Easy Slow Cooker Meatballs

Incredible recipe! I will never make meatballs any other way! I actually made the meat balls (added parmesan, basil and garlic powder, less breadcrumb) a couple of days ago and froze them. This morning I just mixed the spagetti sauce and a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes with juice (skipped the puree and added basil, oregano, and a couple of tablespoons of sugar to cut the acidity) and added the frozen meatballs. Cooked for about 10 hours on low. Tender, flavorful, and delicious. Plenty of delicious sauce. Thanks previous reviewers, and thanks for this great recipe submission!

The meatballs were great; but, the sauce was VERY bland. Before adding the meatballs to the slow cooker I baked them on 350° in the oven for 15 minutes. This helped them retain there shape and to allow the grease to drip off. I added two additional garlic cloves but it was still bland. I would recommend finding a speghetti sauce recipe from here instead of using a store bought jar of sauce. I used Prego traditional sauce, maybe a more flavourful jarred sauce exists? Good luck! I will probably look elsewhere for an more tasty recipe.

Great recipe! I had to make a few changes- I had 2 lbs. meat thawed out, so I used all of it. I used 1 cup bread crumbs (Italian). 1 1/2 T. dried parsley, & sauteed the onion before adding. I also used 3/4 c. egg beaters because the crumb mixture looked too dry. 26oz sauce, 14oz crushed, & 37oz puree! ( it was the only size the store had, + I was using that extra meat!) I added a little Italian seasoning because of that & a little sugar. Next time I might add a little red wine, too! I cooked on high for the first hour, then stirred. Finished with 4 more hours on low. They turned out great. I also used Laura's ground round as always. Not greasy AT ALL!!! We used these for meatball sub sandwiches- YUM! I'll use the leftovers with spaghetti. I love slow cooker recipes! THANKS.

These meatballs are easy and awesome! I prefer smaller meatballs, so this recipe yeilds about 30 for me. I also like to place them on a cookie sheet and brown them in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Even if you choose not to brown them, they hold up well! I also use a large onion; half of it chopped in the meatballs and the other half I chop and add to the sauce. Other than that, I don't change a thing!

I have not posted in a LONG time but I am happy to see that my recipe is bringing good things to the table for most of the cooks! One thing to note-this is more or less a Basic recipe that can be added to, or modified that I see many have done. Also-In the original recipe, I did not note that I skim the grease-I think you need to use ground beef for the best flavor. Anyway, Happy eating!!! Hunnie :)

So easy and so delicious! Plus it's a great way to beat the summer heat on nights when it's just too hot to grill. The recipe for the meatballs is very good and while I was skeptical about doing this in a crock pot vs. my usual way I was pleasantly surprised. I used a jar of my favorite Classico sauce and added a little minced garlic and fresh basil along with a few splashes of red wine along with the rest of the ingredients. I cooked it for 6 hours on low and it smelled wonderful. When it was done I served it on toasted crusty Italian rolls with some mozzarella and topped with shredded Parmesan and Romano cheeses - YUM!

The meatballs ended up tasting great! They had a good texture and flavor. The only thing I would consider doing differently is baking them for a 20 minutes to keep the sauce from getting so greasy. Other than that, it was terrific!

My very picky family loved the meatballs! I took the leftovers to work and my coworkers loved it! A very good recipe. I cooked the meatballs the night before in the oven at 350 for about 20 min. to get rid of some of the grease in the sauce.

I use my slow cooker all the time, but for whatever reason, I never thought of making my meatballs in it. I used my own sauce recipe, but having had a lot to do yesterday, it was great not having to worry about stirring my sauce as often or having it burn on the bottom. The pasta gang loved it! Thanks!

for those with meatballs falling apart in the crockpot or lack of flavor, just prebake the meatballs for 10--15 min, added 1 tablespoon italian seasoning to the sauce, 1 bay leaf (remove after cooking) and 1 tablespoon sugar (brings out richness)then add the meatballs. Should help w/flavor etc;

