Make easy frozen meatball appetizers in the air fryer. These tasty, zesty, and original recipes can be ready in minutes, but will be talked about for days! The best part is that this family favorite snack can be made with any of your go-to kitchen appliances.
Overview
All meatballs are not created equal. I get it. There’s something about making your own homemade meatball, which includes equal parts meat, bread crumbs, spices, and love. However, when you don’t have time you can still turn some frozen meatballs into an easy party snack or a quick weeknight dinner.
Types of Meatball Dishes
Meatballs work great as stand-alone snacks with some simple sauces and toothpicks. Sour meatballs, tangy meatballs, and turkey meatballs all hit the spot. Swedish meatballs are a great option for a main dish. I’m going to give you four simple frozen meatball appetizers in this post - barbeque meatballs, sweet heat meatballs, open-faced meatball sliders, and Mexican meatball cups.
How to Choose Your Appliance
The versatility of the meatball allows you to utilize the entire kitchen. Do you enjoy low and slow? Crockpot meatballs are a snap. Are you a traditionalist? Pull out your favorite baking sheet and crank up the oven. If you live and die by your pressure cooker, that’s always an option. Finally, I prefer the air fryer. It gives you that nice even cook with a slightly crunchy texture.
Cooking Instructions
Step 1: Wipe your basket
Wipe your air fryer basket with some olive oil using a paper towel to prevent sticking. You can also use a non-aerosol EVOO mister and spray your basket. Limit the use of any traditional cooking spray. It will damage the basket over time.
Step 2: Pre-heat
Preheat your air fryer to 380 for 3-5 minutes.
You have to pre-heat your air fryer for the best results. This will allow you to get a nice, even cook across your frozen meatballs. You need the hot air to circulate so you get that crunchy outer texture.
Step 3: Arrange
Arrange the frozen meatballs in a single layer, allowing for some space between the meatballs. This will ensure the best results. The total number of meatballs will depend on the size of the meatball and your fryer. Just don’t overstuff it. You can always cook multiple batches.
Step 4: Cook Time
Cook your frozen meatballs for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from the basket. Now you’re ready to get creative. Check out the recipes below.
Saucing and Serving Your Frozen Meatball Appetizers
I typically eat my meatballs with marinara, but that’s only if I’m eating them as a main dish with my favorite pasta. For party snacks, I’ll head down to the local grocery store and grab some bbq sauce, honey, grape jelly, and sriracha for my sauces.
If you watch The Food Network you know that plating is everything. I’m a Food Network junkie, hence the name of this blog. Mix and match your favorite trays and plates to make these recipes stand out. Review the photos in this post to get some fun ideas.
1. BBQ Cocktail Meatballs
There is something about barbeque sauce that heightens the flavor of many cooked types of meat. And meatballs are no exception.
Whether smoky, spicy, sweet, or savory, a good bbq sauce and your favorite grape jelly make the perfect party appetizer. Follow these three simple steps:
- Combine equal parts bbq sauce and grape jelly (depending on the amount of meatballs) in a side saucepan and warm on medium-low heat for 20 minutes. For more flavor, add a few tablespoons of cherry apple glaze.
- Add your finished air-fried meatballs to the saucepan, reduce to simmer, and cover until your ready to start your party.
- Remove the meatballs and sauce, arrange on your favorite plate, and serve.
BBQ Sauces
I like to deviate from the best-known national brands and seek out some tasty alternatives. My recommendation here is Daddy Sam’s Bar-B-Que Sawce. This all-natural West Texas original sauce has great flavor with no thickeners, no high fructose corn syrup, no nuts, and no MSG. It’s a no-nonsense, all-natural alternative that’s worth a try.
2. Sweet Heat Meatballs
This is all about the mixture here. For my sweet heat meatballs, we’re going to use honey, sriracha, and a little lemon juice instead of the traditional bbq sauce and grape jelly. Simply combine the ingredients and drizzle over your perfectly cooked meatballs in an oven-safe dish. Transfer the dish to your oven and keep it at 200 degrees until you are ready to serve. Then have fun plating!
3. Meatball Sliders (Open-Faced)
Here is another way to serve your frozen meatballs. We’ll turn basic dinner rolls into garlic-crusted buns for our meatball sliders. Here are the steps to make your semi-homemade meatball sliders.
- Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.
- Slice your dinner rolls in horizontally from front to back.
- Scoop out some of the excess bread in the top to create and nice cove for your meatballs.
- Coat both sides with melted butter, garlic salt, and grated parmesean cheese.
- Place your rolls on a baking sheet and cook for 7-8 minutes.
- Remove your rolls and set aside.
- Mix your cooked meatballs with marinara sauce.
- Add your meatball mixture to your dinner rolls.
- Cover with parsley flake, red pepper flake (optional), and grated parmesean cheese.
- Serve the tops as open-faced sliders and serve the bottoms as garlic toast.
4. Mexican Meatball Cups
Mexican-style food has changed the landscape of the typical menu and we’re all better for it. Tortilla chips, salsa, and queso are staples on bar menus and party tables nowadays. So let’s embrace it and blend our meatballs into fun party cups. Here’s how:
- Warm some queso in a small saucepan while your meatballs are cooking in the air fryer.
- Add your cooked meatballs to the warming queso, cover, and turn it down to simmer.
- Arrange Tositos scoops on a baking sheet and cook at 250 for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove your scoops and place on your favorite serving tray.
- Spoon a queso glazed meatball into each scoop.
- Add a dab of your favorite salsa.
- Dust with parsley and red pepper flakes.
Other Simple Party Snacks
That’s it. If you’re looking for some other fast and easy appetizer recipes, check out the links and photos below. I’ll turn you into an air-fry junkie in no time!
The Junkie Lifestyle
Air frying is a lifestyle. It’s quick, fun, and casual. Just fry, eat and repeat! Whether homemade or frozen, all-natural or store-bought, there are plenty of frozen meatball appetizer recipes for every style and taste. Just go with what feels right to you. That’s my tip for today!
Tommy Ackerman (aka Global TA), is a marketer and casual cook who enjoys food, drinks and trying new things. His love of the Food Network inspired this blog and its mission is to provide easy air fryer recipes with plating ideas, lifestyle tips, and more. If it looks fun, it must be fun to eat!