I don’t know what it is with me and meatballs lately, but here we are again. #sorrynotsorry This weekend I made these deliciously Giant Slow Cooker Meatballs, which are a fun way to change up a simple spaghetti and meat sauce dinner. The whimsically large meatballs simmer away in marinara, the flavors from each seeping into the other, creating a luxe rich sauce for the spaghetti. And I’m telling you, the smell these meatballs create in your house as they cook is almost reason enough to make them!
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This is a great dish to meal prep for the week ahead! The pasta, sauce, and meatball package up quick and easy, reheat like a dream, and you can add a simple side salad (in a separate container) for each day. Done and done!
What to Serve with Giant Slow Cooker Meatballs
Keep it simple! Serve your Giant Slow Cooker Meatballs and spaghetti, a simple side salad, and some Homemade Freezer Garlic Bread!
Giant Slow Cooker Meatballs
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. ground beef (85/15) ($2.65)
- 1/2 lb. Italian sausage (mild, sweet, or hot) ($1.16)
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten ($0.26)
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs ($0.12)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.44)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1 26oz. jar marinara sauce ($2.19)
- 12 oz. spaghetti ($1.13)
Instructions
- Add the ground beef, Italian sausage, beaten egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt to a bowl. Use your hands to combine the ingredients until they are evenly mixed. Divide the mixture into four equal portions, then shape each into a ball.
- Place the meatballs in the slow cooker and pour the marinara over top, making sure to coat the top of each meatball. The sauce will only come up about half way to the top of the meatballs, but that’s okay. The slow cooker will fill with steam, which will help cook the meatballs even though they are not completely submerged.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and then cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 6-7 hours. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the meatballs have reached at least 160ºF on the inside (mine had exceeded this temperature after 3 hours on high).
- Near the end of the cook time, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, and then drain in a colander.
- Remove the cooked meatballs from the slow cooker, then add the cooked and drained spaghetti, and toss it to coat in the sauce. Divide the sauced spaghetti between four plates, add one giant meatball to each, then enjoy.
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Equipment
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How to Make Slow Cooker Meatballs – Step by Step Photos
In a large bowl combine 1/2 lb. ground beef (85/15), 1/2 lb. Italian sausage, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (sorry that one is not in the photo), 1 large slightly beaten egg, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Use your hands to mix these ingredients together until they’re evenly combined, then divide the mixture into four equal portions, and shape each into a ball. The meatballs will be slightly smaller than a baseball.
Place the meatballs in the slow cooker and pour one 26oz. jar of marinara sauce over top, making sure to coat the top of the meatballs. The sauce will only come up about half way up the meatballs, but that’s okay. The steam in the slow cooker will help cook the meatballs through even though they’re not completely submerged.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6-7 hours. It’s always a good idea to use an instant read thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the meatballs has reached 160ºF. (I use this thermometer – As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Mine had exceeded this temperature after 3 hours on high.
When the meatballs are almost done, cook 12oz. spaghetti according to the package directions, then drain it in a colander. Remove the meatballs from the sauce in the slow cooker.
Add the cooked and drained spaghetti to the sauce in the slow cooker and toss to coat. All that fat that was on top is quite flavorful and makes the sauce ultra rich and delicious!
Then just divide the spaghetti into four servings, add a giant slow cooker meatball to each, and serve! Super easy, super yum.
This is a keeper recipe. This was my first time making homemade meatballs. So fast and easy! Tasted great. I used butternut squash “Noodles” from Trader joes to make it a bit lighter. I liked the automatic portion control with the larger meatballs. I am looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow for lunch.
I used plain marinara sauce, next time I would add some extra italian spices.
This was a hit with all four of us! Easy and delicious.
This was a big hit with the meat eaters in our family. Served with salad and garlic bread – because that’s what you do, and a chunk of parmesan to grate on top. Thanks for a great, easy on the cook, recipe!
This is certainly the easiest and most delicious way of making meat balls ever.
Thank you so much! thumbs up for this
Made this tonight, and it was awesome! Will make again. :)
I tripled the recipe. I didn’t want to use sausage so I used all beef, and I omitted the pasta because I am trying to lose weight. Instead, I paired this with your Ratatouille recipe so one serving of that plus 1 meatball came out to 500 calories.
This was my first time ever making meatballs, and I have to say, I am in love. These are SO delicious. SO easy. I am definitely going to be making these again to satisfy my comfort food cravings.
This was so easy. My granddaughter loved it. Sauce was great. Next time I might try it with a little onion and green pepper in the meat mixture. Thank you beth.
These were AMAZING! I think buying good quality meat/sausage made a big difference – but for how little effort they took, the results were out of this world. This one is a keeper!!!
This was so easy so delicious! The only change I made was to use all ground beef because that’s what I had and I added a bit of beef broth. I also made 6 meatballs instead of 4. I cooked this for 11 hours and it was still great! Next time I’d add some more sauce or tomato sauce because of how long we cooked it. I would make it again and the hubby loved it. We also ate it with your make ahead garlic bread instead of the pasta. :)
If I wanted to use a pound of each meat would I double everything else?
I would, yes.
I really enjoy your works ! Thank you for this one !
This was delicious! I made the meat into 8 meatballs instead of 4. One meatball was plenty with the noodles and rich sauce.
I’d make this for company!
I made Beth’s Thick and Rich Pizza Sauce. Although I had to double the seasonings to suit my taste, I bet it would work well in this recipe because it starts out thicker than many jarred sauces which may get too thin over the course of a day in the slow cooker. If you can splurge on deli Parmesan and grate it by hand, it’s much more flavorful than pregrated. By the way, I routinely have to increase seasonings a lot due to a lifetime of allergies. I can’t ‘taste’ as well as some people. I tasted the sauce before increasing the seasonings and it was good. Probably fine for children and other people who like less seasoning. I did add some fennel seed which was TERRIFIC.
I can’t even imagine how greasy this meal must’ve been…
It really wasn’t very. Maybe 2 Tbsp of grease on top, which just made the sauce a little extra rich.
You can always use extra lean ground beef and they make lean Italian sausages! That’s what I’ll be using when I try out this recipe this weekend :)
If the fat is really an issue, you might get some leaner ground pork and add extra seasoning but the decreased fat may well effect the final results. If you’re not going to eat the dish right away you could chill the sauce overnight and remove the fat that comes to the surface but as Beth suggests a couple of tablespoons spread over four servings is not that much.
Skim the fat on any recipe to suit your taste. That is what I always do. In this case do it before adding the pasta in. Or buy less fatty meat to start. Nice thing about cooking at home is you can alter otherwise appealing recipes to fit your family tastes.
I made this with the leanest ground beef (96% fat free from Trader Joe’s), and Italian sausage made from chicken (again Trader Joe’s). There was very little fat in my sauce.
Also the sauce was not overly runny at all. I let it simmer for a while uncovered while the noodles were cooking and that probably helped.
Looks fast and easy. I might add ddied oregano or basil and thyme. Otherwise, it looks good.