This is a great recipe that you can doctor according to the tastes or those you are cooking for. I try to make the recipe as written the first time & base my rating on that. I gave it 4 stars because it is fine as written: easy & good tasting. The second time I made this for my small group and wanted it to be a little more special and flavorful. I added onion powder, salt & pepper, freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the meat (omitted the onions as they tend to make the meatballs fall apart & some folks don't care for the texture). I made fresh bread crumbs, mixed them with Italian seasoning and added them last to the meat. I lightly mixed the ingredients and shaped the meatballs, put them in a roasting pan in a 450 degree preheated oven and immediately lowered the temperature to 350 degrees, then baked them for 15 minutes. I placed them on paper towels & gently patted the tops with another paper towel to remove excess fat b/4 adding to the crock pot with the sauce. To the sauce I added garlic powder, grated Parmesan cheese, about 1 T. white sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes, parsley flakes, and Italian seasoning. An hour or so before they were done, I checked the sauce and added more Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper and grated Parmesan to taste. I stored the crock in the refrigerator overnight, reheated it the next day and served the meatballs on rolls with a variety of peppers, pickles and sides.

These are the best meatballs I think I have ever made. They are wonderful and I plan to make them again often. The sauce is also good, but the meatballs steal the show.

Nice touch to making meatballs be it slow cooker or traditional pot, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of sauce to the meatball mixture and mix well. You'll never have dry/hard meatballs.

I have searched and tried lots of meatball recipes and this is it! Here are the changes I made based on reviews and past attempts. For the meatballs I used 1 lb of lean ground sirloin and 1/2 pound of pork sausage, I also added about 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 tbs of dried basil, a little garlic powder and about 1/4 cup of milk. Then I browned them for 20 minutes in the oven at 350. They come out fantastic and not greasy at all. Also...instead of using jarred sauce...I used my own...I just use Mario Batali's basic red sauce...crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrot and thyme. Fantastic! Great for casual entertaining!

Simple and great recipe! As others have suggested, I cut the breadcrumbs down to 3/4 cup and I added 1/3 of grated parm. cheese to the meatball mixture. (I used 85% ground beef) I also baked the meatballs about 15 mins at 350 degrees. For the sauce, I used a jar of Classico Four Cheese tomato sauce, 1 can of Hunts diced tomatoes in basil, oregano and onion, added 1 can of tomato paste, and one small can of tomato sauce. I mixed all the tomatoes and sauce in one bowl and added about a 1/2 cup of water. To the sauce mixture I also added 2 cloves chopped fresh garlic, a handful of chopped fresh basil, and a few teaspoons of Italian seasoning. Cooked on low for about 8 hours. The meatballs held their shape and the sauce was awesome!

The recipe is fine except in order to get a better flavor you MUST brown the meatballs first.This process also releases some of the fat so it will not end up in the sauce.After draining the meatballs, add the sauce to the pan to pick up all of the flavor bits on the bottom. I know this creates an extra step but the results are well worth it. Also, I am not a fan of jarred spaghetti sauce of any kind. I always make my own and freeze small batches for future use. Jarred sauces just have too much sodium and many have unrecognizable ingredients.

Very easy recipe. If you have a problem with grease either brown the meatballs first before putting in the slow cooker or buy ground beef that is 93% lean and there will be no excess grease.

I used ground turkey, only 1/2 c breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup parm cheese, and a chunky ragu pasta sauce w/o the crushed tomatoes or puree. Made smaller meatballs (got about 33) and they cooked for about 5.5 hrs on low. Served on wheat submarine rolls with mozzarella cheese and it was loved by all!

