I think I’ve hit the September Challenge jackpot with this one, folks. When I had my first bite of these Skillet Meatballs and Marinara I literally moaned and let out a quiet “Oh, hell yeah…”
These super easy skillet meatballs only have four ingredients and they come together in just a few minutes. If you want to be extra fancy, you can add a little grated Parmesan to the meatball mix, or even some frozen spinach (thaw and squeeze out the moisture first). But if you ask me, they’re insanely delicious just the way they are and I’m a big fan of the easy, no-fuss prep.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Use Italian Sausage for Fast, Easy Meatballs
I like to use Italian sausage to make my meatballs because it already comes with all the seasoning inside the meat, so you really don’t have to add anything more. Just a little breadcrumbs and egg to hold the meatballs together, and some diced onion for good measure.
Can You Freeze the Meatballs?
Yes! Meatballs freeze very well. You can either freeze them uncooked, or just after you cook the meatballs in the skillet. I like the idea of freezing after cooking, so you can just toss the frozen meatballs into a pot of sauce to heat through whenever you want.
Take Another Short Cut
If you want to make this recipe even faster and easier, you can definitely just use a jar of store-bought sauce instead of making your own, and probably for about the same price.
Perfect for Meal Prep
This is one of my favorite meal preps. The meatballs and marinara hold up really well in the refrigerator for about 4 days. I like to pack them up with cooked pasta all in one container, but if you’re picky about pasta, you may want to pack the pasta separate so they sauce doesn’t continue to soften the pasta.
Skillet Meatballs and Marinara
Servings 6 (4 meatballs each)Ingredients
MEATBALLS
- 1 lb. Italian sausage (mild, sweet or hot) ($3.23)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs ($0.48)
- 1 large egg ($0.32)
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced ($0.19)
MARINARA
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced ($0.18)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($2.00)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 1 tsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.06)
PASTA
- 12 oz. pasta (any shape) ($1.00)
Instructions
- To make the meatballs, squeeze the Italian sausage out of the casing and into a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, egg, and diced onion. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until combined. Form the mixture into about 24 ping pong ball sized balls.
- Heat a large skillet over medium flame. Add the olive oil and tilt the skillet to coat. Add the meatballs and cook until browned on the outside (a couple minutes on each side). Work in two batches if needed to give the meatballs room to movel around. Once the meatballs are browned, remove them from the skillet to a clean plate.
- Add the second half of the diced onion to the skillet, along with two cloves of minced garlic. Sauté in the leftover oil and fat from the meatballs until soft and transparent. Once soft, add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and tomato paste. Stir until the tomato paste mixes into the crushed tomatoes.
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet and gently stir to coat them in sauce. Place a lid on the skillet and let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes. Cook the pasta while the meatballs simmer.
- Drain the pasta and serve each bowl with pasta, four meatballs, and a scoop of sauce.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Skillet Meatballs – Step by Step Photos
Italian sausage is great because it has a ton of herbs and spices already mixed in, which means less work for you. I usually buy Johnsonville sausage, but noticed this store brand which was far less expensive. This package is 1.5 pounds, so I portioned off 1/2 lb. and froze it for later. You only need one pound of mild, sweet, or hot Italian sausage for this recipe.
This extra little 1/2 pound of sausage is going to come in handy later on in the month!
Add 1 lb. Italian sausage to a large bowl along with 1 cup breadcrumbs, 1 large egg, and 1/2 of an onion (finely diced).
Use your hands to mix until everything is evenly combined.
Start forming the meat mixture into ping pong sized balls. I wanted at least 24, so I could have six servings of four meatballs. I ended up getting 26 meatballs.
Heat a large skillet over a medium flame. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, then tilt the skillet to make sure it’s coated in oil. Add the meatballs to the skillet and brown on all sides. This is a fairly quick process. You don’t need to cook them through, just until they are good and brown. They will simmer in the sauce later and finish cooking inside.
I worked in two batches to make sure the meatballs had room to roll around. Once browned, remove the skillet meatballs to a clean plate. (If you want to use a store bought sauce, don’t remove the meatballs, just pour the sauce on top and let them simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes.)
In the same skillet, add the other half of the onion (also diced) and two cloves of minced garlic. Sauté in the leftover oil until softened.
Add one 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp salt, some freshly cracked pepper, and 1 tsp brown sugar. Stir and heat these ingredients until the tomato paste has mixed into the crushed tomatoes.
Add the partially cooked skillet meatballs back to the sauce and stir gently to coat them in sauce.
Place a lid on the skillet and let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes (turn the heat down slightly if needed to let it simmer gently). While the meatballs are simmering, cook the pasta.
To each bowl of pasta, add four meatballs and a scoop of sauce.
