Slow Cooker Meatballs turn out juicy and flavorful, made with ground beef, onion, and Worcestershire and prepared in rich, homemade marinara.
Classic spaghetti with Homemade Beef Meatballs is the perfect kid-friendly Dinner Recipe! My slow cooker version is an easy way to prepare them in a rich marinara sauce so all you have to do is boil pasta and your dinner is ready!.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Slow Cooker Meatballs Recipe
This cooking method is a great option for busy weeknights. Instead of making everything in the evening, you can let the recipe simmer and slowly cook throughout the day. Following this recipe, you can prep the meatballs and sauce in the morning to cook in the crock pot. Then go to work or whatever else you have to do during the day, knowing your dinner is already underway. All you have to do before serving is add cooked pasta to the meatballs and sauce mixture and stir to combine.
Ingredients
- Ground beef: Of course, the most essential ingredient to classic meatballs is ground beef. 80/20 ground beef is excellent for a flavorful, juicy meatball recipe. But you can use leaner meat to lighten the recipe. Make sure not to handle the meat mixture too much, as it’s easy to overwork and make the ground beef tough.
- Bread: You can use any regular sandwich bread, and this is great for some stale bread. I like bread with more substance like whole wheat bread or whole grain, but not the kind the nuts or seeds.
- Milk: Adding whole milk to the ground beef mixture tenderizes the ingredients and keeps the inside of the meatballs tender and juicy.
- Eggs: Adding eggs to the meat mixture helps keep the entire recipe together. Eggs act as a binding agent to stop the meatballs from falling apart during cooking time.
- Worcestershire sauce: Worcestershire sauce has a complex umami flavor that gives the meatballs a richer, smokier, and overall more beefy flavor.
How to Make
- Prepare Marinara Sauce
Add minced onion, garlic, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, kosher salt, granulated sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes to your crock pot (6 qt or larger). Stir the sauce ingredients well to combine.
- Prepare Meatball Mixture
Add the milk, melted butter, onions, and bread slices to a stand mixer. Then add the ground beef, eggs, kosher salt, black pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Use the paddle attachment and mix at the lowest speed until the bread breaks apart and the meat is combined with the other ingredients.
- Shape Meatballs
Use a meat baller, an ice cream, or a cookie scoop to spoon the meatball mixture into 1 ½ inch balls (about the size of ping pong balls). You can use your hands if you don’t have a rounded scoop. Just work quickly so your hands don’t warm the mixture. Add the formed meatballs in a single layer to the cooker over the marinara sauce.
- Cooking Time
Add the lid to the crockpot and turn it to low heat to cook for 6-8 hours.
- Serve
Cook the pasta in a separate bowl until al dente, then drain it. Toss the cooked spaghetti in the cooker and stir well to combine with the sauce and meatballs. Then, serve homemade spaghetti and meatballs topped with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce:
- 1/2 yellow onion , finely minced
- 3 cloves garlic ,minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Meatball Recipe:
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3 slices bread
- 1/2 cup yellow onion , finely minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 2 pounds ground beef , (80/20)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
To Finish:
- 1 pound spaghetti , cooked
- 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese , shredded
- 2 tablespoons parsley , minced
Instructions
To make the Marinara Sauce:
- Add onion, garlic, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt sugar and crushed red pepper flakes to your 6qt. or larger slow cooker.
- Whisk well to combine.
To Make the Meatballs:
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add the milk, melted butter and onions to the slices of bread.
- Add the ground beef, eggs, salt, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
- Mix it on low until the bread is broken apart and the meat is combined with the ingredients (using the stand mixer and not your hands helps keep the mixture cold and tender).
- Using a meatballer/ice cream scoop or your hands scoop them into balls about the size of a ping pong ball, about 1 ½ inches.
- Add the meatballs in a single layer to the slow cooker.
- Cook on low heat for 6 hours.
To Serve:
- Add the spaghetti to the pot and stir well to combine and heat through.
- Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: Using Bread
If you’ve never made homemade meatballs, you may be surprised by this ingredient. But bread crumbs are essential to the recipe. They bulk up the meatballs, help bind the ingredients, and moisten the meat mixture. The bread absorbs moisture from the milk and other ingredients. As the meatballs cook, the bread holds onto the moisture so they don’t dry out.
Can this be made ahead of time?
- For an easy meal-prep option, you can prepare the meatballs a day in advance and cover them in the fridge before adding them to the crock pot to cook. Alternatively, you can freeze uncooked meatballs for up to 3 months.
- For freezing, prep the meatball mixture and scoop it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then place the baking sheet flat in the freezer for 1-2 hours until the meatballs are frozen. Once frozen, you can transfer the meatballs to a freezer bag until you’re ready to cook. The day you plan to serve this dish, add the sauce ingredients to the crock pot and place the frozen meatballs in a single layer on top. Cook until the sauce is bubbly and the meatballs are cooked through.
How to Serve
- Spaghetti and meatballs are already a simple dish, and I like this version because it’s a great way to meal prep for weeknights. For some equally easy and delicious side dishes to complete the meal, serve the meatballs with a freshly tossed green salad and buttery Garlic Bread.
- You could also serve the meatballs and marinara sauce in a toasted hoagie roll to make a tasty sandwich. Top with a slice of provolone cheese and pop the sandwich under the broiler for a minute to melt it. Voila! A better than takeout meatball sub! A sub is also a great way to use any leftover meatballs the next day too.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
- Store: Don’t leave Spaghetti and Meatballs out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheat: I suggest reheating the meatballs in their sauce slowly on the stovetop over medium heat, you can pop them back in a small slow cooker on low or high. Stir them occasionally and serve when they are hot all the way through.
- Freeze: You can freeze the meatballs in their sauce. Package leftover meatballs in a freezer bag or another freezer-safe container to keep frozen for up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Meatballs
- To make homemade meatballs and marinara sauce in an instant pot, start by adding the sauce ingredients to the instant pot and preparing the meatball mixture as usual.
- After making the meatballs, and adding them to the pot, close the instant pot, and set the steam valve to the sealed position. Set the cooking time to 9 minutes at high pressure. It takes an additional 15 minutes for the pot to reach pressure before the countdown starts.
- After the cooking time, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes. Then carefully change the steam valve to the venting position. Wait for all the steam to release before opening the instant pot.
- Stir cooked pasta into the instant pot sauce and meatballs, and enjoy.
Frequent Questions
Yes. Following this recipe, you can form the homemade meatballs, then place them directly in the cooker to cook through. If you want more crispy meatballs, you could lightly brown the outside of the meatballs on the stovetop before adding them to the crock pot.
Binding agents like bread crumbs and eggs are essential to homemade meatballs. They hold the ground beef and other ingredients together so this shouldn’t be a problem. However, if you add too much or too little of the binding agent, the meatballs can fall apart in the crock pot.
Variations
- Lean meatballs: If you’re trying to lighten up this recipe, you can make the crockpot meatballs with lean ground beef or ground turkey for a meat option with less fat.
- Seasonings: You can flavor the marinara sauce with a variety of different seasonings. Try incorporating an Italian seasoning blend, red pepper flakes, onion powder, or thyme.
- Swedish Meatballs: Instead of making Italian meatballs with tomato sauce, you can make them with gravy and serve them over egg noodles for a classic Swedish meatball dish. For this version, whisk together 2 cups beef broth, 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, 2 tablespoons steak sauce, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, and salt and pepper in the crock pot. Then add the meatballs and cook on low until the meatballs are done. Mix in 1 cup of sour cream before serving the gravy and meatballs.
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