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Home » Recipes

Slow Cooker Meatballs

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who would turn their nose up to some good ol' homemade meatballs (unless they're a vegetarian, of course!). We LOVE meatballs at my house, including everything from Moroccan style to Swedish to Italian (below). And my favorite part about this meatball recipe is that, in addition to getting all the work done in advance thanks to your slow cooker, the sauce includes veggies to help make this a "better-for-you" recipe. It's fabulous served over whole-grain noodles or polenta (and topped with more veggies if you're so inclined)!

Slow Cooker Meatballs on 100 Days of Real Food

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I do say this serves 10, but it's really more like 8 in my family these days. My kids are hungry little rascals and some of you are noticing on social media. When I used to post my kids lunches on Instagram and Facebook, back when they were in elementary school, many commenters would say, "Wow, that looks like a small snack for my son" (who, come to find out, was a football playing highschooler). And lately, I've been chuckling to myself about how many people comment and say my kids' lunches look like A LOT of food, way more than their kid could ever eat. Sometimes things just come full circle!

Both my girls are in middle school now, are almost as tall as me, and are pretty active (including one who does 12 hours/week of gymnastics and loves every minute of it!!). So, things have changed around here and, back to those comments, each child's appetite is and should be different depending on their age/size/activities and interest in food. These days I can hardly keep enough prepared food in the house with the hunger that's going on so, while this should serve 8, we just aren't in that stage at the moment and that's okay. I'm usually doubling recipes anyway to give us even a chance of leftovers—which my husband and I love for lunch! With this recipe being on the larger size, I can just make it as is and hope for a respectable amount left the next day.

If you're feeding a smaller group, or those with smaller appetites, the finished meatballs and sauce do freeze beautifully, so keep that in mind if you want to save it for a rainy day! Enjoy.

Equipment Needed

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If you enjoyed these slow cooker meatballs, please leave a rating and comment! For more inspiration, check out my Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. For 5 free weekly meal plans and more free resources, sign up to receive my free newsletter! Check out these Dinner Recipes for more healthy ideas.

Slow Cooker Meatballs

Set it and forget it with these "better-for-you" slow cooker meatballs. We've added tons of veggies in the sauce to make this comfort food even healthier.
3 Reviews / 5 Average
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 6 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Total Time: 6 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Method: Slow Cooker
Diet: Peanut/Tree Nut-Free
Print Recipe
Servings: 10 people
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Ingredients
  

For the Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork ((or could substitute another pound of ground beef))
  • 1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
  • olive oil for cooking

For the Sauce

  • 1 onion (diced)
  • 3 carrots (peeled and cut into large dice)
  • 3 stalks celery (cut into large dice)
  • 5 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce (plain)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • pepper (to taste)

For Serving

  • 1 pound whole wheat pasta (cooked according to package directions)

Instructions
 

For the Meatballs

  • Put all the ingredients, except for the flour, in a large bowl and mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Form into 1 ½ to 2" meatballs, roll around in the flour until coated, and set aside.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your largest skillet over medium-high heat. Shake the excess flour off the meatballs and cook until brown on all sides. Cook in batches, if necessary, and drizzle in extra oil if pan starts to appear dry.
  • Transfer to bottom of the slow cooker. 

For the Sauce

  • Place the onion and veggies on top of the meatballs and follow with the seasonings and tomatoes. Cook on high for 5 to 6 hours. 
  • Spoon off (and discard) any cooking fat that has collected at the top of the sauce and serve over whole-grain pasta or polenta. 

Notes

We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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1.2K shares

About Lisa Leake

Lisa is a wife, mother, foodie, blogger, and #1 New York Times Best-selling author who is on a mission to cut out processed food.

Comments

  1. Jennifer Koehler says

    December 04, 2023 at 9:49 am

    The meatballs were excellent, but the sauce was flavorless except for tomato taste. My hubby was not pleased with the sauce. Thankfully, I have a spaghetti seasoning mix I make that I added to the sauce, making it a great meal that all enjoyed!

    Reply
  2. Heather says

    May 14, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    5 stars
    We absolutely love this recipe and have made it many times, replacing the egg with ricotta cheese as we have a child with an egg allergy. However, the prep time is always way off from what's stated in the recipe. It makes a ton of meatballs, and more meatballs = more time. All in all, I find it takes about an hour to go from starting to the slow cooker, then the additional 5-6 hours of cooking time. That being said, they are 100% worth the effort!!!

    Reply
  3. Brooklyn says

    June 02, 2020 at 11:00 am

    5 stars
    Could you make the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them? TIA.

    Reply
    • 100 Days Admin says

      June 03, 2020 at 9:56 am

      These meatballs would freeze great ... even if you follow the entire recipe, you can freeze them with the sauce. - Nicole

      Reply
  4. sumaira says

    January 29, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    This looks and sounds delicious and i am so glad to have another great meatball recipe! Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  5. Melissa says

    January 27, 2019 at 1:57 pm

    5 stars
    These were delicious. Made them in the oven instead...baked meatballs and veggies for 30 min at 350 then added tomatoes...baked another 30 min then turned oven down to 300 for another hour (til we were ready to eat). Will definitely make again! I already make your Swedish meatballs regularly so glad to have another great meatball recipe!!

    Reply
  6. Marissa says

    January 23, 2019 at 9:20 am

    When I make meatballs, I bake them in the oven to brown them before adding to sauce. Usually about 8-10 min on 350. I have a GF one in my house so I’m going to try these meatballs w/ GF breadcrumbs and baking to see how they turn out before putting them in the crockpot.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      January 16, 2024 at 11:59 am

      I have a son that is GF. We make our meatballs with GF oatmeal for extra nutrition. No one knows the difference.

      Reply
  7. Stephanie says

    January 19, 2019 at 1:49 pm

    These look delicious and I love the veggie push. Getting my husband to eat veggies is about as hard as it is to get a toddler, so.....the more I can hide the better. lol

    Reply
    • Tess D says

      January 22, 2019 at 12:29 pm

      I feel you, Stephanie! I often add shredded carrot and zucchini to my red sauce; somehow the shreds are less "noticeable" to the veggie-averse members of the family.

      Reply
  8. Sarah says

    January 19, 2019 at 10:29 am

    Do you think I could make the sauce in a Dutch oven, then add browned meatballs and simmer in order to make in less time?

    Reply
    • 100 Days Admin says

      February 04, 2019 at 11:17 am

      That should be fine! - Nicole

      Reply
  9. Jules says

    January 17, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    This looks and sounds delicious! We don’t eat gluten. What can I easily substitute the flour and breadcrumbs for?

    Reply
    • Mara Goltsman says

      January 17, 2019 at 8:08 pm

      Almond flour

      Reply
    • Lisa says

      January 21, 2019 at 11:12 am

      You could skip the flour and sub gluten-free breadcrumbs (easy to make using gluten-free bread: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/recipe-homemade-breadcrumbs/).

      Reply
  10. Heidi says

    January 17, 2019 at 9:44 am

    Looks delicious by why the flour? Does it help them stick together? I’ve never seen that done before. Thanks for sharing all your tricks and recipes!

    Reply
    • 100 Days Admin says

      January 17, 2019 at 11:38 am

      Yes, dusting them with a little flour does help keep them stick together! - Nicole

      Reply

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Meet Lisa! Lisa is a best-selling cookbook author, wife, mother, and passionate home cook. Lisa began blogging in 2010 and has created a community of millions of people who share her love of healthy living, real food ingredients, and family recipes.

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