Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs

September 4, 2018 6 Comments »

These Easy Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs with homemade marinara sauce are a delicious, make ahead dinner! With a freezer meal option, you can make crockpot meatballs faster than ever!

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This recipe uses two of my favorite kitchen tools for getting dinner on the table on busy days: your slow cooker and your freezer.

You can make these Italian meatballs ahead of time and put them in a freezer bag with marinara sauce ingredients. Then store them for up to three months in your freezer.

When you’re ready, thaw and then transfer the contents of the freezer bag to your crock pot and cook. You’ll have a home-cooked meal for almost no effort!

You can also cook and serve this Italian meatball recipe on the same day if you don’t want to make it a freezer meal. These meatballs are quick and easy to make. It will take about 15 minutes to mix up the meatball mixture and shape your meatballs and 5 minutes to prep the marinara sauce.

How to make Italian meatballs

To make this slow cooker Italian meatballs recipe, you will start by making your meatballs. You’ll mix up all of the meatball ingredients except for the meat in a bowl. Once you add the meat to the mixture, you want to mix it until it’s just combined. This will ensure that your meatballs turn out soft and tender.

The best way to shape the meatballs into balls is to use your hands. If the mixture sticks to your hands, using slightly wet hands will help. Place the meatballs on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until cooked through. The cooking time will be 10-12 minutes for 1 1/2-inch meatballs, or a little longer if you make your meatballs larger.

Once your meatballs are baked, you can either slow cook them right away in your slow cooker or freeze them for later.

I like to make this a freezer to crock pot meal. I let the meatballs cool and then place them in a freezer bag with marinara sauce ingredients.

When I need an easy weeknight dinner I thaw the bag in my refrigerator overnight. In the morning all that I have to do is transfer the bag contents to my slow cooker and turn it on. Seriously, having these crockpot meatballs in your freezer is the best thing ever when you are craving spaghetti and meatballs mid-week!

Do you have to bake meatballs before adding them to your slow cooker?

I strongly recommend that you bake your meatballs before you add them to your slow cooker. If you add the meatballs to your crock pot raw, they will cook through, but they will be lacking in flavor.

Baking the meatballs in the oven allows them to brown on the outside and sears in their juices. Browned meatballs are tastier meatballs.

If you cook meatballs from raw in a slow cooker, you will end up with an oily marinara sauce as the meatballs will release a lot of their fat into the sauce. Not good!

Do I have to cook these meatballs in the slow cooker?

You can serve these meatballs right from the oven if you wish. Just make sure that they are cooked through. Or you can add them to a pot of pasta sauce simmering on the stove.

What to serve with Italian meatballs

Serve these Italian meatballs with spaghetti or your favorite pasta shape, spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. They are a tasty, comforting meal for any night of the week!

Print Recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs

Prep:20 mins

Cook:7 hours

Total:7 hours 20 mins

These Easy Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs with homemade marinara sauce are a delicious, make ahead dinner! With a freezer meal option, you can make crockpot meatballs faster than ever!

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

• 1 egg
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound 80% lean ground beef (or ground turkey)

For the marinara sauce:

• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste

Directions:

1. To make the meatballs, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Combine egg, 2 cloves garlic, Panko, Parmesan, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Stir with a fork until well combined.
3. Add the ground beef and mix until just combined. Do not over mix the meat mixture.
4. Use your hands to shape into 1 1/2-inch meatballs and place on the greased baking sheet.
5. Bake meatballs for 10-12 minutes, until they are cooked through (they should register at least 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer).
6. Transfer meatballs to slow cooker.
7. Add all marinara sauce ingredients.
8. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
9. Remove the bay leaves and serve meatballs and sauce with pasta, spaghetti squash or veggie noodles.

To make these Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs as a freezer meal:

1. Make and bake the meatballs as directed above. Cool completely.
2. Label a heavy-duty zip-top freezer bag with the recipe name, date, and slow cooking instructions.
3. Combine all marinara sauce ingredients in the freezer bag. Add the cooled meatballs to the bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal the bag.
4. Freeze flat for up to 3 months.
5. Thaw and then cook in your slow cooker as directed above.

 

Notes:

1. Nutrition information was calculated using an online calculator and is meant to be an estimate only. The exact numbers will vary based on quantities, ingredients and brands used. Nutrition information calculated for meatballs made with 80% lean ground beef.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 6 servings, Serving Size: 3 meatballs

• Amount Per Serving:
• Calories: 282 Calories
• Total Fat: 15g
• Saturated Fat: 6g
• Cholesterol: 101mg
• Sodium: 496mg
• Carbohydrates: 22g
• Fiber: 7g
• Sugar: 10g
• Protein: 26g

All images and text ©Kristine for Kristine's Kitchen

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