Crock Pot Meatballs

An easy crock pot meatball recipe with homemade meatballs that cook up tender, moist, and flavorful.

Course dinner, main meal beef, main meal pork

Cuisine American, American Italian

Keyword crock pot meatball recipe, crockpot meatballs, how to make meatballs in crockpot, meatballs in crockpot, meatballs slow cook recipe, slow cooker meatballs, slow cooker meatballs recipe

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 2 30

Servings

Calories 432kcal

Author Beth Pierce

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 small yellow onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 large eggs
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
28 ounces marinara sauce
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the ground beef, Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, eggs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper in a large bowl. Gently mix it with your clean hands or a spoon.
Using a 1 ½ tablespoon-scoop the mixture and shape it into meatballs using your clean hands. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet with a little space between them. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Transfer the warm meatballs to a crock pot. Pour the marinara and crushed tomatoes over the meatballs.
Cover and cook on high for 2 ½ hours or until tender and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Mix the meat mixture with a gentle hand and only until it is combined. Overmixing will make the meatballs dense and dry.
Use a cookie scoop to help with uniform size, but roll the meatballs in your hands so they are round on all sides.
Rolling meatballs is easy with plastic gloves. If the meat sticks to your gloves moisten the gloves with cold water and roll again.
Prebaking the meatballs makes for a better texture and less fat in the sauce.
Store leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power.

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