Frozen meatballs and frozen raviolis with spaghetti sauce make a tasty meal that takes about 2 minutes of prep time! This is great for those nights when you want a homemade meal but you don’t have time to cook. It is also a great way to clean out your freezer! See lots of adaptation ideas below. You can make this recipe in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Clean out the freezer dinner (Instant Pot or Crockpot)
As I was organizing my freezer I found a 2 opened bags of meatballs and 2 opened bags of ravioli. I also found a baggie of cooked Italian sausage. I combined it all to make the easiest dinner ever. It was my family’s favorite meal of the week. I need to do this more often!
Some Adaptation Ideas…
This recipe is really adaptable depending on what you have in your freezer and pantry! Get creative. Try these other ideas too…
- Add chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)
- Add a dollop of ricotta to each bowl for a lasagna-ish dish
- Add parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese on top of each serving
- Add fresh, dried or freeze dried basil
- Try using sliced smoked sausage in the place of the Italian sausage
- Add in sliced mushrooms (fresh or canned)
- Add in sliced olives
- Add in diced peppers
- Add in chopped onions
- Try using frozen tortellini instead of ravioli.
- Try using dried pasta instead of frozen ravioli. Add in 8 ounces of pasta and add in an extra cup of broth (so 2 cups total). Pressure cook for 4 minutes plus a 5-10 minute natural pressure release.
- Try using a different kind of pasta sauce…like roasted pepper or alfredo.
- Give it a flavor boost! Add in extra seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with garlic bread and a green salad. I like the Olive Garden Italian dressing.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with frozen ravioli are Instant Pot Million Dollar Ravioli Casserole and Instant Pot Spinach And Ravioli Lasagna.
5 More Frozen Meatball Recipes…
Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
A quick and easy version of a popular soup. A flavorful brothy soup with orzo and meatballs.
Instant Pot Meatballs and Red Potatoes with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
Red potatoes, green beans, meatballs and mushrooms are all covered in a creamy parmesan sauce. An easy one pot meal. Frozen meatballs are used for easy prep purposes.
Instant Pot Ziti and Meatballs
An easy Instant Pot version of baked ziti with a scrumptious tomato cream sauce, ricotta and meatballs. Everyone will be asking for seconds!
Instant Pot French Onion Meatballs
French onion meatballs take minimal effort but taste so good! You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to caramelize onions in the Instant Pot and get that sweetness and richness to come out. Try these meatballs for an easy weeknight dinner or for an appetizer at a party!
Instant Pot Meatball Stroganoff
The easiest stroganoff recipe! It’s made with convenient frozen meatballs. The meatballs, mushrooms, sauce and pasta are all cooked together in your Instant Pot for a quick and delicious dinner.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Clean out the freezer dinner (Instant Pot or Crockpot)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Frozen meatballs and frozen raviolis with spaghetti sauce make a tasty meal that takes about 2 minutes of prep time! This is great for those nights when you want a homemade meal but you don’t have time to cook. It is also a great way to clean out your freezer! You can make this recipe in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- 13 ounces of Italian style meatballs
- 5 ounces of cooked ground Italian sausage
- 25 ounces of frozen ravioli
- 24 ounces of Bertolli tomato and basil sauce (or another pasta sauce of your choice)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Pour broth into Instant Pot. Layer in the following ingredients without stirring: meatballs, sausage, ravioli and sauce.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir and serve.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add all ingredients into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Stir and serve.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I didn’t have a clue about what to make for dinner tonight. Then I saw this one. It’s pretty much dump and go which is exactly the amount of work I was willing to do!
I only have tortellini in my freezer so I’m happy that it can be substituted for the ravioli! My meatballs are jumbo sizes so they will have to be cut in halves or quarters.
I’m looking forward to having this for dinner in a few hours!
Yay for a simple recipe tonight!
★★★★★
So glad it was useful to you! I love this one too!
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! Thank you so much for the recipe because I needed to make room in my freezer. It was perfect thank you.
★★★★★
So glad to hear it! Thanks for the 5 stars Nancy!
Hi Karen,
Would it be ok to skip the ground meat and increase the meatballs? If so, by how much?
Thank you !!
Oh yes that would be just fine. I would add in 5 more meatballs