Description
Enjoy tender, flavorful beef meatballs slowly cooked in a rich marinara sauce using your slow cooker. This easy recipe combines grated onion, garlic, parmesan, and Italian breadcrumbs to make perfectly moist meatballs that pair wonderfully with pasta or crusty bread.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 1 small yellow onion (ends removed and peeled)
- 1 large egg
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- â…“ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- â…“ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ pounds 90% lean ground beef
Marinara Sauce and Garnish
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese (for serving)
- Chopped basil (for serving)
Instructions
- Grate the onion: Use the largest holes of a box grater to grate the peeled yellow onion directly into a large bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients and seasonings: Add the egg to the grated onion and whisk until combined. Then add the minced garlic, Italian breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix well to incorporate all ingredients evenly.
- Add ground beef and form meatballs: Gently add the ground beef to the bowl and carefully mix until the breadcrumb-cheese mixture is evenly incorporated, being careful not to overwork the meat. Shape the mixture into 24 meatballs, each about 1 ½ ounces in size.
- Prepare slow cooker: Pour half (1 ½ cups) of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Slowly place the meatballs in a single layer on top of the sauce, avoiding overlap.
- Add remaining sauce: Pour the remaining 1 ½ cups of marinara sauce gently over the meatballs without stirring, to prevent breaking them apart.
- Cook the meatballs: Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, until the meatballs are fully cooked and tender.
- Serve: Garnish the cooked meatballs with freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped basil. Serve warm alongside your favorite sides such as spaghetti or crusty bread.
Notes
- Be careful not to overmix the ground beef to keep meatballs tender.
- Adding grated onion helps keep meatballs moist without adding extra liquid.
- Cooking on low heat for a longer time improves tenderness but high setting works well if short on time.
- You can prepare meatballs a day ahead and refrigerate before cooking.
- Serve with pasta, polenta, or crusty bread for a complete meal.
