Slow Cooker Meatballs Recipe
- Prep time: 20 Minutes
- Cook time: 8 Hours & 20 Minutes
- Total time: 8 Hours & 40 Minutes
- Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp garlic, crushed
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- Pinch of pepper
Tomato Sauce
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tsp garlic, crushed
- 800 g (1.8 lb) diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp basil, chopped
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Once mixed, form the mixture into meatballs. I use roughly two tablespoons of the mix for each meatball.
- In a pan over high heat, fry the meatballs, so they are lightly browned. Once done, put to the side.
- In the slow cooker, mix together the onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, basil, oregano, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
- Lastly, add the meatballs into the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Serve & Enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- You can add the meatballs straight into the slow cooker without frying them. However, you will likely notice better results if you do fry them beforehand. Either way, just add them after you have mixed the sauce.
- Do not worry about there not being enough sauce as after a few hours of cooking, there will be a lot more sauce. If you add too much liquid to the sauce, it will turn very soup-like after just a few hours of cooking.
- If you do not have bay leaves, you can leave them out without them affecting the overall dish too much.