Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs
4 Comments Sep 12, 2022
Updated Jan 03, 2023
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These Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs pack all the Italian flavors of tomatoes, garlic, Italian season, and a few other pantry staples. This meatball recipe not only yields a tender and juicy meal option, but it’s something your whole family is sure to love.
Does your family love meatballs? Try my Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Meatballs to switch things up a bit!
Table of Contents
Why this works
Crockpot turkey meatballs are a versatile dish you can start during the day and have ready for dinner tonight. The ingredients are healthy and simple, meaning you won’t have difficulty finding exactly what you need.
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground Turkey: Depending on the size of meatballs you prefer, two pounds of ground turkey will yield plenty.
- Bread Crumbs: Italian bread crumbs help hold the meatballs together while adding an additional flavor. You can also use plain breadcrumbs.
- Tomatoes: Three different types of tomatoes come together to create the flavorful tomato sauce – crushed tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, and diced tomatoes.
- Vegetables: Green bell pepper, onion, and celery simmer with other sauce ingredients for a fantastic taste to compliment the cooked meatballs.
- Other Meatball Mixture Items: seasonings such s salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder, heavy cream, large eggs, and parmesan cheese combine to make the meatballs extra juicy and tasty.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Add the sauce ingredients to a large slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours. (Do not add meatballs at this time.)
Step Two – Add the meatball ingredients to a large bowl.
Step Three – Using your hands, mix everything together and make meatballs about 2″ in size.
Step Four – Add a little vegetable oil to a large skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides.
Step Five – Add meatballs to the slow cooker, covering them entirely in the sauce.
Step Six – Turn the slow cooker to low, cover and cook for another 4 hours. Garnish and serve.
How to serve
- You can’t go wrong by serving these turkey meatballs on a plate of spaghetti. In fact, you can do these cooked meatballs with any pasta.
- Many different toppings pair perfectly with meatballs in tomato sauce. Grated parmesan cheese or melted mozzarella is a classic go-to. You can also add fresh parsley, fresh basil, and a dash of red pepper flakes to compliment this dinner.
- And let’s not forget the bread! Delicious recipes like this cannot be complete with a nice slice of garlic bread, toast, or sticks.
- These are also great for making meatball sandwiches or meatball subs. Sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese and a helping of marinara sauce, and you’re all set to go.
Recipe FAQs and Variations
You sure can. Of course, it will change the recipe’s name, but you can go for ground beef, ground chicken, or ground pork.
Yes. You’ll still want to wait the 4 hours to allow the sauce to simmer and fuse together.
Add any remaining meatballs and sauce to an airtight container. Store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will also freeze well for up to 3 months.
Absolutely! Not to mention, it will also make the meal even healthier. You could also use spaghetti squash.
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Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
Sauce
- 45 oz. tomato sauce, (three 15-oz. cans)
- 10.5 oz Rotel Tomatoes
- 30 oz. diced tomatoes, (two 15-oz. cans)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 large bay leaves
- 1 large green bell pepper, diced
- 1 large celery rib, diced
- 2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Meatballs
- 2 lbs. ground turkey
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 Tbsp. of the prepared sauce, (from above)
Instructions
- Note: The meatballs do not get added until the 4 hours mark.
- Add the sauce ingredients to a large slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours.
- In a large bowl add the meatball ingredients and mix together using your hands.
- Form meatballs of the same dimension each, around two tablespoons.
- Add a little vegetable oil to a large skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce making sure they’re all in the sauce, cover. Turn the slow cooker to low and cook another 4 hours. Don’t stir during this time.
- If you’re eating with spaghetti you’ll need to prepare that when it’s close to the end of cooking time.
Sarah’s Notes
- You can use ground beef, ground pork or ground chicken in this recipe instead of the turkey.
- To store, add any remaining meatballs and sauce to an airtight container. Store them in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will also freeze well for up to 3 months.
- Want to use frozen meatballs? You can do that, though still add them at the four hour mark.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
A total of 8 hours on high? I would like to try this recipe but I’m afraid the sauce would burn after that length of time.
It should say 4 hours on low after you add the meatballs. No the sauce won’t burn, it’s too liquidy.
These look amazing! If I want to make these for a potluck dinner, is it ok to double the recipe? Or make smaller meatballs? What would you suggest since it would be going into a large Crock-Pot.
You can double these! The cooking time will be the same since they are partially cooked.