I needed to save a little bit of time this afternoon so I decided to put this Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe on the menu. Usually, I don’t do slow cooker recipes that have short cooking times because I like to put them on and go about my business for the rest of the day.
However, I have wanting to try this recipe and figured it would work with today’s schedule. This recipe was Adapted from cooks country and they addressed one of the main concerns I had about preparing spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker; that was the sauce being too runny.
This slow cooker recipe starts with pre-cooking the meatballs in the microwave to firm them up a little bit, and render out some of the fat and juices that would make the sauce too soupy. This technique worked really well.
This recipe was really good and we all enjoyed it. There is a little bit of prep time involved, but once you get it in the slow cooker, you can set it and forgetter it, until it’s time to cook the spaghetti.
Serves 4-6
Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
Sauce Mixture Ingredients
- 2 cans crushed tomatoes (28 ounces ea. I used with Basil)
- 1/ 2 cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 can tomato paste (6 ounces)
- 2 medium onions (finely chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/ 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/ 4 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Meatballs
- 1 1/ 4 pounds ground sirloin (or lean ground beef)
- 4 ounces mild Italian sausage
- 1/ 2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/ 2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 3/ 4 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Extra shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese for garnish, and spaghetti, to serve the meatballs over.
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook the onions and garlic until slightly browned. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and salt.
- Continue cooking until mixture starts to darken. Leave half the mixture in the skillet and set the other half aside in a large bowl.
- Add the wine to the onion mixture in the skillet and cook until slightly thickened, and then add the crushed tomatoes; cook until heat through. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker.
Directions for Meatballs
- Add all the meatball ingredients except for the garnish and spaghetti into the large bowl containing the onion mixture; using your hands’ mix until thoroughly combined.
- Form into 10-12 large meatballs and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave for 5-7 minutes to firm up the meatballs and render out some of the fat.
- Discard any liquid that has drained from the meatballs and place them in the slow cooker with the sauce. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until meatballs are done.
- Serve over spaghetti garnished with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
