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Dried herbs in the crock are the secret to the rich flavor and perfect texture of these slow cooker meatballs. And it's also the easiest, most convenient meal you'll make all week!
Table of Contents
- Why I love these slow cooker meatballs
- My history with the slow cooker
- Choosing the right meat for your meatballs
- Notes on slow cooker meatballs cooking time
- How to serve these slow cooker meatballs
- Storing leftover meatballs
- Crockpot meatballs ingredients and substitutions
- FAQs
- Slow Cooker Meatballs Recipe
Why I love these slow cooker meatballs
What makes these slow cooker meatballs even better than conventional meatballs is the flavor, but (believe it or not) it's also the texture!
The meat slowly absorbs all the flavor not only of the ingredients you add to the meatballs themselves, but of the simple tomato sauce they are nestled into for all those hours.
And since they do sit in the sauce for all that time while it very gently bubbles away, they don't need a lot of moisture themselves, so they stay together beautifully—but are still moist and tender when you serve them.
If you're a slow cooker lover, but you've taken the plunge and decided to experiment with an Instant Pot electronic pressure cooker, try our Instant pot spaghetti and meatballs. That post has tons of tips on getting started with that appliance. I learned the hard way, so you don't have to! If you'd rather make your meatballs in the oven, try our classic oven-baked gluten free meatballs recipe.
My history with the slow cooker
Something like 80% of Americans own a slow cooker. For many years, I was not among them. But since upwards of 250 million people can't be dead wrong, I finally went for it.
I cooked and cooked from it when I first got it, to give it a fair shake. Soups, chilis, stews, oatmeal and unforgiving cuts of meat. My kids thought that I had fallen in love with my slow cooker, and looking back that was probably a reasonable assumption at the time.
But I think that was the problem—I was trying to fall in love with it, and that was unreasonable. So I decided to relax a bit. And then … I finally hit the slow cooker jackpot: slow cooker meatballs. Ridiculously easy in both preparation and cleanup, and quite possibly the best meatballs I've ever had.
Slow cooker cooking really is different from conventional cooking, isn't it? You probably knew that already (you well-schooled 80%), but I didn't!
You really do need recipes that are at least reformulated, if not originally created, specifically for a slow cooker. You want to use dried herbs, not fresh ones for sure for sure. And go a bit easy on the salt, as the crock tends to intensify the flavor of salt.
Choosing the right meat for your meatballs
This meatball recipe calls for 1 pound of pork and 1 pound of ground beef. Together, they make really tender, flavorful meatballs with the ideal texture and taste.
The fat in the pork adds buttery flavor and texture to the meatballs, and the beef adds the savory “meaty” or umami flavor. The combination is perfect, without the ground veal that you sometimes find in meatball or meatloaf mixtures.
Cooking your meatballs in the crockpot is ideal for ensuring that they're never dried out, since the crock keeps all the moisture sealed in for hours. If your meat is too lean, there won't be enough moisture to start, so be sure to use ground beef that's no more than 85% lean.
Notes on slow cooker meatballs cooking time
I've made these meatballs on both the high setting (for 4 hours), and the low setting (for 8). I've served them right after they're done cooking, and after they've sat on “warm” for an hour and a half. After sitting on warm, they definitely absorb more of the sauce and
After sitting on warm, they definitely absorb more of the sauce and look like they might taste dry, but they're still moist and tender.
And although you might think of slow cookers are only for wintertime, consider this: They do not heat up your kitchen at all.
So stay cool in the summer with these perfect slow cooker meatballs. Let them make dinner for you tonight!
How to serve these slow cooker meatballs
I often serve these meatballs in sauce the traditional way: over boiled pasta. Everyone loves spaghetti and meatballs, right?