Four stars as written (as everyone has repeatedly said, waaaaay too much bread crumbs called for in original recipe!). I cut the bread crumbs down to 1/2 cup and added another 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Also, any dish with tomatoes screams for basil. It must be used in this recipe. I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried basil (fresh would be even better!), a DASH of oregano (this herb is very overpowering, so unless you really love it, only add a dash or you will be unhappy). The parsley called for is also a bit excessive. I cut it down to 1/8 cup. I doubled the garlic and onion and used lean, ground turkey. One last thing, add a dash of sugar or a cap full of whiskey to your tomato sauce. (If you use whiskey, remember it is a CAP full, not a cup full! lol. I hate the smell and taste of whiskey, but it blends in with the sauce and you will never know it's in there, but it does mellow out the sauce beautifully!) Okay, I know this was a LOT of changes, but this recipe as written has not gotten glowing reviews, and these are some changes that will take the whole dish from a bit bland and mushy to tasty and delicious with a fabulous texture to the meatballs.

I thought these were delicious and cooking them in the crock pot was just a bonus. The only things I changed is cooking the meatballs in the over on 350 for about 15 mins before putting in the crock pot. Also, I used 2 lbs ground beef and lowered the bread crumbs to 1 cup. I did not have any tomato puree or crushed tomatoes, so I just used a jar and a half of two different flavored spaghetti sauces (one one roasted garlic and other was tomato basil and they were great together). These were a big hit with the family, even the kids. Definitely make this again.

I skipped the tomatoes and the puree and just used a large can of hunts meat flavored sauce. I also Added some parmesan, hot sauce and basil in the meatballs and the sauce. My meatballs didnt fall apart at all and werent greasy. These were the best meatballs Ive ever had!! I put them on a bun with some mozzarella but I liked them better just plain. I took the top off the slow cooker for about 15mins and it thicken the sauce up and took to the meatballs. Alot of people said the sauce was bland... she said JAR spagetti sauce soo that basically your own fault for getting sauce you didnt like. I loved this recipe and will use it often! thx!

This is the only way I make meatballs anymore!! I omit the puree and the tomatoes. I just use a jar of sauce, my family is not big on tomatoes. I also add the parmesan to my meat mixture. I assure you that there is no need for the extra step of pre baking your meatballs. They hold there shape. I dump a little sauce in the crockpot and mix the meat. I make the balls and place them directly into the crockpot and layer sauce through each layer. They are nice tender meatballs and very flavorful!!!

This is one first recipes that I pulled off of AllRecipes and its great. I make these meatballs at least every 2 weeks. My whole family comes over and enjoys a wonderful spaghetti dinner. On other occasions, they ask me when I'm going to be making my spaghetti again! These are great and I will hang onto this recipes for years to come.

Good

Great way to make spaghetti & meatballs. I can't help but mess with recipes and I did this one, too. I made the meatballs pretty much as the recipe said but I added chopped carrot, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, & herbs to the sauce. Finished it with a little cream at the end to make it a little Bolognese-like. I also recommend cooking these for only 6 hours on low. They were wonderful. Thanks for the recipe. I'll be making this again soon.

This was one of the worst recipes I tried on this site. We ended up eating Burger King. The meatballs tasted like mush and the sauce was like water. I made the recipe as stated I even found the puree, I don't know what went wrong but this was a huge disaster.

I have made almost the same recipe for years now in the crockpot, because it is so much easier to do with a family. But for my sauce I use 1 lg. can of diced Tomatoes and a lg. can of Tomatoe Sauce. And some people said the sauce is greasey which it is depending on what time of meat you use. So if it is greasey I just spoon off the grease and stir it again and then just before ready to serve I add one small can of tomatoe paste to thicken it up some I don't like my sauce so thin.

my family loves this recipe...i brown the meatballs first (the sauce is less greasy) and use 1 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of grated cheese. sometimes i cant find puree so i use 2 small cans or tomato paste.

VERY awesome! I followed the recpe almost exactly but made more (used 2lbs meat and extra everything else and did only 1 large and one regular size prego. I also added about 2 cups of water towards the end and threw in linguini noodles, put the cooker on high and let it all cook together for the last hour. Made it for 8 kids and 4 adults and even my no protein 19 month old loved it! This will be the only way i ever make spaghetti. Thanks for the recipe!!

