Slow Cooker Meatballs Marinara Recipe

While we often associate meatballs with spaghetti, the protein-packed spheres pair well with an assortment of foods and even stand well on their own. Just ask recipe developer Deniz Vergara, who crafted this slow cooker meatballs marinara that most definitely checks the versatility box. Vergara loves "how tender and flavorful the meatballs are," but their diverse functionality is a huge perk, too. "I like that you can serve this in so many ways ... with garlic bread, pasta, salad, or on a hero," Vergara suggests. "You can also make the meatballs small and serve them as hors d'oeuvres!"

Essentially, you can't go wrong with meatballs, but more specifically, you can't go wrong with slow cooker meatballs. Once you form the meatballs themselves, which takes all of 15 minutes, the handy kitchen appliance will take it from there, and your biggest challenge will be playing the waiting game. It's a game with a worthwhile reward, however, so kick back and relax as the slow cooker handles dinner for the night.

You'll need a pound of ground beef as the base for these meatballs, along with some panko breadcrumbs, a bit of water, and an egg to hold it all together. "The special ingredients in this recipe are the egg, and water-panko mixture," Vergara explains. "They act as a binder as well as moisture so the meatballs don't shrink while cooking and become tough."

To add flavor to the meatballs, you'll need some Parmesan cheese, a yellow onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. And, to add to the ease of the recipe, you don't have to worry about building marinara from scratch — a jar of your favorite sauce will do the trick. 

To get started, mix together the breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water in a small bowl or cup, then set that aside for just a bit. Into a large bowl, add the beef, egg, grated Parmesan cheese, diced onion, minced garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Use your hands to mesh everything together, then sprinkle in that damp panko mixture and work that into the beef, too. Finally, shape the meatballs into roughly 2-inch spheres — they don't have to be perfect, but try to make them uniform so that they cook evenly. 

Bust out the slow cooker and pour the marinara sauce in. Then, layer in those meatballs so that they nestle comfortably into the marinara sauce but don't overlap with one another. Now, depending on how soon you need dinner to be ready, you have some flexibility with the cooking time. You can either set the slow cooker to "low" and allow the meatballs to cook for 4 hours, or crank it up to "high" and cut the cook time down to 2 hours. 

As soon as your designated cooking time is up, you should have perfectly tender meatballs that are ready to be served right away. Vergara recommends serving them "with pasta, garlic bread, salad or stuff them into rolls to make a meatball sandwich." You can't go wrong with the classic spaghetti and meatballs combination, but if you want to venture out, there's lots of wiggle room here.

In case you have leftovers, Vergara notes that you can store the meatballs and sauce in the fridge for up to a week; as for the reheating part, she says, "I suggest reheating in the sauce over low heat, but you can also warm them in the microwave."