What to Do With Leftover Meatballs: 4 Simple Recipe Ideas

I'll stick it back in the freezer other times but then forget about it. Because I don't want to waste half a bag of meatballs each time I buy a bag; over the past few weeks, I've come up with a few recipes for leftover meatballs.

These are easy and quick recipes you can easily make on a weeknight. You can add vegetables to it to make it a more well-rounded dinner.

My four recipes for you today are meatball bombs, cranberry meatballs, meatball calzones, and marinara meatball subs. I will go into them step by step and show you how they're all made.

1. Cranberry meatballs

This meatball recipe makes for a delicious appetizer and a simple main dish.

Ingredients:

• 36 frozen meatballs (about half a bag) 
• ½ cup cranberry sauce 
• ½ cup BBQ sauce 

Directions:

First, add a half cup of cranberry sauce and a half cup of barbecue sauce to a small bowl and mix that. 

Add half a bag of meatballs in a slow cooker, then pour the sauce mixture over the top. Mix everything so the meatballs are well coated with sauce.

Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook it on low for four hours. I am using my instant pot here, but I'm using the slow cooker function on it.

After four hours, it's ready to eat. I serve mine with roasted potatoes and carrots. 

You can also serve with your favorite side items, and remember you can double this recipe if you're feeding more people.

2. Meatball bombs

Again this is a fun appetizer or main dish idea. 

Ingredients:

• 1 can of refrigerated biscuit dough (8 biscuits) 
• 8 frozen meatballs 
• 1 cup marinara sauce 
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

First, open up a can of biscuits and use a rolling pin to roll them out flat j til they're about 4 inches in diameter.

In the middle of each biscuit round, add a tablespoon of marinara sauce, one meatball, and 2 Tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Next, fold the edges into the center and pinch the dough closed to seal each one. It might get a little messy with the sauce, but they'll seal even more as they bake. You'll repeat this process with all eight biscuits.

Place the stuffed biscuits seam-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Next up is my favorite part, the garlic butter! Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and mix the melted butter with a teaspoon of garlic powder. Brush the top of each biscuit with the garlic butter mixture.

Place your baking sheet in the oven and bake the meatball bombs at 350 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

These meatball bombs are garlicky, they're cheesy, and they're a fun way to use up leftover meatballs. 

We enjoy these with roasted vegetables, which makes for a really simple and delicious dinner.

3. Meatball calzones 

This recipe is the same as the biscuit bombs but uses pizza dough instead of biscuits. You can use homemade pizza dough if you want, but I went the easy route and used a can of premade pizza dough. 

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated pizza dough 

18 frozen meatballs 

½ cup marinara sauce 

1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay the dough flat on a cutting board and use a rolling pin to roll it out as flat as possible. You want the pieces to be big to fold all the ingredients inside. Next, cut the dough into 6 pieces.

Start topping each piece with the ingredients. On one side, place 2-3 meatballs, a tablespoon of sauce, and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella. I found that three meatballs were too many for this size of dough, so I'm using only two next time.

Like the meatball bombs, fold the dough over the filling ingredients and pinch the edges together to seal them. Finish the remaining calzones and lay them on a greased baking sheet.

Bake the meatball calzones at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. 

These are best served with some vegetables. My favorite is a side salad, and I love using pre-made salad kits for an easy vegetable idea.

4. Meatball subs 

I made a lot of tomato sauce meals in this video, but they are unique enough that I don't think they'll get boring.

Ingredients:

• 36 frozen meatballs (About half a 32-ounce bag) 
• 1 28-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce 
• 6 slices provolone cheese 
• 1 can mushroom pieces 
• 6 sub rolls 

Directions:

Start by adding half a bag of meatballs and a jar of spaghetti sauce to a medium saucepan.

Next, add a can of drained mushrooms. You can skip this if you want, but I'm a huge fan of mushrooms. 

Mix everything and place a lid on top of the pan. Let it simmer on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until the meatballs are fully heated, and the sauce is bubbly.

Once the meatballs are done, you'll assemble the sandwiches. I use rolls from Aldi. 

I added a slice of provolone to the bottom, then four to six meatballs to the roll, and it was ready to go.

This is a messy sandwich, so I like to eat mine with a fork. You can also add any number of toppings to rival a sub shop. This was a huge hit the night we had it.

What to do with leftover meatballs

Leftover meatballs make a deliciously easy, filling dinner however you make them. What is one of your favorite ways to use leftover meatballs (frozen or homemade)? Share your meatball recipes in the comments below.