Make these small changes for an amazing full of flavor version: I was careful to read all reviews on this before making this recipe. I've never made crock pot meatballs before so I was pretty cautious to ensure this was flavorful given some of the reviews and comments about the sauce. Here are some suggestions to really make this a wow meal: - Use a meatloaf pack (half pork half beef) instead of all beef. This adds additional flavor to the meatballs AND the sauce. You can usually find this combo pre packaged in the meat section of your grocer. - I agree with others here, bake the meatballs for 15 minutes at 350 first. This helps to retain shape and to give the outside a nice browning without drying them out - Use a good 'fancy' sauce to ensure the sauce is flavorful. I used a roasted garlic one and added a half tablespoon of dried italian seasonings and it came out great - Make sure to skim off the fat before serving Hope this works out as well for you as it did for me and my family.

Rule of thumb guys, I lbs of beef, 1 egg and 1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs, now add some seasonings that you like and cook these meatballs raw in your sauce of choice. Now that's a good meatball!

I thought these were yummy. I didn't have spaghetti sauce so just used lots of canned tomatoes and added all my own seasonings. Easy! Made the meatballs the night before because my mornings are rushed. Coming home to 'dinner's ready' is awesome, and the house smelled great! Thanks for a good simple recipe. UPDATE: Used the meatball part of this recipe and cooked it in the oven at 350 for half an hour. Excellent!

I followed this recipe exactly and while the sauce was good the meatballs were to soft for our taste. If I make this again I will brown the meatballs first and cut down the cook time a little. Other than that which is just a personal preferance, I wouldn't discourage people from giving this a try. Thanks for the recipe!

Made this yesterday... It was delicious. The flavor turned out PERFECT! The ONLY change I would make next time is I will use 2 eggs to hold together the meatballs better, rather than 1 egg. I did not change anything on the recipe except that I used tomato paste instead of puree... I don't know if there is a difference but I couldn't find puree so I figured paste is the same thing. I just can't wait to make this again. In fact, I can't wait to have meatball subs with my leftovers!

I added things that i would put in my meatloaf- Mustard, Worcestershire sauce, a little mozzarella cheese and a little parm. cheese. I used half ground beef and half ground turkey and way less bread crumbs. I packed them well, and I browned them on the stove top to let the fat drain. Also, I sauteed extra onions, garlic and mushrooms before adding the sauce (Prego) to it. I then poured the sauce over the meatballs that i had placed in the crock pot. Excellent!

This is a winner. Super easy and super good. I added about 1/4 cup red wine to the sauce and it was delicious!

Absolutely wonderful!! I am not a big pasta eater, especially any kind of spaghetti stuff but I loved this! Even my VERY picky eating husband loved it! We both stuffed ourselves and then ate leftovers the next night, which we normally dont do. Then I made me a plate with the rest for work the next day. Three days in a roll we ate this. There was lots of sauce left which I decided to freeze and use for other pasta dishes. Even though it doesnt say to add any spices to sauce, I did add some oregano and parsley to the sauce. You cant go wrong with this dish!

With quality ground beef, these meatballs are terrific.

The meatballs were delicious bit the sauce wasn't great. Everything tasted better after sitting a day in the fridge, oddly enough. I used turkey instead of beef.

I made these meatballs using ground turkey and they came out amazing! So soft and flavorful- even though i didnt have garlic on hand I used garlic powder and used dried parsley as well. Instead of plain crushed tomatoes I used one with garlic in it. Didn't have tomato paste either but used canned tomato sauce. My husband and father in law loved these meatballs - I will be making them again!

Pretty good. I will add some salt next time. Plus I didn't decide to make these until the last minute so I oven baked them, then poured sauce over. I can't wait to try them in the slow cooker.

I add 2 t italian seasoning 1 t chili powdert , 1 t dry basil and 1 to 2 T sugar to my Italian sauce.....delish

These meatballs were very very good! I had never made meatballs before. I was looking for something simple and quick. I used this recipe but I used the cook time of another recipe. My hubby and I like BIG meatballs so mine needed a little more time in the oven. I also added some worcestershire sauce to the ground beef mixture! YUMMY!!!! Then instead of using spaghetti sauce I used Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce. All in all these were great. My hubby thought they were great also! Thanks for sharing!!!

