Who doesn’t love a meatball? They’re flavorful, satisfying, and can be healthy, too. While plenty of meatballs can be demanding of the cook, these Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs are an exception. Get a pot of these going in the morning and you will have a warm, nourishing crock pot supper to look forward to.
Weekday Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs
At home we call these Saucy Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs (full disclosure, the name is often truncated to just “saucy balls”). They’re about as easy as it gets as far as meatballs go. What’s appealing about the recipe is that you don’t have to brown the meatballs before adding them to the sauce. You plunk them uncooked in the sauce, which makes for a very tender meatball when the time is up.
Easy Meatballs to Assemble
Once you’ve gathered the ingredients, you can bang out these slow cooker meatballs in the time it might take your kids to get through breakfast. That’s when I make this, in the morning before school. The recipe is adapted from Skinny Taste, a blog written by Gina Homolka, who does a clever job of making healthy food look and taste gorgeous.
Truth? These slow cooker turkey meatballs aren’t quite as skinny as Gina’s, since I snuck a sausage link in there for a little added flavor. And I’ve skipped the step of sautéing an onion because I want to keep this recipe as pared down as possible.
Buy Better Breadcrumbs
Be thoughtful about the seasoned breadcrumbs you buy. Read the label, looking for whole grain options and avoiding ones with junkie ingredients. If you can’t find seasoned breadcrumbs, you can buy plain and season them yourselves with about 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, and kosher salt.
You can turn up the nourishment by adding a few cups of kale or other leafy greens to the sauce when the meatballs are nearly done and let them cook just long enough to go tender.
How to Serve Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs
In our house, we usually serve meatballs in shallow bowls with crusty bread for mopping up sauce and a chunk of good Parmesan to grate at the table. Of course, it’s terrific over pasta or polenta as well.
No, these are not the aunties’ meatballs, but they’re meatballs for goodness sake. And, it’ll only take you, what, 15 minutes to make? After that, just let the slow cooker do its magic.
Can you Freezer these Meatballs?
In a word: Yes! Let them cool and then transfer to a covered container or freezer bag with the air pressed out. You can defrost them in the fridge and then warm them on the stove or in the slow cooker. Alternatively, transfer directly from freezer to crock pot and reheat on low or high
If you like these Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs, check out:
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Vegetables
Balsamic Chicken done in the Slow Cooker
Moroccan Chicken from Simply Recipes
Crock Pot Tortilla-less Soup from Smart in the Kitchen
Saucy Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
- One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons dried garlic (or 2 large garlic cloves, minced)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (adjust amount up or down for spiciness)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Meatballs
- 1 link uncooked spicy Italian turkey sausage, about 1/4 to 1/3 pound (or pork if you can't find turkey)
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/3 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to add at the table
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
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For the sauce, pour the whole tomatoes in the slow cooker. Squeeze with your hands to break them into smaller pieces. Add the diced tomatoes, garlic, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt, to the slow cooker. Stir well.
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For the meatballs, split the sausage casing down the center using a sharp knife. Turn the sausage meat out of the casing into a medium bowl. Add the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, egg, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to mix the ingredients just until evenly combined, being sure the sausage meat is distributed throughout (try not to overmix).
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Scoop up about 1 1/2 tablespoons of meat and roll it between your hands to form little globes that are the size of a small golf ball. Add it to the slow cooker and continue with the remaining meat until you have about 20 meatballs. Nestle the meatballs down into the sauce so they are almost completely submerged.
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Set the slow cooker to high and cook until firm and cooked through, 4 hours on high, 7 to 8 hours on low.
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Serve in shallow bowls with Parmesan cheese to garnish and crusty bread for dipping.
Adapted from a recipe by Skinny Taste
