Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs
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This is the ONLY way to make this! Even the pasta gets cooked right in the crockpot! SO stinking easy, right?
I’m finally back home.
I went from Arkansas to Minneapolis to a two-day shoot in Los Angeles to Ecuador and then Big Sur. All in a span of 2 1/2 weeks.
Not to mention but we were actually delayed at the Monterey airport on Sunday for over 4 hours (this is the closest airport to Big Sur). And to give you some perspective, we could have driven back to LA from Monterey in 5 hr and 17 min.
It’s been rough to be away from home for so long to say the least.
But, I am home with Butters nonetheless. And this giant crockpot of spaghetti and meatballs.
It’s such a classic cozy dish, perfect for this time of year. And it’s even better because you can make this right in your crockpot.
Just let it simmer and cook low and slow for 7-8 hours, stirring in the pasta and letting that cook for another 30-40 minutes.
Yes, the pasta gets cooked right in the crockpot so it legit doesn’t get any easier.
Serve with extra crusty bread, and maybe a few more meatballs covered in fresh Parmesan. It’s simply perfection.
Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef stock
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
For the meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- ½ cup Panko
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, Panko, milk, egg, Parmesan, parsley and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 3/4-to-1-inch meatballs, forming about 32-35 meatballs.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Place crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef stock, onion, garlic and sugar into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in meatballs until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
- Stir in pasta; cover and cook on low heat for an additional 30-40 minutes, or until pasta is tender, stirring once. Stir in basil.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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If I want to cook my pasta separately, should I reduce the amount of beef stock?
SO GOOD! The sauce is an awesome recipe. I subbed 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar for the sugar (I like the sweetness and flavor this gives way more than sugar in pasta sauce). I also added a teaspoon each of parsley and basil. I can’t comment on the meatball recipe since I was in a time crunch so I threw in some fully cooked frozen meatballs. It all turned out great!
Excellent recipe. Very easy and convenient to prepare
Can I use a different pasta other than spaghetti? Could I use ziti or penne? Thanks so much!
Hey Chungah!
This is now in regular rotation at our house because my kids request it so much, and it’s what’s for dinner tonight!
Golly, this was so good and all of my six member family ate and enjoyed. I’ll be making this again!
After rolling out my meatballs, I placed them on a wax paper lined jellyroll pan and baked at 400 until the fat rendered slightly, verses cooking stovetop. This was clutch in making it an easy meal. Also, I used a liner for the crock pot. Just a delicious breeze!
Haven’t made this yet but very interested in trying it. Any idea how gluten free noodles would behave in the crock pot? In my experience if I leave noodles in the sauce for leftovers they fall apart. Any idea what to expect on that first serving of the dish?
I need to cut this recipe in half. Would I have to make an adjustment in the length of time it will cook? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Tried on a whim holly #### I’ll never mak it traditionally again alday stove top never agian .
Family Loved this sauce. It’s in my keep recipes cookbook.
Would it fit in a crock pot if the recipe is doubled? I need to feed 7?
Do you know if the liquid change if using whole wheat spaghetti?
Made these yesterday…..been looking for a moist meatball and this nailed it!!!! Stuck right to the recipe….My finicky eaters went back for seconds. Throw these on a piece of Italian bread with some provolone…..I can only imagine! Thanks for the recipe!
How long can you keep this warm in the crockpot?
Really delicious, great flavor. I cooked my pasta separately because I was short on time at the end, but I will try it your way next time. It was a teensy bit soupy but I am sure it was my fault for not following the directions all the way!
Can’t wait to try this! How do you store leftovers?
Bachelor here – can leftovers be frozen?
Haven’t tried this yet but what size crockpot did you use for this? Might make this for a big group and just wanted to make sure I’m making enough 🙂
Megan, I recommend using a 6-qt slow cooker. 🙂
Do you have any suggestions on how I can reduce the ingredients using a 4qt slow cooker?
can I use a full box of pasta rather than 16 oz?
Hi Carol! Yes, absolutely, but you may need to increase the amounts of liquid to account for the added pasta. Good luck!
Just made this recipe! The best I ever tried. My family loved it. It is definitely a keeper! Thanks for posting this delicious recipe!!
You are so welcome, Marti!
Made this today as I needed something easy to put in the crock pot while I was working on a quilt. I added an extra teaspoon of sugar some pepper flakes to the sauce. Plenty for dinner with left overs for another night. I will make this again.
This is such a perfect meal to throw together while having a project! 🙂
Do I need to use Panko or any breadcrumbs?
I recommend using Panko.
Do I cook the noodles before putting them in the crock pot?
No, the pasta is cooked in the slow cooker.
Can you leave the pasta in longer than 40 minutrs?
Maria, I worry that the pasta may overcook if cooked longer than 30-40 minutes.
I was wondering how to store the leftovers? How long can this recipe last in the fridge?
Do you think I could do this in an instapot? It’s too close to dinner time and I don’t have time for even the high option in the slow cooker! Thank you! Looks delish!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I’ve been using the pre made uncooked meatballs and letting them cook in the sauce for 6 hours and they come out excellent. My question…can you drop in dry spaghetti for the last 30-40 minutes and dispense with the extra ingredients if using sauce from thejar? The only difference from the way I have been.doing it is adding dry spaghetti to the sauce.