I portioned all of Skillet Meatballs and Marinara out ahead of time to make meal time easy. I may freeze a couple portions of this as well (but I have a feeling they’ll all get eaten quickly!).
NOM. My new favorite! <3
This has my mouth watering !
Will have to cook this up. Thanks for the step-by-step photos too, really helpful :)
Ko X
Hey.,I always look for ways to make my life and meal prep easier but have never thought of just making straight up sausage meatballs. Totally trying this! It looks amazing <3 ;)
It’s funny that you posted this today – I was thinking about your challenge and wondering if you have ever done porcupine meatballs (where you add rice to your meatballs) – it is right up your alley of stretching meat further. I just made them on Thursday and served them with a side of your collard greens and a slice of sourdough bread off the clearance rack.
(My meatball recipe comes from Dinner: A Love Story.)
I’ve had “porcupine” meatballs on my to-make list for YEARS. Just never got around to it! :D
http://www.dinneralovestory.com/nostalgia-night-porcupine-meatballs/
I think this recipe would be fairly budget conscious; but you get to do the math ;)
Thank you!!
Dear Beth, You know I’m a fan of easy! I’ll be using the prepared sauce, and I think I can handle making the meatballs!
I’m Italian and have made meatballs SO many times… I always look for ways to make my life and meal prep easier but have never thought of just making straight up sausage meatballs. Totally trying this! It looks amazingggggg.
I’m a spaghetti squash freak too so this will be an awesome topping for that all Fall.
Thank you for this recipe! This looks Fantastic! I am actually excited about cooking it for dinner tonight.
Wondering if you think turkey sausage would work just as well?
Yes, as long as it’s turkey Italian sausage. The seasonings in Italian sausage are what make these meatballs so fantastic.
My first thought, too, was if turkey sausage would work as well as we don’t eat pork. Thoughts?
Great recipe. A suggestion: if you’ve made meatballs in the past that have fallen apart during cooking, try to “throw” the meat back and forth between your hands before finalizing/forming your meatballs. The impact packs the meat in the center so your meatballs will be firmer and easier to work with.
Thank you for the tip! I have had that problem in the past and was leery of making this because of just that issue.
I did take your advice to make the meatballs not split apart…. once. with one meatball. It ended up a foot away stuck to the control panel of my stove top! I guess I tried too hard! I laughed an laughed! Nice way to start a sunday morning cooking session! lol!
This makes me hungry! I cooked this dish with ground beef instead of sausage a while ago in the oven and it was the best!!! It freezes beautifully too!
what veggies other than spinach would you rec with this dish? all i can think of when i see a dish like this is zuchini but i eat far too much of that already lol. any other ideas? it looks delicious!
I personally like to add mushrooms or carrots to tomato sauces. I also love to eat broccoli on the side when I decide to not add any vegatables to the tomato sauce.
mushrooms and carrots sounds like it would go great with this dish. ty!
You could grate carrots and mix them in the meatballs. Butternut squash in the sauce, maybe? A green salad on the side would probably be easier. I’ve read that making multiple salads in jars all at once keeps well in the fridge. Cut veggies once, eat all week.
I love all the ideas people have given so far! :D Shredded carrots, mushrooms, even eggplant.
I like this! I have two suggestions. 1). From Racheal Ray, grate your onion. It sounds like you will never be able to see again from crying but it doesn’t do that and it integrates into the meatballs way better. 2). This one depends on cost, but I usually use half sausage and half ground beef or turkey. Same taste and a little lower calories, sometimes.
I like to make my own sauce but I do buy a jar of backup on sale with a coupon. I usually get it for $1/jar. Yay!
Wow, a pound and a half of sausage for less than 5 bucks is a great bargain. I must live in a more expensive area of the country since I’m always impressed at what you can eke out from your grocery dollars! Really enjoying reading about your September challenge so far.
I’ve often thought the same thing and this recipe is no exception. The closest I can come to meeting the price of any ingredient is the pasta. I can find a variety of pasta shapes at Trader Joe’s for 99¢/pound. Sometimes I can find crushed tomatoes for a similar price, but not always.
I used to read Cheap, Healthy, Good. Kris, who lives in Brooklyn, invariably paid less for the ingredients for her recipes that I did.
Same here! I live in Canada and it probably costs almost double to make the recipes posted here. However they are still super affordable – that’s just unfortunately the cost of being in Canada!
Keep up the great work Beth! Your blog has kept me happy and fed with also extra cash to spare :)
Mmmmmmm!!!! I LOVE meatballs!!!!!
Wonderful recipe luv. I agree, it probably cheaper and easier for some premade sauce. Though I doubt it tastes way better home made like this.
This recipe looks great. I’ve got italian sausage in the freezer begging to be used. I might try baking the meatballs instead of frying them.