Slow Cooker Meatballs
These Slow Cooker Meatballs don’t need any precooking – just mix, roll, and drop them in the slow cooker with the sauce. These soft and juicy meatballs are freezer-friendly and great for sub sandwiches or served with pasta.
Until recently, I swore I would never serve meatballs that weren’t browned in a pan first. “You have to brown the meatballs,” I’d cry with my fist in the air. Browning develops a delicious crust, but this is a slow cooker meatball recipe, and who wants to brown meatballs in a splattering pan of oil in the morning? Not me, dear reader, and I’m guessing you don’t want to either.
So, this meatball recipe is super easy – no chopping! I use pantry seasoning and spices, so the meatball-making part is quick.
The meatballs go right into the slow cooker – mix, roll, and drop them in! And, no, they don’t fall apart – instead, they hold their shape and come out tender and soft.
Serve these slow cooker meatballs with pasta, or use them to make fantastic meatball subs. They’re also freezer-friendly.
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Italian sausage
- Eggs
- Dried bread crumbs
- Garlic and onion powder
- Dried oregano
- Salt and pepper
- Canned crushed tomatoes
- Canned tomato sauce
- Chopped onion
- Chopped garlic
- Red pepper flakes
Meat: I like the beef and Italian sausage combo, but you can use all ground beef. Or pair the Italian sausage with another kind of ground meat – I think turkey would work well. Just be sure to have some fat in the meat. It adds flavor and moisture, so your meatballs aren’t too dry.
Meatballs: I love my homemade meatballs, but you can swap them for frozen meatballs for a semi-homemade situation. Sauce from scratch with a meatball shortcut is a great way to save some time.
Sauce: Or, make the meatballs and skip the homemade sauce. A good-quality jarred marinara will work great (I love Rao’s marinara). You will need about five cups of sauce.
How to Make Slow Cooker Meatballs
☑️ Make the Sauce
Mix the olive oil, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes in the slow cooker.
☑️ Make the Meatballs
Combine the eggs, breadcrumbs, and seasonings in a large bowl. Add all of the meat and mix just until combined. Form the mixture into meatballs and drop them in the sauce.
☑️ Simmer
Cook the meatballs and sauce on high for four hours. Stir the meatballs and sauce before you serve them.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, if you leave them in too long, they will overcook. If this happens, they’ll dry out because the longer they cook, the more moisture they release.
Four hours on high works, but you can cook them on low for six hours or so.
I’ve done this, and it works great! Use your favorite frozen meatballs – you don’t have to thaw them first!
Pasta: This one’s a no-brainer. Boil some spaghetti and toss it with some sauce. Pile those juicy crockpot meatballs on top with plenty of Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley if you’re feeling fancy-like.
Rice: Spoon the sauce and meatballs over a bed of rice. Add some garlic toast on the side for some bonus points.
Potatoes: For a super comforting dinner, serve them over mashed potatoes.
Sandwiches: Get some soft sub rolls, line the meatballs up inside, and top them with mozzarella cheese. Pop the meatball subs under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. Sounds good, right?
Refrigerator: The sauce and meatballs will keep for three to four days in the refrigerator. Store them in an airtight container.
Freezer: After they’re done, allow the sauce and meatballs to cool and store them in freezer containers. They will keep well for several months.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
Slow Cooker Meatballs
These slow cooker meatballs don’t need any pre-cooking – just mix, roll, and drop them in the slow cooker with the sauce. These soft and juicy meatballs are freezer-friendly and great for sub sandwiches or served with pasta.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: approximately 30 meatballs 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients
For the Tomato Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
For the Meatballs
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup store-bought plain breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
Instructions
- In a 6-quart slow cooker, combine the olive oil, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes.
- Combine the eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and oregano in a large bowl. Add the ground beef and sausage and, using your hands, mix it all just until combined. Scoop approximately one ounce of the mixture to form each ball.
- Place the meatballs in an even layer in the sauce. Spoon sauce over the meatballs so they are covered, place the lid on the slow cooker, and set it to high for four hours. Serve on rolls or with pasta.
Notes
Storage: Leftover meatballs and sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. Or, store them in a freezer container, and they will freeze well for several months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 299
- Sugar: 5.4g
- Sodium: 932.4mg
- Fat: 19.9g
- Saturated Fat: 5.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11.4g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 11.8g
- Fiber: 2.5g
- Protein: 19.3g
- Cholesterol: 98.5mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More Easy Meatball Recipes
- Super Easy Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Raspberry Chipotle Meatballs
- 4 Ingredient Pesto Meatballs
- 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs
- Lemon-Dill Baked Chicken Meatballs
This meatball story does have a moral: Never say never! You are released from browning meatballs! We’re free from the tyranny of splattering oil! I hope you try these easy meatballs soon.
Happy (easy!) slow cooking,
This post has been updated from the archives. It was first published in May 2018.
One thing I love are meatballs and a meatball sandwich sounds even better. Can’t wait to try it, thanks for the recipe.
I made these and they turned out great – kept some for me, gave some to a neighbor, and freezing the rest when family comes to visit in a few weeks. This is a keeper!
This recipe makes for a really classic Italian tasting meatball, and they made great meatball sandwiches. We didnt have all the ingredients in the house, so we subbed in some basic Italian spice to cover some that were missing. If you are making these for meatball sandwiches, I’d recommend a good soft Italian bread or french bread. Again, we were forced to use what we had on hand and we used a wheat slider type bun. The slightly sweet flavor of the bun distracted a bit from the great flavor of the meatball recipe. We subbed in our favorite jarred marinara from a local Denver restaurant, added in some good Mozzarella cheese slices, and voila!…a perfect ‘stay-at-home’ dinner! Cin, Cin!
Best meatballs, ever! Thank you.
Maybe not my favorite meatballs – family recipe and all that – but there is a lot to like here.
Despite making a sauce and a boat load of meatballs this is truly a no mess thing. No bubbling tomato sauce on the stove, no grease splattered from browning your balls. And it goes together fast.
Changes?
Someone else noted a lack of sugar and I did too. Added 2 Tbl sugar to the sauce to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
Also added 1/4 cup parmesan to the sauce.
The meatyballs were treated to a panade by adding 1/4 cup milk to the bread crumbs. Also 1/4 cup parmesan and some parsley. (Family recipe adds parmesan and parsley.) And a scant 1/4 tsp baking soda to improve browning in the crock pot.
That’s the great thing about these recipes – tweak as you desire.
This method won’t usurp the family recipe but it’s so easy and so good I’ll definitely be making again. Oh! We got over thirty 1 to 1.5 ounce meatballs out of this – great for feeding a crowd.