Last updated on December 20th, 2023 at 02:57 pm
Italian Meatballs are an easy make-ahead and freezer meal to always have on hand. When making a large batch of Italian Meatballs you can prepare everything once and make 3-4 meals out of it. Our family loves using these meatballs in our favorite homemade marinara sauce and serving them over Instant Pot Banza chickpea pasta, Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash, or on a hoagie roll for a delicious meatball sandwich.
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How do you make gluten-free meatballs from scratch?
To make these meatballs gluten-free is really simple. Instead of using traditional bread crumbs, I substitute gluten-free Italian bread crumbs. This is optional and totally up to your family's preferences and dietary needs. I like the added flavor of using Italian bread crumbs but you could also substitute almond flour and Italian seasoning as well.
Ingredients:
- ground beef
- Italian sausage
- white onion
- parsley
- minced garlic
- parmesan cheese
- bread crumbs
- salt
- pepper
- In a large mixing bowl, add ground beef and Italian sausage, finely diced white onion, and parsley.
- Next add minced garlic, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to the mixing bowl. Using your hands thoroughly mix the ingredients together until everything is combined evenly.
- Once the mixture is completely mixed start rolling it into 1.5" round balls and place on a large cookie sheet.
- Continue rolling the meat mixture until you have used it all. You should have approximately 30-32 meatballs.
Instant Pot Frozen Italian Meatballs
Once you have made and frozen your meatballs my favorite way to prepare them for an easy and quick weeknight dinner is to put them in the pressure cooker with my homemade spaghetti sauce or a jar of Rao's Marinara Sauce.  When using a red sauce in the Instant Pot it is important to use a thinner sauce like marinara or to add more water to the pot to avoid getting the dreaded burn error message. With a thinner sauce like marinara, I will add ½ cup of water to allow the pressure cooker to come up to pressure and seal without burning.
Pair these delicious Italian Meatballs with:
How To Freeze Meatballs
To freeze meatballs place the formed balls onto a large cookie sheet and place the entire sheet pan into the freezer for 3-4 hours, or until the meatballs are completely frozen. To store frozen meatballs place them in gallon freezer bags that are labeled and dated for up to 6 weeks. For up to 4 months of freezer storage consider vacuum sealing 10-12 meatballs per package and using them as needed
Instant Pot Meatballs with Marinara & Banza Chickpea Pasta
For a quick and easy weeknight dinner, pressure-cook meatballs in marinara sauce and add cooked Banza chickpea pasta to the Instant Pot. For a healthy & easy dinner (read more about how to cook chickpea pasta in the Instant Pot here). Toss together meatballs, marinara & pasta, and top with shredded parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. To take your meal prep to the next level freeze your leftover pasta and meatballs together using Souper Cubes.
More Banza Recipes
Italian Meatballs & Banza Penne Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. Lean ground beef
- 1.5 lbs. Mild Italian sausage
- ½ Medium white onion diced finley
- 2 Tbsp. Minced garlic
- ½ Cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 Tbsp. Parsley minced
- ½ Cup Gluten Free Italian bread crumbs
- 1 tsp. Sea salt
- 1-2 tsp. Ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add ground beef and Italian sausage.
- Finely dice half of a medium-sized white onion and add to the mixing bowl.
- Chop parsley finely and add to the mixing bowl.
- Add minced garlic, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to the mixing bowl.
- Using your hands thoroughly mix the ingredients together until everything is combined evenly.
- Once the mixture is completely mixed start rolling the meat into 1.5" round balls and place on a large cookie sheet.
- Continue rolling the meat mixture until you have used it all. You should have approximately 30-32 meatballs.
- Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 3-4 hours or until the meatballs are completely frozen.
- Once the meatballs are frozen transfer them to labeled and dated freezer bags or vacuum sealer bags to store.
- To use frozen meatballs add a 32 oz. jar of your favorite marinara sauce to the Instant Pot along with ½ cup of water.
- Drop-in 10-12 frozen meatballs and select pressure cook/manual high setting for 5 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle is complete let the pressure release naturally 15-20 minutes.
- Serve over your favorite pasta or on a hoagie roll.
Notes
Nutrition
Place prepared Italian Meatballs on a cookie sheet and freeze them completely. Once they are frozen place the desired amount in a vacuum sealer bag and seal them up. Vacuum-sealed meatballs can last up to 6 months in the deep freezer.
Banza pasta tastes great. Chickpea pasta doesn't have a distinct flavor making it the perfect healthy swap for traditional pasta.
Pressure-cook raw frozen meatballs for 20 minutes, or fully cooked frozen meatballs for 10 minutes.
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