We had this tonight and this recipe will be a staple on the menu from now on. The slow cooking really gave the flavors a chance to simmer and blend. I couldn't find "tomato puree" but the can of chopped tomatoes I used had puree in the can. I used canned "Del Monte" spaghetti sauce instead of the Ragu-type jars you can buy and I think that was key to the fresh flavor. I haven't had such good spaghetti and meatballs since my Mom's. Delicious!

This was a really good recipe. I must tell you that I am an AllRecipes Allstar and Brand Ambassador. We were challenged this month to take a favorite ground beef recipe and change the ground beef to Johnsonville Italian Sausage, so that is what I did with this recipe. I left out most of the breadcrumbs and used Italian Sausage pasta sauce. Wow, tons of flavor. I used egg noodles and made garlic bread. My husband went crazy. He really loved it. Thanks for the challenge. It made a great dinner.

I was worried because of some of the reviews, but I thought this turned out great for being so easy! I used the really low fat % ground beef, so there wasn't much grease. I must have had a really good jar of sauce (Safeway Marinara), because it turned out fantastic! I didn't have an onion, and I omitted the tomato puree--just jar sauce and a can of diced tomatoes, a little sugar, and some extra Italian seasoning and minced garlic for the sauce. Maybe it would only be 4 stars if it was a lot of work, but for being easy and tasting good, I gave it 5!

The meatballs were good, but too much breadcrumbs. I don't understand why you use a "jar of sauce" when tomato sauce is nothing more than tomatoes and seasonings to begin with. Why add a jar of already made sauce when you are actually making your own with the tomatoes and puree and seasonings. What happens is that the "jar of sauce" cooked another 8 hours becomes very very strong and acidic. I think if you skip the jar sauce, this would be a great crockpot meal. I never change a recipe when I first try it so as to give an honest review, but next time I make this, I will omit the jar sauce and maybe add another can of crushed tomatoes and a little garlic and, at the end, stirring in fresh basil just before serving and that will make this a perfect tomato sauce.

I really shouldn't give 5 stars to a recipe a didn't actually follow, but it deserves it with the advice from others. I only used 3/4 c. of breading + apx. 1/3 c. of parm. cheese and did bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 min. I used a standard jar and a 1/2 of spg.sauce. My husband requested 2x's the garlic next time (he actually says I over garlic everything, but not this time!) Also, I froze 1/2 of the meatballs on wax paper, on a cookie sheet and after frozen put into a freezer bag. These portions were enough to feed 10 adults (I shaped mine to be about 3/4 inch in diameter.)

I made these for six hungry teenagers (are there any other kind?), and it was great! I added some roasted red pepper cause I like a little spice, but otherwise followed the recipe. I used 80/20 ground chuck as other reviewers said they could be a little dry-- but was dismayed to see a thick layer of oil floating on top at the end. I ladled it out, but the sauce was still a little oily. Plus there seemed to be too little sauce compared to the volume of meatballs. I served two each, but there were some who only wanted sauce. Next time I think I'll use leaner beef, and use only a pound instead of a pound and a half. Thanks, this one is a keeper!

My review is for the method, not the recipe. I've been doing meatballs in the crock pot since I got my first one many years ago. I do it for several reasons, the first is that my crock pots are the biggest pots I own, and I always make a huge batch..If I'm going to all that trouble I figure I might as well make enough for several meals. Secondly, using the crock pot eliminates stirring and prevents burning or scorching of the sauce and meat. It's the only way to do this, especially if you are using an electric range, .as far as the recipe goes, haven't tried it yet..will probably stick to my own -

made the meatballs as directions suggested and used jar sauce. only give 3 stars b/c my family and I found the meatballs to be very bland but they were moist...continue looking for a really good flavored meatball that doesnt taste like eating a hunk of cooked ground beef...next trying Meatball Niervana

Based on some of the other comments, I reduced the bread crumbs to 1/4 cup and added 1/4 cup instant cook rice. I doubled the garlic and added 1/4 teaspoon dried basil. For the tomatoes I used a can of diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers to add a little zest to them. To reduce the grease in the slow cooker, I browned the meatballs for a few minutes in a non-stick skillet. They went over very well at a pot luck lunch at the office.

