve together with your favourite aspect salad, greens and naturally, bread with my well-known garlic bread unfold. And I like so as to add extra cheese, particularly freshly shredded parmesan cheese and recent hand-torn items of recent basil from the backyard.
Chef Tips
I’ve made this meatball casserole in my take a look at kitchen to have the ability to deliver you the most effective suggestions and methods.
- Thaw the meatballs absolutely first. That helps them warmth extra evenly and prevents the casserole from taking longer than anticipated.
- Stir the pasta and sauce properly earlier than baking. You need the pasta evenly coated so it cooks as evenly as doable.
- Cover tightly with foil. That helps entice moisture so the pasta can soften and prepare dinner within the sauce.
- Stir midway by way of baking. This is likely one of the necessary components of the strategy as a result of it helps the pasta prepare dinner extra evenly and prevents dry corners.
- Use sufficient cheese, however put it aside for the top. Adding mozzarella after the preliminary bake helps it soften cleanly and retains it from overbrowning too early.
- Let it sit earlier than serving. A brief relaxation helps the casserole settle so it scoops extra cleanly.
What to Serve with Meatball Casserole
This baked pasta dish is implausible served together with your favourite inexperienced salad with Italian dressing. It will also be paired with recent or frozen greens, like garlic parmesan broccolini, inexperienced beans, or peas.
And in fact, any pasta is nice paired with a great bread. Wither crusty bread or garlic knots are good.
Storage and Freezing
You can retailer the casserole in its authentic dish or switch it to particular person hermetic containers for simple reheating.
Storage: When refrigerated in an hermetic container or massive freezer bag, pasta and meatballs will preserve for as much as 5 days.
Freezing: You also can freeze this casserole. Check out my suggestions for methods to freeze a casserole for the most effective technique. Be aware that pasta and cheese by no means defrosts or tastes in addition to it does when freshly cooked.
FAQs
When baking frozen meatballs, it isn’t essential to sauté them earlier than baking. Make positive the meatballs are thawed and not frozen earlier than including to the sauce.
Sure! Get our your crockpot and comply with the identical directions, however prepare dinner for an hour or so on low. Check periodically for the pasta to be al dente cooked and tender meatballs.
A keto meatball casserole is actually simply meatballs, cheese and sauce. No pasta! If you make this, don’t add further water. It isn’t wanted because you aren’t cooking pasta. The cooking time would be the similar. You also can use zucchini noodles, but it surely gained’t want the additional water both.
More Easy Recipes
We love pasta recipes — listed below are a couple of extra concepts for what to eat for dinner.
Meatball Casserole Recipe
Cheesy Meatball Casserole comes collectively w/ frozen meatballs, marinara sauce, and pasta. Minimal prep makes it the proper weeknight dinner!
Prevent your display from going darkish
Servings:
- 14-32 ounces bag of frozen meatballs
- 1 pound field of penne pasta (16 ounces)
- 24 ounces jar of marinara sauce
- 3 cups water
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese , shredded
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly spray a casserole dish or 9 x 13” pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a big microwave protected bowl, add the 14-32 ounces bag of frozen meatballs. Using the defrost setting, defrost the meatballs for 5-7 minutes or till fully thawed.
To the ready baking dish or pan, add the 1 pound field of penne pasta, 24 ounces jar of marinara sauce and 3 cups water. Using a rubber scraper, stir to mix. Add within the thawed meatballs.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes, stirring the casserole midway by way of baking.
Remove from oven and high the casserole with 8 ounces mozzarella cheese (shredded). Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or till the cheese is totally melted and light-weight golden brown.
Let the casserole cool for 5-10 minutes earlier than serving.
If you have tried this recipe, come again and tell us the way it was within the feedback or star rankings.
Storage: When refrigerated in an hermetic container or massive freezer bag, pasta and meatballs will preserve for as much as 5 days.
Freezing: You also can freeze this casserole. Check out my suggestions for methods to freeze a casserole for the most effective technique. Be aware that pasta and cheese by no means defrosts or tastes in addition to it does when freshly cooked.
Calories: 595 kcal, Carbohydrates: 63 g, Protein: 31 g, Fat: 24 g, Saturated Fat: 10 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g, Cholesterol: 77 mg, Sodium: 822 mg, Potassium: 724 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 6 g, Vitamin A: 751 IU, Vitamin C: 8 mg, Calcium: 235 mg, Iron: 3 mg
