Slow Cooker Meatballs

 These Traditional Slow Cooker Meatballs with homemade marinara sauce are a delicious, make ahead dinner! With a freezer meal option, you can make crockpot meatballs faster than ever!

This recipe uses two of my favorite kitchen tools for getting dinner on the table on busy days: your slow cooker and your freezer. These meatballs are quick and easy to make. It will take about 15 minutes to mix up the meatball mixture and shape your meatballs and 5 minutes to prep the sauce.

HOW TO MAKE MEATBALLS

To make this crockpot meatballs recipe, you will start by making your meatballs. You’ll mix up all of the meatball ingredients except for the meat in a bowl. Once you add the meat to the mixture, you want to mix it until it’s just combined. This will ensure that your meatballs turn out soft and tender.

The best way to shape the meatballs into balls is to use your hands. If the mixture sticks to your hands, using slightly wet hands will help. Place the meatballs on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until cooked through. The cooking time will be 10-12 minutes for 1 1/2-inch meatballs, or a little longer if you make your meatballs larger.

Once your meatballs are baked, you can either slow cook them right away in your slow cooker or freeze them for later.

I like to make this a freezer to crock pot meal. I let the meatballs cool and then place them in a freezer bag with marinara sauce ingredients. You can also cook and serve this  recipe on the same day if you don’t want to make it a freezer meal.

When I need an easy weeknight dinner I thaw the bag of meatballs in my refrigerator overnight. In the morning all that I have to do is transfer the bag contents to my slow cooker and turn it on. Seriously, having these crockpot meatballs in your freezer is the best thing ever when you are craving spaghetti and meatballs mid-week! For the times when I am all out of meatballs or need to get dinner on the table fast, I make my Instant Pot Spaghetti.

PREPARING THE MEATBALLS IN ADVANCE

You can make these delicious meatballs ahead of time and put them in a freezer bag with the sauce. Then store them for up to three months in your freezer.

When you’re ready, thaw and then transfer the contents of the freezer bag to your crock pot and cook. You’ll have a home-cooked meal for almost no effort!

WHY THIS IS THE BEST MEATBALL RECIPE:

• The meatballs are baked at high temperature, so they are extra moist and juicy on the inside with nicely browned outsides.
•  Simmering meatballs all day in your slow cooker gives both the meatballs and marinara sauce the best flavor.
• You can slow cook the meatballs and sauce right away or make them into a freezer meal to cook later.