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried these modifications myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Oh so yummy! And easy:) Made enough sauce for it to not be sticky and thick; very nice proportions for sauce to meatballs to pasta togetherness. Considering this is not made from jarred sauce – that’s important! Also this recipe made a lot. I fed 4 men plus myself and had 2 quarts leftover… and we all know how delish leftover spaghetti is later!
Thank you Chungah for all your cooking skills! I’ve used your website for many years now and have never been disappointed.
Thank you so much Nan! We appreciate you sharing with us!
Made this today and it was probably the best meatball recipe that I have ever made. I made a few changes due to what I had available. I used dried parsley and I cooked the meatballs in the instasntpot on saute mode. I then seared the sausages ( I did not put them in the meatball because I didn’t want it to be too hot for our toddler). I removed the meatballs and hot sausage and then sautéed the onions. I added the beef broth and the rest of the ingredients and put on slow cook mode for a few hours. cooking all of it in the same pot really gave it a great flavor and the slow cook feature on the instant pot seemed way better than my regular slow cookers. Delicious and Toddler approved!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing with us, Krissie!
What salad would you recommend that pairs well with this dish. On a mission to have my bf and I incorporate greens into our diet!
Please feel free to look through our salad section: https://damndelicious.net/category/salad/. 🙂
Chungah, as usual, this recipe was damn delicious! You and Butters have done it again!
Thank you, Kayla!
Whoops threw basil leaves in already …the meatballs taste bomb. Can’t wait to taste it all when it’s done. This is my first home made meal …I’m stoked.
I’ve made sauce in a slow cooker, comes out great! I make the meatballs and just put them into the sauce to cook, No pre baking, broiling or sauteing. As they cook in the sauce they pick up the flavor.
Thanks for your feedback, Susan!
Hi susan!
i love the idea that you put the meatballs in the sauce to cook. How long do you leave the meatballs in for?
Loved it!
Fabulous pictures Chungah. Looks very tasty.
Ok…Time out. I know it is considered rude to critique recipes in the comments. But somehow, some way, some one should object to the violation of a few Italian traditions. First, breaking spaghetti in half is a sin. I have been kicked out of a few Italian kitchens for even suggesting such an action. Second, cooking and/or adding the spaghetti directly in the sauce is another taboo. Half the glory of a great plate of spaghetti and meatballs is pouring the sauce on top of spaghetti and using a fork to achieve the mix of noodles and sauce.
Now before people start “hating on me”, I find the idea of cooking spaghetti (just the noodles) in a crockpot intriguing. I will definitely try it. I am wondering if the consistency of the noodles will be different.
I enjoy many of Chungah’s creations. They are delicious. I enjoy her blog and her interesting take on food. But, alas, I might be in mortal danger if I tried to serve this to my Italian friends.
Then maybe this is a recipe you should skip? 🙂
I’m a little confused on the direction about adding in the pasta. Do I add in the pasta from the beginning? Or wait until the last hour to add it? I have the sauce and meatballs in the crockpot now (been cooking for about 1hr), just wondering when to add the pasta. Thank you!
Nicole, the pasta is added at the very end (step #5) for an additional 30-40 minutes.
As I cannot eat seeds, what can I substitute for canned tomatoes?
You can try to substitute tomato puree but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
This sounds delicious and easy. I am going to make it but, to save a pan, will brown the meatballs in batches in my Instant Pot. Then turn on the slow cooker element to finish it. Love your recipes….Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta, Beef Stew, Asian Salmon in Foil and many more!
Thanks for sharing your favorites!
I don’t eat pork. Will this work if I leave it out?
You can substitute additional ground beef for the sausage.
XO
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe, but I don’t have a slow cooker. Can I use a regular pot instead? Thanks!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Sounds yummy. What about baking the meatballs? If so,
time and temp!
Thanks and welcome Home
Kathryn
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I know this is quite a while after this comment was posted, but I thought I’d put my 2 cents in Incase others had the same question:
I bake my meatballs at 400F for 25minutes, turning halfway through. Foil lined sheetpan makes cleanup so easy! No more greasy splatters on the stove or babysitting a pan 🙂
8 oz of spaghetti for 6 people. ….I don’t think so!
Betsey, please note that this recipe yields almost 35 meatballs in addition to the pasta. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this.
Also, I’m curious to know where you were and what you were doing in Arkansas…as I live in Northwest Arkansas!
We were there for the Arkansas vs Alabama football game!
Only addition I made was 1 1/2 tea of Italian Seasoning and 1 extra tea of sugar.
Why the need for beef stock?
It is needed for the consistency of the sauce. You can add water instead, if you prefer, but beef stock will provide more flavor.
Could you use frozen meatballs?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I did some googling as I was wondering myself, and what I found was on HIGH for 2 hours, LOW for 4 hours. I prefer frozen over homemade, can’t explain why, but I do. So I would go the frozen meatball route myself.
I can speak from experience that 6+ hours on any heat level for frozen meatballs and the taste & texture start to change (and not for the better), so I think it would be prudent to make sure you fish them out with some sauce when everyone has eaten. Think about the crock pot meat ball appetizers you see all over the place right around holidays and super bowl. Those are never, ever good after the 6 hour mark.