Meatball Casserole

How to make

Easy meatball casserole recipe is basically, just pour everything in and bake. It’s an old-fashioned casserole you can get excited about.

The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can find important tips and tricks in the post.

Can I use frozen meatballs?

Yes, you don’t even have to defrost the meatballs; making this dish super convenient!

And, you can use any kind of meatball: homemade, store-bought, turkey meatballs, pork, beef, chicken, or meatless meatballs. Use your family’s favorite kind. You just want to make sure that they’re fully-cooked meatballs.

Want to try making homemade meatballs, here are some great recipes: Air Fryer Meatballs, Black Bean Meatballs, and BBQ pork meatballs.

You can see in the picture that I used meatless meatballs. I don’t cook with fake meats too often, but this casserole is one of the exceptions. This is one of my favorite brands of meatballs. This and Trader Joe’s meatless meatballs.

Oh, and if your package of meatballs is a little bigger or smaller, no worries. A little more or a little less of any ingredient will be fine. You just want to make sure that all the meatballs are covered with sauce when they go in the oven.

Continue making the casserole

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place meatballs in the casserole dish.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs, and give them a gentle stir so all the meatballs are covered with sauce.

Again, use your favorite red sauce here. Homemade marinara is great.

Store-bought spaghetti sauce is easy and quick. I like to use two different good quality brands and flavors of store-bought. It makes the casserole have a more complex flavor. If you haven’t tried Rao’s pasta sauce yet, it’s delicious.

Sprinkle mozzarella, Parmesan, and dried herbs over the top of the sauce. Cover the dish with a lid or with tightly fitted aluminum foil.

Bake, covered, at 375° F for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake, uncovered, 15 minutes or until cheese is melted, bubbly, and just beginning to brown a bit.

Carefully remove from the oven. Garnish with fresh herbs like basil, oregano, or parsley if desired.

Recipe notes

You can make a bigger casserole if you want, but be sure to increase the cooking time. I’ve tried it with 3 bags of meatballs so I get lots of leftovers, and it takes longer to bake because of the extra frozen meatballs.

I often put open jars of pasta sauce in the freezer to save for later. This casserole is a great way to use the little bits of frozen sauce that I’ve saved.

Total cooking time may vary depending on the type of pan that you use and your oven. Glass or ceramic baking dishes will take longer than metal pans.

One difference you may see from this recipe to many others is that you bake it the whole time with the cheese on it rather than adding the cheese in the last few minutes. I really like the way the cheese bakes into the sauce – creating this cheesy sauce or a saucy cheese. Besides, it makes it that much easier that you don’t have to take the casserole out of the oven and add the cheese.  

Related recipes

This casserole reminds me of a few recipes I just love.

Storage

This casserole is a great make ahead meal, makes a nice big dish for leftovers, and can be served in a variety of ways.

Make Ahead Instructions: Assemble the casserole a day in advance, refrigerate, and bake when ready to serve for a convenient make-ahead dinner.

Freezing Instructions: Assemble the casserole up until baking. Cover with a double layer of aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. When you’re ready to cook it, thaw it in the fridge overnight. You can also bake it from frozen, bake covered for 1 & ½ hours, and uncovered for 15-20 minutes longer.

Leftovers: It makes great leftovers. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. I usually pop it in the microwave to reheat, but it can be reheated in the oven as well at 350° F until hot.

Serving suggestions

Like I said, serve it up in a number of ways!

• My favorite way to serve it is simply with a slice of garlic bread or Texas toast
• Baked meatballs can be served over noodles like spaghetti or ziti
• For a low-carb option, serve it over zucchini noodles, zoodles, or spaghetti squash
• I love it over mashed potatoes
• Pop the meatballs into a hoagie roll for an easy meatball sandwich
• Appetizers like sliders make great tailgating foods