Store-Bought Frozen Meatballs, Ranked Worst To Best

A lot of frozen dinner foods can be pretty hit or miss — you really don't know what you're getting until you actually try the product for yourself. But if there's one frozen food that's almost always reliable, it's frozen meatballs. You'll find a slew of them in the frozen section of your local grocery store, and they make for a quick and easy meal hack that will get dinner on the table in no time at all. Whether you're putting them on top of pasta, in a soup, or enjoying them all on their own as a quick and easy protein-filled snack, they're great to have on hand.

But let's be honest: Some frozen meatballs are better than others. I tasted eight different meatball brands and ranked them, starting with the worst and ending with the best. They're ranked according to both taste and texture, with preference given to the juiciest, most flavorful meatballs of the bunch. Truly, most of these frozen meatballs were solid, so you really can't go wrong with any in this bunch. But knowing which are the best can help you make a better decision the next time you're in the frozen aisle of your local grocery store. These are frozen meatball brands, ranked worst to best.

Looking for an affordable frozen meatball option? Then look no further than Armour original meatballs. This was one of the more approachable products on this list in terms of price, but on the flavor front, it definitely wasn't my favorite. These meatballs are a blend of chicken and pork, but to me, the chicken flavor really stood out a lot more than the pork. They're light and inoffensive, but they're not something I would add to a dish when I really wanted to infuse it with a lot of flavor.

Another con of these frozen meatballs? They're quite small. Perhaps if you're using the meatballs for soup, that may not be an issue, but for those who love a big, juicy meatball, this brand is just not for you. However, if you're looking for a quick, easy, and ultimately relatively affordable protein source, you may want to have them stocked in your freezer for those nights you just don't feel like cooking.

As a big Trader Joe's fan, I was dismayed to realize that the brand's frozen meatballs were actually some of my least favorite of the bunch. They're not bad, per se, but there are definitely better meatballs on this list. First of all, they're beef-based. That's not a bad thing if you actively avoid pork in your diet, but it also means they're less juicy than their pork-infused counterparts. But you don't even really get an intensely beefy flavor. In fact, these meatballs tasted more like bread crumbs than anything. Since they're pretty affordable, I'm not too upset at the flavor profile, but they're not the meatballs I would choose when I want to capture the best possible flavor in a dish.

One perk of these frozen meatballs, though, is the fact that they're a lot larger than a lot of the other meatballs I tried. If you're looking for a meatball that's more than bite-sized, then these are a good option. Otherwise, you should keep reading for other, more flavorful frozen meatball options.

Signature Select is one of those brands where you don't always know what you're getting. Sometimes, this store brand offers fantastic products that barely differ from other, more expensive name brands. Other times, though, its products are much cheaper, and you can really taste that difference. Signature Select's homestyle meatballs fall somewhere in between those two extremes. These beef and pork meatballs have a decent flavor, but basically, all you're tasting is the meat itself — they don't seem to be too heavily seasoned. Plus, they happen to be quite juicy, which is a plus. After all, who wants to eat a dry meatball?

However, that juiciness can be a bit too much, depending on the dish you're making. They're so juicy, in fact, that they're bordering on oily. If you're adding these meatballs to a pasta-based dish, that extra oil may not be too big of a deal. However, if you'd like to keep things leaner and less fatty, you're better off choosing another brand on this list.

Go to the frozen section, where you'll find frozen meatballs at your local grocery store, and you'll likely find two main varieties of meatballs: Italian and homestyle. Which variety you prefer depends on your taste buds, but I happen to think that, despite the name, Cooked Perfect's homestyle meatballs actually tasted more Italian than any of the other brands I tried. There are definitely a lot of herbs and spices in the recipe (although those specific herbs and spices are not disclosed), and the flavor of oregano is especially pungent. That makes these meatballs ideal for Italian-style dishes.

That being said, these meatballs are quite light, probably because the first ingredient listed is chicken. That lightness isn't a bad thing, per se, but it doesn't make for the most interesting frozen meatballs out there. Overall, this product falls in the middle of the pack. It's good and isn't likely to disappoint, but it's probably not exactly going to wow you, either.

Whether you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet or you're just looking for an alternative to your usual meat-based meatball, then Gardein plant-based meatballs may be what you're looking for. Although they weren't my favorite of the bunch, they're still solid, largely because of their texture. They have a bouncy, jiggly texture to them, which you won't even find in all of the meat-based meatballs on this list. Add to that their undeniable juiciness, and you'll understand why these are ranked in the top half of this list.

These meatballs are made of textured soy protein, which has a lovely, meaty flavor. However, keep in mind that these meatballs don't taste exactly like meat, so you should treat them like their own ingredient, not an imitation of a meat-based one. They're also larger than other meatballs in this lineup, which offers a nice alternative to the mostly bite-sized meatballs I tried.

Whether you're making a meatball sandwich or you're looking for an easy way to enhance pasta night, Our Best Italian style meatballs have you covered. These beef and pork-based meatballs are nice and juicy without being overly oily, so they're definitely coming through on the texture front. They also have a slight bounciness to them despite their small size, which adds another interesting element to the texture. And because they're quite small, they can be used for a wide range of different uses.

So, why don't these meatballs rank higher on this list? Well, it mostly comes down to flavor. You can taste a slight meatiness, of course, but other than that, there's not a ton of flavor going on here. That doesn't mean they taste bad at all — in fact, the meat is quite flavorful. But without a lot else going on, these meatballs don't quite reach the top of this ranking.

Despite the fact that these meatballs were one of the cheaper products on this list, I'm still a huge fan of Rosina's Italian style meatballs. They're made of a blend of chicken, beef, and pork, but they're not too light in flavor like some of the other products on this list. You can definitely taste herbs and spices in these meatballs, but the meat itself comes to the forefront on the palate. They're also quite juicy but without that oiliness that can affect the flavor of the final dish. Texture-wise, Rosina's meatballs are also a hit. With a distinct bounciness that makes them fun to eat, they cover all the bases when it comes to both flavor and texture.

The only thing that keeps these meatballs from coming in at the top of this ranking is their size. These were the smallest meatballs I tried, and while that may be a positive for some dishes, it makes these meatballs less versatile than many of the others on this lineup.

As soon as you open a bag of Johnsonville homestyle meatballs, you can immediately smell how good these things are about to taste. According to the brand, these meatballs are made with only premium cuts of pork, which makes this the only pork-only meatballs in this lineup. The fat content and juiciness of pork may just be what makes these things so delicious. They're intensely meaty and flavorful, with a juiciness that creates a mouth-watering experience.

Texture-wise, they're also the best of the bunch. With a moistness and bounciness that's hard to compete with, they'll work well in basically any dish you decide to use them in. Although the other frozen meatballs on this list are all solid, there's basically no competition when it comes to the best of the bunch: Johnsonville's homestyle meatballs win every time. Unfortunately, you don't get a ton of them in a bag, but their excellent flavor means we're willing to pay a bit more per meatball to get the best possible flavor in our dinner.

I chose these frozen meatballs based on availability at my local grocery stores. To taste test the meatballs, I heated them up in the oven according to the directions on each respective package. I ate them on their own, without sauce and without any other ingredients, to really focus on their flavors and not to be distracted by other accompanying additions. They are ranked according to flavor, first and foremost, although texture also played an important role in their final rankings.