These Crockpot Meatballs are the ultimate slow-cooked dinner. Enjoy homemade Italian Meatballs in a rich tomato sauce with just a 15-minute prep!
This Italian-Style dinner will be one that your family requests again and again and you’ll love how simple it is to make!
Serve them over spaghetti or Spaghetti Squash for everyone’s favorite Spaghetti and Meatballs or add them to a toasted sub roll!
Whenever I see a recipe that’s made in the crockpot or slow cooker, I know it’s going to be easy. Or at least that’s the goal, right? These Crockpot Meatballs are no exception!
They’re perfect to make on busy weeknights, requiring only a little bit of prep and several hours of hands-off time. Delicious juicy meatballs have never been easier to make!
Mix up these Easy Crockpot Meatballs in the morning and stick ‘em in the slow cooker while you continue your day. The result is tender, mouthwatering Italian Meatballs drenched in a homemade marinara sauce. Don’t forget to serve it with Homemade Garlic Bread!
So skip the store-bought frozen meatballs or the overpriced restaurant dishes and make this crowd favorite recipe right at home!
What’s In Slow Cooked Meatballs?
This Crockpot Meatball Recipe is extra tender and delicious. The base of the recipe is just ground beef, but you could also use just ground beef or you could do a third of each: beef, lamb, and pork.
Panko breadcrumbs and an egg act as the binding agents in this recipe. The meat is loaded with spices and herbs like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, basil, parsley, and oregano. This recipe has a ton of flavor packed in!
They are then slow-cooked in a delicious marinara sauce! The sauce comes together quickly with crushed tomatoes, paste, and sauce and a delicious blend of seasonings.
How To Make Meatballs In The Crockpot
Unlike traditional homemade meatballs where you have a ton of prep before they even hit the sauce and then you have to let them simmer for hours. This great recipe takes that hassle out of this family favorite meal!
You’ll love how quick the prep is and that you can essentially set it and forget it and dinner will be waiting for you when you’re hungry!
- In a large bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients with your hands until fully combined.
- Roll the mixture into 12 or 18 evenly sized balls and add the meatballs to the bottom of a crock pot. You can spray the bottom of the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray just to be safe.
- Add in the sauce ingredients and give them a gentle stir to coat. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. Cooking times may vary depending on the size of the meatballs.
Tips From Our Kitchen:
I tested this recipe off and on for over a year to make sure it was perfect. And the end result is so simple that I almost can’t believe it myself! We wanted a super easy go-to dish that didn’t sacrifice flavor and I think we’ve nailed it!
Searing Overcomplicates Things: We tried searing the meatballs first and we found that they often broke apart resulting in more of a meat sauce and made the recipe prep unnecessarily complicated. The flavor gain wasn’t worth the hassle in my opinion.
No Need To Bake: We tried baking and broiling the meatballs on a baking sheet but felt like it didn’t really add anything to the dish. Again, just another step with no real benefit. However, it is a key step in our Sweet and Sour Meatballs recipe!
Crockpot FTW! My husband’s Italian side of the family will simmer their meatballs in the gravy (Italian sauce) all day. So we figured it wouldn’t hurt the meatballs to just cook from start to finish in the crockpot.
No Draining Required! Don’t worry about the fat from the meatballs. Normally when you sear them you’d drain off the fat before adding the sauce ingredients. But we actually found that it gave the sauce a great flavor and we didn’t experience any separation in the sauce itself.
Use Panko! We tried this recipe with both panko and traditional breadcrumbs and we liked the texture of panko much more. The Italian breadcrumbs seemed to leave the meatballs a bit gummy.
Season! Don’t be afraid of the large number of seasonings in this recipe. You can add salt and pepper to taste if you’d like, but don’t omit the herbs, garlic, or onion – you NEED that flavor!
How Many Servings?
This recipe is designed to create 6 servings of approximately 2 meatballs and 1 cup of sauce per serving. The nutrition information in the recipe card is based on this amount of servings using just ground beef. Other substitutions may change this.
What To Make With Them:
Make a big batch of these Slow Cooker Meatballs, and save them in the fridge and eat them all week.
- Pasta: Over pasta is always a good idea and don’t forget to top your plates with lots of fresh shredded Parmesan cheese!
- Subs: Or, you can make some tasty meatball subs with the addition of melted mozzarella layered between slices of baguette.
- Pizza: The other way I love eating leftover meatballs is sliced up and on pizza. It might sound weird, but it’s sooo good! Use the marinara as your pizza sauce and dollop some ricotta on it too – YUM!
Everyone should have a go-to recipe for this classic dish. If you don’t have a favorite yet, this version might be it!
How To Freeze Meatballs and Sauce
This recipe is super easy to freeze. In fact, this was one of the freezer meals we prepped for right after we had Evie.
To Freeze: Cook the meatballs according to the recipe instructions then simply allow the meatballs and sauce to cool completely. You can even put them in the fridge overnight and freeze the next day.
Then transfer the meatballs and sauce to gallon freezer bags. I recommend dividing the full recipe between at least two bags or whatever works for you portion-wise. Squeeze out any excess air.
Shelf Life
- In Crockpot: On “warm” setting for up to 4 hours after cooking.
- Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days in an air-tight container.
- Freezer: 3 months in a freezer bag.
More Italian Inspired Recipes
- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Blackberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta
- Spaghetti Pie
- Boozy Tiramisu
- Baked Ziti
- Marinara Sauce
Crockpot Meatballs
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Crockpot Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef1
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs2
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Sauce
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves3 minced
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz. can tomato sauce no salt added
- 6 oz. can tomato paste no salt added
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients with your hands until fully combined.
- Roll the mixture into 12 or 18 evenly sized balls and place them in the bottom of a crockpot. Just to be safe, spray the bottom of the crockpot with cooking spray before adding the meatballs.
- Add in the sauce ingredients and give them a gentle stir. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.4
Video
Notes
- You could also use 1/2 pound each of ground beef and ground lamb or 1/3 pound each of ground beef, lamb, and pork.
- You can use regular breadcrumbs, but I think they give the meatballs a gummier texture.
- You can also use 1 tablespoon of garlic paste or minced garlic instead of garlic cloves.
- Cooking times may vary depending on the size of the meatballs.
- The nutritional information is an extimate for the listed ingredients without substitutions for 12 meatballs and 6 servings (2 meatballs each).
- Shelf Life:
- In Crockpot: On “warm” setting for up to 4 hours after cooking.
- Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days in an air-tight container.
- Freezer: 3 months
- How To Freeze: Cook the meatballs according to the recipe instructions then simply allow the meatballs and sauce to cool completely. You can even put them in the fridge overnight and freeze the next day. Then transfer the meatballs and sauce to gallon freezer bags. I recommend dividing the full recipe between at least two bags or whatever works for you portion-wise. Squeeze out any excess air.
Jessica says
This was a fantastic recipe. It was easy to make and the whole family enjoyed it, even the baby! I’m looking forward to my leftovers tomorrow for lunch 🙂
Rebecca Hubbell says
Enjoy! Our daughter loves it too and it reheats well!
Marisa F. Stewart says
As an Italian I believe I’m a connoisseur on meatballs and yours look drool worthy. I really like that you put them in the crockpot to give them a long slow cook. So tasty!! And the beauty of those meatballs is that you can save them as leftovers to put on a sandwich. Ahhh, yes!! My mouth is watering.
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hope you love them!