Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs
These tender, slow cooker meatballs are a great dinner option when needing an evening off! Made with ground meat, cheese, herbs, and cooked in a homemade tomato sauce. It can also be made the night before and still make you look like a pro in the kitchen once finished!
My husband loves spaghetti and meatballs! So I make this slow cooker meatballs recipe OFTEN. So often, making this is clock work to me now. I find it easier to prep it the night before that way the next morning, I can just place the pot right in and hit the timer.
This slow cooker meatball recipe really change my perspective. There is just something about a homemade tomato sauce over store-bought. I love making tomato sauce from scratch because it’s so delicious and super easy to make! The taste of the fresh tomatoes combined with the savory herbs really takes your meal up to that extra step with a personal touch.
What makes this dish more amazing is the slow and low cooking to get that vibrant color and rich flavor. It also doesn’t get that acidic flavor or taste overly sweet. So now I try to cook the sauce as long as possible.
I am also used to making this sauce in a pot for a few hours and pouring it over cooked pasta. Before, I would make homemade pasta sauce on the stove but it changed a while back. My husband needed shoulder surgery and he asked if I could make spaghetti during the first week of his recovery.
So of course I made him one of his favorite meals during his recovery. He is slowly doing better as the as the time passes but this recipe has become a household favorite now.
My favorite part about making a meal in the slow cooker is not only because dinner is ready right when you get home, but the smell the food creates in your home. The warm and flavorful aroma left behind is very comforting to me. I can always hear my husband saying as he walks through the front door, “Something smells good.” and that’s exactly what he did.
If you are not a tomato sauce person, I would definitely recommend trying tomato sauce from scratch. It could change your perspective on spaghetti and meatballs.
Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 (28 oz.) canned San marzano peeled tomatoes
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 Tbl. tomato paste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lb. ground meat
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. fennel
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- Olive oil
- Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- For the sauce: In a bowl, squish the tomatoes with your hands until all of the juices come out. Pour the tomato mixture into the crockpot pot with the beef broth, tomato paste, basil and bay leaf. Stir to combine.
- For the meatballs: In a bowl, Mix the ground meats, italian breadcrumbs, milk, parmesan cheese, eggs, italian seasoning, fennel, and garlic powder together. Season with salt and pepper. Scoop out a generous spoonful of the meat mixture, about 1/4 cup, and form into 20-24 large meatballs.
- In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the meatballs just until browned on each side, about 1-1 1/2 minutes each. Don’t cook all the way through! Remove the meatballs from the pan, leave any oils in the pan, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Arrange the meatballs around the crockpot into the tomato sauce.
- In the same skillet, add in another 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion. Cook and constantly stir until onion is translucent and the garlic is a golden yellow, about 2-3 minutes. Make sure it doesn't burn!
- Remove from heat immediately and pour the contents into the crockpot on top of the meatballs. Do not worry about stirring.
- Cover the pot with the lid and refrigerate overnight or place directly into the crockpot.
- Cook in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. The longer the sauce cooks, the better!
- Serve on top of cooked pasta.
About Nicole
Hey There! I'm Nicole, and I have been making food for as long as I can remember, from a little girl cooking with her grandmother to making new dishes and using her husband as a taste tester.