But meatballs can be served a few other ways, just to mix things up and make them more versatile. Here are a few meatball serving ideas:
- Spaghetti and meatballs (with extra sauce)
- Meatball subs, with a batch of our quick-rising French bread
- Make them smaller by half, and serve them as appetizer meatballs
- Serve them over warm, freshly made or even slice-and-serve polenta, and top with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
Storing leftover meatballs
If you have any leftover meatballs from this recipe, you can store them in a sealed container with some extra sauce for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
For longer storage, freeze them in a freezer-safe container. Defrost them in the refrigerator, not at room temperature which isn't safe food handling.
Reheat the meatballs in more sauce in a pan on the stovetop over very low heat. You can also cover them in sauce and put them back in the crockpot on “warm.”
Crockpot meatballs ingredients and substitutions
Dairy free slow cooker meatballs
The only dairy in these meatballs is the ground Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. It can easily be substituted with 1 ounce of nutritional yeast flakes.
Egg free slow cooker meatballs
There's only 1 egg in this recipe, so you should be able to replace it with a “chia egg.” Place 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds in a small bowl, mix it with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water and allow it to sit until it gels.
Vegetarian slow cooker meatballs
You might be able to take our recipe for lentil meatballs and cook them in sauce in the crockpot. They'll almost certainly be done cooking sooner than 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
Alternative sauces for meatballs
Leave out the dried basil and oregano, and try cooking our Swedish meatballs in their sauce in the crockpot instead.
Again, leave out the dried basil and oregano, and cook these meatballs in our gluten free BBQ sauce. That sounds amazing, doesn't it? I'd serve that over egg noodles for the ideal meal.
FAQs
Yes! You can shape the raw meatballs as instructed, and store them in the refrigerator for as long as the meat you're using is good. Then, set them to cook in the crockpot 4 or 8 hours before you're going to be ready to eat.
If you'll be ready to eat more than 8 hours after cooking the meatballs on the “low” setting, your crock should switch to the “warm” setting automatically after the cooking cycle is finished. It can stay on warm for up to 1½ hours.
Yes! Try replacing the bread crumbs with quick-cooking oats, like we do in our recipe for gluten free meatloaf. You can make your meatballs entirely without breadcrumbs using our recipe for Paleo meatballs. Since dried herbs and aromatics are best for the slow cooker, replace the minced onion with dried minced onion and the mustard with mustard powder.
Yes! I think you should be able to replace the ground beef with ground turkey (not lean!) to make gluten free turkey meatballs. I wouldn't use all turkey to replace the beef and the pork, because ground turkey is just too soft to hold its shape during 4 or 8 hours of cooking.
These meatballs can stay in the crockpot on warm for up to 1½ hours after they're done cooking. To stretch out the amount of time to the fullest, cook the meatballs for 8 hours on the “low” setting first. Most slow cooker will switch to the “warm” setting immediately after the cooking timer runs out. You don't want to keep the crock on “low” after the meatballs are done cooking, though, or they edges may burn.
Slow Cooker Meatballs
Equipment
- Slow cooker/crockpot
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) coarsely ground bread crumbs, (gluten free if necessary)
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) red table wine, See Recipe Notes
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 egg, any size, beaten
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed to release oils
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated (See Recipe Notes)
- Fresh basil leaves for serving optional
For the tomato sauce
- 1 28- ounce can tomato puree, or 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, pureed with their juices until smooth
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed to release oils
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
- ½ teaspoon chili powder, optional
Instructions
First, begin the meatballs.
- In a small bowl, place the breadcrumbs and red wine (or stock mixture), and mix to combine. Allow the breadcrumbs to sit in the wine (or stock mixture) while you prepare the tomato sauce.
- Prepare the sauce.
- In the liner of a 6-quart slow cooker, place all of the tomato sauce ingredients and whisk to combine well. Set the liner aside and return your attention to the meatballs.
Form the meatballs.
- In a large bowl, place the ground pork and ground beef, and break up the meat gently with your fingers. Add the remaining meatball ingredients in the order listed, mixing gently to combine with your fingers. Do not overwork the meat or the meatballs will be tough.