Pretty good. My husband is not a fan of crock pot dinners. Yet this is one that he asked for seconds on. Try it out on your loved ones that may not usually enjoy a pot dinner.

A great recipe. I too pre-cooked the meatballs @ 350 for @ 20 mins, as I dont like a greasy sauce. Also added some parm cheese into the mix. Thanks!!

These were ok, but not something that I think I will be trying again. Most of the meatballs lost their shape after cooking in the sauce all day. I would suggest reducing the onion by half and maybe browning them prior to placing them in the sauce to help with this. The sauce also lost quite a bit of flavor from the addition of the tomato puree and crushed tomatoes. Adding some more seasoning or possibly garlic could also keep this from becoming too bland.

This was so easy and my family absolutely loved it! I didn't have any bread crumbs so I just toasted some wheat bread and crumbled it, added some italian seasonings to make seasoned bread crumbs. It was delicious!!!

Meatballs great, but unless you like a lot of grease I would suggest cooking for a little before putting into slow cooker. It gave me a little stomach ache, too much grease.

What a simple and delicious recipe! My ten year old grandson and I made these meatballs and what a hit!! Thank you for sharing such a simple and delicious recipe!!!

I don't eat meat but my husband does. He absolutely loved these meatballs. Not sure why people had issues with them falling apart. Mine held together great and followed recipe pretty much. My husband said he wouldn't want meatballs any other way now. Couldn't have been easier to make, so I will keep this one around and maybe try with my homemade sauce next time.

I thought this was okay and nobody really complained about it, but the sauce was just a little on the thick side. Next time I would definitely leave out the tomato puree and maybe add some extra sauce. The meatballs turned out fine though.

Thought was a great dish that was sooo simple even my hubby could put together. (Hubby doesn't cook) I even made extra meatballs and froze for another time when I could throw together in morning and dinner by 5.

Very easy and tasty.

I love this recipe! It's a simple and delicious way to feed a crowd!I serve them on crusty buns with provolone cheese. Now whenever i want to get the gang toether I just say I'm making meatball subs...no more coersion needed! LOL!

I would say i absolutely love this recipe but i changed some things. It started with this recipe and changing it a bit made them extra delicious. They came out so good that it was a huge hit. As requested by my mother I'm making them for her to take on her trip. I'll snap a picture after :)

followed the recipe loosely.this is not rocket science people.use what you have and season liberally with dried or fresh herbs.i had 1 lb of ground chuck which made 9 healthy meatballs.lots of minced garlic and whatever sauce that was on sale with a large can of whatever tomatoes are on sale.in a bit of a hurry,got the sauce in the crockpot and put on high.use only enough bread crumbs to bring the meat mixture together and bake off at 350 for 20-25 minutes.once it was bubbling turned to low.done in 2 1/2-3 hours.serve with linguini or make a meatball sub with hot peppers and mozzarella.

I thought these were very good! I made meatball sandwiches which were awesome. I did not add the tomato puree because i did not need the extra sauce. I also baked them for 20 mins in a 350 oven to keep the shape. I will use this recipie again!

These meatballs were heavenly. I did make a few changes. I added some parmesan cheese to the meatball mixture and reduced the amount of bread crumbs. Added some minced garlic & onion to the sauce. The results were fantastic!

These meatballs disappeared quickly. They taste great. The texture is super soft they actually melt in your mouth. Very happy with the ease of this recipe. Added 1/3 of a cup of Parmesan and 1/4 cup of ketchup to the beef mixture. Will make again.

