Frozen Meatballs Air Fryer Recipe

With our frozen meatballs air fryer recipe you will be ready to make your favorite dishes in no time.

Whether you are adding sauce and noodles to your frozen meatballs, placing them in a hoagie roll with some shredded mozzarella, or serving your air fryer frozen meatballs as an appetizer, you are going to love how quickly and easily this whole recipe comes together.

Ready in under 20-minutes, this Trader Joe’s frozen meatballs recipe is one to bookmark!

Can you air fry frozen meatballs in air fryer?

First things first, before we get started. Can you even air fry frozen meatballs in an air fryer? The answer is yes! No need to defrost the meatballs before cooking them, just pop them into the air fryer from frozen. Easy peasy!

This will work whether you’re using an air fryer basket or an air fryer oven.

How To Cook Frozen Meatballs in Air Fryer

There will come a time when knowing how to cook frozen meatballs in air fryer will help you – I promise! It may be when you are asked to provide a last-minute dish for a potluck, or it could be when your teenager promises their team meatballs subs. And it may even be when you unexpectedly run into friends and invite them over for dinner.

Either way, having a great frozen meatball recipe is super handy to have around!

Luckily, you are in just the right place because our frozen meatballs recipe can be used in just about any way to make delicious meatballs that are ready in no time for sauces and noodles, for subs and sandwiches, and for crockpots filled with jelly and BBQ sauce or tiny little toothpicks.

We have a growing selection of dishes to choose from including smoked sausage in air fryer and Italian meatballs in air fryer.

What Makes This Recipe So Good!

• Super versatile, our frozen meatballs in air fryer recipe is ideal for last-minute dinners, large gatherings, and everything in between.
• Customize your air fryer frozen meatballs by serving them in a variety of ways including with spaghetti sauce and noodles, over zoodles, or as a meatball sub.
• Our frozen meatballs air fryer recipe works for all types of frozen meatballs whether they are made of beef, pork, chicken, or turkey.
• Easily make frozen meatballs work for a wide variety of healthy eating plans.
• Make delicious air fryer frozen meatballs in under 20 minutes!

Trader Joe’s Meatballs Air Fryer Ingredients

Armed with your favorite brand and flavor of frozen meatballs, and whatever other ingredients you may need to complete your meal, you can easily navigate how to cook frozen meatballs in air fryer. We made a Trader Joe’s meatballs air fryer recipe, but any of your favorite store bought brands will work great!

• pre-cooked frozen meatballs – we used Trader Joe’s frozen meatballs. You can also use this recipe to cook frozen turkey meatballs or frozen chicken meatballs too.
• optional – non-stick cooking spray

** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **

Equipment

• An Air Fryer- We have a Cosori XL basket style air fryer, a Ninja Foodi pressure cooker & air fryer combo, an Instant Pot Omni Plus oven style air fryer, an Instant Pot air fryer lid, and a small 3.2L Farberware basket style air fryer. The Cosori unit was used in this recipe. 
• Non-stick spatula
• Rubbed tipped tongs

How to Air Fry Frozen Meatballs

The air fryer frozen meatballs is a one ingredient recipe using pre-cooked frozen meatballs that just get popped in an air fryer to make for a quick dinner. Top with sauce or serve them plain.

Preheat the air fryer to 400F for 3-5 minutes.

Optional: If your air fryer does NOT have a non-stick coating on the rack/basket, lightly spray it with cooking spray to help prevent the meatballs from sticking.

In your basket or on your rack (depending on your air fryer), spread the air fryer frozen meatballs out in a single layer.

How long to air fry frozen meatballs?

Cook the meatballs for 6 minutes at 400 F in the preheated air fryer.

Flip or shake the meatballs then continue cooking them for another 6-7+ minutes until they are cooked through.

Serve warm and enjoy!

Substitutions

• Our frozen meatballs in air fryer recipe will work for any variety of frozen meatballs you prefer whether it’s traditional, Italian, chicken, or turkey.

Variations

• Spaghetti and Frozen Meatballs – While your frozen meatballs are cooking prepare your noodles and warm your sauce.
• Frozen Meatballs Sub – While the frozen meatballs cook, slice a hoagie roll in half. Warm your favorite sauce and when the meatballs finish cooking in the airfryer line your sub with meatballs, sauce, and shredded mozzarella. Toast in the oven.
• make Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs air fryer recipe – follow our same recipe but cook their turkey meatballs instead.

Tips for Trader Joe’s Meatballs in Air Fryer

• For best results, preheat your air fryer before adding your frozen meatballs.
• To ensure your frozen meatballs in air fryer cook in the time allotted, make sure they are in a single layer.
• Look for frozen meatballs that are made without fillers and/or artificial ingredients, especially if you are following a special diet plan or have food restrictions.
• While your meatballs are cooking in the air fryer, warm sauces and cook noodles or zoodles.
• You can also make your air fryer meatballs ahead of time and store them in the fridge. Use later in the week as a protein source for recipes that call for ground meat.

Common Questions

More Main Dish Recipes

Looking for more main dish recipes?

• Smoked Sausage in Air Fryer (Kielbasa)
• Air Fryer Italian Meatballs
• Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Patties

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