- Add the breadcrumb mixture, and again mix until just combined with your fingers.
- Divide the meatball mixture into 12 to 14 pieces and roll each gently into a ball. Do not compress or pack the mixture.
Cook the meatballs.
- Nestle each meatball into the tomato sauce in a single layer in the slow cooker liner. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours or until the meatballs are cooked through. They should reach or exceed 165°F in the center on an instant-read thermometer.
- The cooked meatballs can remain on your slow cooker’s “warm” setting for up to 1 1/2 hours. Turn the cooked meatballs over in the sauce to coat completely before serving.
Video
Notes
Be sure to use a wine that you would like to drink with red meat, and make sure but that it doesn’t have an overly fruity taste. Cooking with wine, particularly in a slow cooker, tends to intensify its flavor, and you don’t want it to overpower the dish. For an alcohol-free version, use an equal amount of beef stock + 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar. In place of the grated cheese in the meatballs, use 1 ounce nutritional yeast flakes for a dairy-free version.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made these tonight and they were fab – and the whole family ate it too. Many Thanks.
Love this recipe! I can’t believe how easy these were to make!
I am currently in the middle of a Whole 30, so I made these W30-compliant by leaving out the breadcrumbs, red wine and Parmesan. They still turned out great! Thanks so much for all you do!
I didn’t do these in a slow cooker and I used all beef but they turned out great. It was a very interesting and terrific idea to add the liquid to the breadcrumbs. I am a recent fan of yours! Thanks for the blog, I have shared it will many others.
We adore meatballs and love that you posted this! Many (too many-lol)
years ago, I found a recipe from an Italian grandmother which is almost
identical to this and have used it ever since. The only difference is
that her “secret” ingredient is milk and she said you add it until the
meatballs just hold together and that is the secret to keeping them
moist. Who knew?! It works in the oven, stove top or slow
cooker–never dries out! Hope that helps the lady from Europe.
p.s. thanks for all the paleo recipes–love, love the choco chip scones!
Yum, I have three slow cookers.
Use them all the time, especially during the summer when I’m outside all day and have little or no time to cook.
I’m making these right now. Just a note to warn that if you let the liquid sit too long with the breadcrumbs, you get a big gummy mess (literally like silly putty!). Next time I will have it mostly prepared and just let the breadcrumbs sit for a minute or so. They are in the cooker right now and smell so good!
If you use coarse bread crumbs, Robin, that definitely doesn’t happen. They must be proper bread crumbs, ground coarsely and toasted up right, not finely ground dust!
Thanks Nicole! Next time I will try homemade breadcrumbs instead of store-bought
I find it funny that I can crave foods I’ve never actually eaten. The other night I had a dream about making really fragrant meatballs, but in real life I don’t have a family recipe for them, plus I have all those pesky food allergy issues, so I really hadn’t gone on the hunt for a version I could eat. But then you deliver one {that is *legitimately* for the slow cooker}. Allow me again to mention just how much you ROCK! :D
It’s kismet, then, Lauren! Thanks so much for the kind words. :)
these look delicous, beautiful, wonderful. Ok I didnt come here to say how wonderful these look but they look amazing! today mom and i made your oat bread from gfoasbb. we used the same amount of almond meal in place of dry milk as a df and healthier option. it worked wonderfully. our thermometer broke so we kind of had to just go by sound but it seemed to turn out fine. it certainly tasted great! i also made your choco donuts from gfoas quick and easy. also df and wonderful. thanks so much for the great recipes!!!!!!!
That’s great, Elena!
What a mature 11 year old!
We don’t really have slow cookers here in Europe that much, so is it possible to do these in the oven at really low heat or something like that? :)
You know, Chris, for regular meatballs I honestly don’t really recommend this recipe as I think the oven would dry them out. You really need more moisture in the meatballs. If you have my first cookbook, I’d go with the recipe for “meatlove” in there!
I love slow cooker meatballs…these look delish!