I made the meatballs on Sunday morning. I actually doubled everything except the onion. There was quite a bit of onion in the batch and I am glad that I did not double it. I am not a big onion fan but the flavor was perfect. I ended up with 60+ meatballs (about golf ball sized). I did add a bit of italian seasoning into the mix as well, otherwise everything was as written. WONDERFUL! I put them in the crock pot on Monday afternoon and they were cooked perfectly and had a wonderful flavor to them. I actually froze three batches of meatballs for future use. Each batch had about 16 meatballs. Will be perfect for a fall / winter meal. :) Thank you so much for this recipe. My hubby even mentioned that it is by far one of the best.

Excellent meatballs! One of the most comforting, yet easy to prepare meals I've had in a while. I followed the directions except I only used spaghetti sauce instead of tomatoes + puree, because that's all I had on hand. Still turned out amazing! I did bake the meatballs at 350 first so the meatballs would retain their shape, then cooked the whole mixture on low for 6 hours.

These crumbled while cooking, but were pretty simple. Next time I will try 1/4 of an onion because the meat wouldn't hold a whole onion in the mixture.

1/12: crock pot. used meatloaf mix 1.7 lbs. needed 2 eggs, 1/2 cup bread crumbs,garlic, oregano, parsley, i put some ricotta in too. cook off grease 20 min in oven. then use same sauce ingred but i didn't have puree, i used 28oz diced. also, 1 cup red wine. added meatballs and put in fridge till AM. then put it on low for 9 hours. it was a little runny so next time also add a can of paste. otherwise very good!

This was simple and very good. I used one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes instead of using the puree. I also added some salt and pepper to the meat before making the meatballs and added Italian seasoning and a bay leaf to the sauce. We really enjoyed it!

I loved the meatballs! I used my own home-made spaghetti sauce and used the directions for this recipe. It was a hit! I think the key is using the right sauce! I freeze the meatballs now and use them for a vatiety of recipes. They are great to keep on hand and make meals so much more simpler!

Absolutely delicious recipe! I made this exactly as stated and it turned out wonderfully. I guess I made my meatballs a little smaller because I ended up with more than 16! I browned the extra ones in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes and then froze for later use in my own Sweet & Sour Meatball recipe -- which, by the way, was ALSO delicious! These meatballs have enough flavor that they worked perfectly with the spaghetti sauce AND the sweet & sour flavorings. Many, many thanks for a wonderful (and very versatile) recipe!

Turned out great. I didn't use the crushed or puree, just jar sauce. I used 90% lean beef, so no greasiness. I used 1&1/2 jar sauce, and 1/2 hour before serving I used the last 1/2 to thicken up from the moisture that added to the crock pot. Great flavor and easy to add/subtract to your liking.

i made this last week & hubby (who is EXTREMELY picky) said "i'd like it if these were in the fridge for me to snack on...at all times!!!" what more can i say? lol

I, like others, baked the meatballs first. I put them on a broiler pan so they grease could drip down into the pan. I used my own sauce recipe, but used this as a guideline for making the meatballs. They were incredible. I used them for spaghetti one night, and then for sandwiches the next. My kids loved the meatballs. I need to make these again soon!

AMAZING! The flavor was so good...the meatballs were firm but tender and so yummy! I cant wait to make again but next time i will add sausage in the mix!

I've never made meatballs before because I feared the mess in the oven and/or skillet along with how long they take to cook. I must say this recipe made it very painless. I made the meatballs the night before then turned on the crockpot the next morning. When I got home from work all I had to do was make some noodles. It was great. I did however use 1 lb. Italian sausage, 1 lb. hamburger and plain breadcrumbs instead of Italian.

AMAZING! AMAZING! AMAZING! And it tastes even better as leftovers because it turns into a meatball and meatsauce combo. Restaurant-style fantastic!

Not sure what happened here, but they turned out hardly having any flavor. Was hoping to have these to use for dinner all week. couldn't even finish them. The only thing I changed was to use whole grain bread crumbs and added italian seasoning. I like the flavor of spaghetti sauce that I used, but it seems that adding cans of tomato puree and diced toms would just bland it up. Why not just use 2 jars of the sauce that I know I enjoy? I did also brown them in the oven to cut back on the grease.

