Honey Garlic Meatballs (Make Ahead)

When it comes to finding quick and easy freezer meals for dinner, it doesn’t get much better than meatballs. That’s because you can easily dress up frozen meatballs with a little bit of sauce to create a variety of new dishes. This recipe for honey garlic meatballs transforms plain freezer meatballs into a sweet and salty dish that everyone in the family will love.

Meatballs are a kid friendly meal in our house. One of our favourites is our easy Asian meatballs. We also enjoy these homemade Italian meatballs.

Honey Garlic Meatballs Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups store-bought or homemade frozen meatballs
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup water

Assembly Instructions:

1. Transfer the frozen meatballs to a large resealable freezer bag.
2. Pour in the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and water. Squish the bag to combine the ingredients and coat the meatballs in sauce.
3. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Freeze until ready to eat.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw or cook from frozen in stovetop pot until heated through.

Slow Cooker Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Is It Better to Freeze Meatballs Cooked or Uncooked?

Using premade frozen meatballs is a quick and easy way to prepare this simple freezer meal. But if you plan on using homemade meatballs, it’s a good idea to cook the meatballs before freezing them. Prepare the meatball recipe as usual and bake the meatballs until they’re cooked through.  The internal temperature of cooked meatballs should be 160 degrees. After that, allow the meatballs to cool completely. You can then transfer the cooled meatballs to a freezer bag and coat them in sauce.

Cooking the meatballs before freezing them will help prevent bacteria from forming in your honey garlic sauce as the ingredients freeze. That way, all you have to do is transfer the meatballs and sauce to your slow cooker or pan and cook!

How Long Are Meatballs Good in the Freezer?

When your frozen meatballs are stored properly, you can keep them in the freezer for up to four months. When preparing your honey garlic meatballs for freezing, follow these quick tips to ensure you properly store your freezer meal:

• Remove the excess air. Allowing extra air inside your bag could cause freezer burn down the road, so it’s important to remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing it. A vacuum sealer is a great way to help remove air from your freezer meals. But if you don’t have one at home, start by sealing the bag until there’s a one-inch opening on the end of the zipper. Squeeze the bag, pressing the air out of the opening. When it appears that the majority of the air has been removed, seal the bag the rest of the way closed.
• Store the meatballs flat. After removing the air from the bag, place it flat on the countertop. Slide your hand along the top of the bag to flatten the ingredients out as much as possible, then transfer the flattened bag to the freezer. Freezing your meatballs flat will help save space in your freezer and cut down on the amount of time your ingredients need to thaw.

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs

Cooking these simple meatballs in your Crock Pot is a great way to reheat your freezer meal. That’s because all you have to do is dump the ingredients into the pot and let it do all the hard work for you!

Start by spraying your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray to keep the sauce from sticking. After that, you can transfer your frozen honey garlic meatballs directly to the slow cooker and reheat them on low for six hours or high for four hours.

How to Thaw Frozen Meatballs

While cooking your meatballs straight from the freezer using your slow cooker is a quick and easy way to prepare them, there are a couple of other cooking methods you can use. If you plan to cook your honey garlic meatballs on the stovetop or in the oven, it might be a good idea to thaw them first.

The best way to thaw your frozen meatballs is to transfer them to the refrigerator 24 hours before you plan to cook them. This will give the meat plenty of time to safely thaw out, ensuring that the beef stays chilled as it thaws.

After the meatballs are thawed, you can heat them in a saucepan over medium heat until the meatballs and sauce are heated through. Or place them in a casserole dish and bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until the sauce is warm and the meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

What to Serve with Honey Garlic Meatballs?

Honey garlic meatballs are a delicious main dish that pairs well with a variety of sides! We love eating these sweet and salty meatballs over a bed of white rice, but you can also serve them with some steamed vegetables, a side salad, or with pasta.

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Honey Garlic Meatballs

Cook Time

15 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups store-bought or homemade frozen meatballs
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/3 cup water

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

1. Transfer the frozen meatballs to a large resealable freezer bag.
2. Pour in the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and water. Squish the bag to combine the ingredients and coat the meatballs in sauce.
3. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Freeze until ready to eat.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw or cook from frozen in stovetop pot until heated through.

Slow Cooker Cooking Instructions:

1. Thaw.
2. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.