Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, and Homemade Gravy make a fantastic freezer-friendly meal! This Swedish Meatballs dinner will please your whole family.
This is a great kid friendly meal to put on repeat, comfort food at its finest.
One of my favorite dishes is Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes. It may seem crazy and complex, but considering that all the components can be made ahead and frozen, it can definitely be a delicious weeknight meal no matter the season.
Simply make a bulk batch of meatballs, a big vat of gravy, and a large pot of mashed potatoes. Divide them into dinner-size portions, chill, label, and freeze. Super easy and so fun to pull out on a night when you want something homey and comforting, but don’t have it in you to stand at the stove.
Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes is also an economical dish. With potatoes selling for about $1-$1.50 for ten pounds, you can easily make up a batch of mashed potatoes for less than $1, accounting for butter, cream cheese, and seasoning. Recently I bought ground beef for $1.49 a pound, making a dinner’s worth of meatballs about $2 after adding eggs, spices, and bread crumbs. Add in a vegetable and you definitely have a good cheap eat.
Dinner for 4 for about $5!
The Meatballs
Make up a batch of meatballs, bake, cool, wrap, and freeze in meal size portions. You don’t need to thaw them before reheating, making this an ideal dinner for the night your plan doesn’t go according to plan.
I’ve got a few favorite Meatballs variations:
- Bulk Batch Supreme Meatballs
- Hearty Gluten-free Meatballs
- This All-Purpose Meatball/Meatloaf Mixture
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The Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes go pretty quickly around here, but when I take the time to make a lot, I’m always thankful I did! The best mashed potatoes for the freezer are the ones that contain a good amount of fat in the way of butter, cream, cream cheese, or sour cream.
These are the best for freezing:
- Mashed Potatoes for the Freezer
- Burning Love Mashed Potatoes (without the bacon topping unless you want to go for the gold)
For making fresh:
- Rebel with a Cause Smashed Potatoes (a great gluten-free option)
And of course…
The Gravy
The gravy is the best part out of all this! While my husband is not a gravy fan, I’m proud to have raised enough gravy fans among my six kids to justify making large vats of gravy. It’s so simple, and really pulls together the meatballs and mashed potatoes.
This is a great recipe for using evaporated milk you might have leftover.
Storing meatballs in gravy and mashed potatoes
Meatballs
These can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Or these can be stored up to 3 months in the freezer.
Mashed potatoes
You can keep the mashed potatoes in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen for up to 10 months. When you are ready to eat them, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Gravy
Gravy will be good for 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container, and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw fully in the refrigerator before reheating.
Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ⅛ onion chopped for ¼ cup
- ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup beef broth
- ½ cup milk or evaporated milk
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or dry dill if you prefer
- 16 cooked meatballs
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
Instructions
- In medium saucepan, melt butter. Sauté onion until clear. Whisk in flour and cook until bubbly. Whisk in broth and milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.¼ cup butter, ⅛ onion, ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cup beef broth, ½ cup milk or evaporated milk
- Stir in seasonings. Add meatballs and allow to heat in the gravy.¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 16 cooked meatballs
- Serve immediately over mashed potatoes or cool, package in plastic container with a lid, label, and freeze.4 cups mashed potatoes
- If using from frozen, warm on the stovetop and whisk to blend.
Notes
Nutrition
Want the 411 on freezer cooking? Check out the Ultimate Freezer Cooking Collection of Tips and Tricks.
Or pick up a copy of my book, Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook for over 200 recipes and 10 freezer cooking plans to help you fill the freezer, eat well, and save money.
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ray
I just made this for dinner tonite. It is amazing the meatballs are so juicy and tasty I used fresh herbs and the gravy taste really good. I put garlic in my water when I boiled the potatoes. This is definately a keeper.
Kris
Made the meatballs and a batch of gravy today. I froze some of the gravy and meatballs together in lunch size containers for my husband. He’s been scrounging lately for lunches due to my lack of summer cooking. I figure even if he takes bread to dip in the gravy it’s better than the pathetic pickings we’ve had lately. I also have 3 containers of meatballs in the freezer for dinners.
Jessica
@Kris, that sounds so good right now. Glad to hear that it worked well.
denise
great recipe mine turned out great and instead of tyme or dill seed I used minced garlic…yummy!
thanks for the recipe
Jessica
Always glad to hear!
Linda Chen
Thanks for the tips and the recipy.
Ellen
How much gravy would you need to have enough to freeze for the 4 lb. of meatballs? I’m assuming just one batch wouldn’t cut it.
Jessica
@Ellen, You would need to quadruple the gravy to match the 4# of meatballs. I use the meatballs with a variety of sauces, so I don’t always make the large batch of gravy.
DEANNA
Hello,
I was wondering how long everything is good in the freezer for- I usually date my stuff but I like to have an idea of when I need to use it by.
Thanks for the great recipes and ideas !! 🙂
Jessica
This post addresses a lot of those kind of questions: http://lifeasmom.com/2010/05/freezer-cooking-storage-length-and-methods-of-packaging.html
Rosemary
I’d love to know your meatball recipe. You gave the recipe for the mashed potatoes and gravy, but not the meatballs. I have everything I need and I’m ready to try it out asap. Sounds like a fun alternative to meatloaf.
Rosemary
Jessica
@Rosemary, the link is kinda hidden up above. Here it is again: http://lifeasmom.com/2010/06/more-ground-beef-freezer-meals.html
nicole
I am going to use your gravy recipe tomorrow night with dinner!! Thank you
Paula
Making more of these today! I’m very thankful for you, Jessica, and all others who take the time to try these things out and post ’em so I have meals ready and more time for my family! Thanks!
amber
I love this recipe just made it and it came out wonderful! My family loved it so awesome.
Lisa Hetherington
How long do you need to reheat meatballs/what temperature if you are reheating them from froze?
Thanks!!
…Lisa
Jessica
@Lisa Hetherington, I just reheat on the stovetop and check periodically. Probably about 15 – 20 minutes.
Lisa Hetherington
@Jessica,
Thanks!!
Amy
What size baking dish do you use for your mashed potatoes? I’m making a ton of your recipes this week!
Jessica
Meal size. Whatever is the right size for your family.
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
This is an awesome meal! Cheap and hearty! Thanks!
FishMama
I put the mashed potatoes in a baking dish. Dot with butter, wrap and freeze. Thaw and bake to serve.
Trippy Momma
this sounds awesome! I'm thinking about doing some freezer cooking (for the first time ever). I was wondering what you freeze your mashed potatoes in. Is there something that you can take from freezer, to fridge, straight to oven??? that would be handy.
Christina
This looks delish!
twinsz
I made this last night. Yummy!! The gravy was the best. I used the dill and one of my kids was liking it up off his plate. Thanks for the recipe. I will be making this again.
Anonymous
Those look yummy. Alas I'm the only meatball eater here so that would never work.
~Micha
Connie
Freezer mashed potatoes and meatballs are a staple around here. Such an easy thing to prepare and can be served so many ways.
Yum!
Tanya
YUM!
Nancy
It's 6am and this sounds sooo good! I better include it in my next menu plan. 🙂