Gone are the days of struggling with meatballs in a skillet! These are verrrry tasty! I plan to make them this way from now on. I used a rice ball shaper to form the meatballs, which is quick and consistent in size if you happen to have one. Also, mixing everything else first then adding the breadcrumbs is easier than trying to do it all at once. I couldn't find the exact amounts of the various tomato ingredients, but it doesn't really seem to matter as long as there's plenty of sauce. Finally, I'd like to recommend serving these with bucatini..it's like a thick, hollow spaghetti noodle, goes perfect!

I just made these, browning before to eliminate some fat and they taste great. Not bland at all. I did add some Mrs. Dash but I add it in most of my slow cooker recipes. Meatballs were easy to assemble with on hand ingredients. Thanks for sharing!

Good easy way to make meatballs and the leftovers were used in meatball subs!!!

easy and delicious! I used 93% lean beef and did not have any issues with greasy sauce. The meat balls were tender and flavorfull. Thanks for the recipe.

Too much parsley for our taste. Meatballs didn't fall apart which is good, and sauce was okay, but parsley was overpowering.

They are very very good. I made them for our card group this past weekend. I added a quarter cup of parmesan/romano cheese ro the recipe. I will be making these again. Brenda C.

They turned out way to soft and just fell apart. Not good!

I made these the night before and froze them thinking they wouldn't overcook or fall apart, but they still fell apart bad. In addition, I thought the flavor was bland.

I hate to say it but these meatballs and sauce were very, very bland. Neither my husband or I liked this recipe.

this is SO easy and SO yummy! I mould the meatballs before I go to bed and put them in the slowcooker. before I go to work in the morning, I pour over the tomato sauce and when I get home, the most delicious and tender meatballs await!! thanks for the recipe! I will never make meatballs any other way!

Anytime you cook the meat in your sauce, whether it's sausage or meatballs, it always tastes better. The meatballs or sausage absorb the flavors of the sauce and vice versa. I always cook italian sausage this way, but haven't tried meatballs yet. Great recipe. Thanks for the idea!

I made the meatballs today. The kitchen smelled terrific all day. I made a few small changes such as using turkey meat instead of beef and skipped the stewed tomato chunks. Very good recipe. Simple too. Last night I prepared the meat and formed the meatballs and this morning it took 5 minutes to get everything into the pot. EXCELLENT for working parents!

Amazing. Will probably reduce bread crumbs just slightly next time.

These were awesome! My husband and son loved them! I didn't have 6-8 hrs to let them slow cook so I put crock pot on high for about 3 hrs then turned it down for another 30 -45 min. Turned out perfectly!

I used my own sauce, but the meatballs fell apart and became mush in the crockpot. I made more of them baked in the oven (without sauce, with homemade barbeque sauce or sweet and sour sauce...) and they were great! The meatball recipe itself is nice, but it seems they just dissolve when cooked in a crockpot.

I would give this 5 stars for how it turned out, but only 4 for the actual recipe itself. I think a lot of the good flavors here are dependent on the spaghetti sauce used, as the sauce as written is rather bland. I used home made meat sauce from a friend that was very flavorful, but it was still dulled a little by the additional crushed tomatoes and tomato puree. I added some extra minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and oregano and it turned out great. I would do that again, or just use double spaghetti sauce instead of the extra tomatoes. I was a little worried at first that there would be too many breadcrumbs in the meatballs, but actually it turned out perfectly. I mixed it very very well so there were no dry clumps and the meatballs held together great and were kept moist by the sauce. I used 90/10 meat and found that this prevented the sauce from being greasy.

SO GOOD! I made these today after looking over the comments. I did brown the meatballs for 20 minutes at 350 degrees in the oven according to the reviews I read. Then I let them drain on a paper towel for about five minutes just to get some extra grease off. Other than that, I pretty well followed the recipe as is. I like to "doctor up" spaghetti sauce, so I did add some Italian seasoning, sugar, salt, and pepper to the sauce, just to taste preference. My husband raved over this, and we both couldn't keep from going back for more tastes before dinner! It was delicious!