Love using your slow cooker on busy days? Try my Slow Cooker Macaroni Hamburger Soup or my Rich & Creamy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes.
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Frozen Meatballs: Use 20 to 30 small, fully cooked frozen meatballs. Because they’re already cooked, the slow cooker just has to heat them through and let them soak up the sauce. Karlynn’s Tip: Check the bag to make sure your meatballs are fully cooked. If they’re raw, they need to be cooked differently.
Pasta Sauce: One jar of your favourite spaghetti or marinara sauce. Make sure the meatballs are completely covered so they don’t dry out on top.
Garlic and Onion: A tablespoon of minced garlic and half a cup of chopped white onion make jarred sauce taste homemade.
How To Make Frozen Meatballs in the Slow Cooker
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Place the frozen meatballs in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Pour the pasta sauce over the top, making sure the meatballs are completely covered.
- Stir in the minced garlic and chopped onion.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the meatballs are hot all the way through.
- Serve over rice, pasta or in toasted buns.
Make It Fast or Make It Slow
In the Instant Pot: Pour half a cup of water into the pot, add the frozen meatballs, then the onion and garlic, and pour the pasta sauce over the top without stirring. Thick sauce on the bottom of the pot can trigger the burn warning, so the water goes in first. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes and quick release, then stir and serve.
On the Stovetop: Bring the sauce, onion and garlic to a simmer in a large pot, add the frozen meatballs, cover, and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until they’re heated through to 165°F in the centre.
Storage Instructions
Refrigerator: Store leftover meatballs in their sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until hot all the way through.
Freezer: Cooled meatballs and sauce freeze well for up to 3 months, following USDA food safety guidelines. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
More Easy Slow Cooker Dinners
When you need dinner to cook itself, try one of these next:
- My Slumgullion is a classic ground beef and macaroni dinner.
- This Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is perfect for sandwiches all week.
- My Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken Breast and Rice is a full dinner in one crock.
That’s all, folks! Keep a bag of frozen meatballs and a jar of sauce in the house, and you’ll always have a dinner plan.
If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it went! Did you serve them over rice, pasta or in buns? I always love hearing about your kitchen adventures.
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
You’ll need
Ingredients
Instructions
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Place frozen meatballs in the bottom of the slow cooker and pour over the jar of spaghetti sauce, covering completely.
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Mix in 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and 1/2 cup of chopped white onions.
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Set the slow cooker for low heat and cook for 6-8 hours (or high heat for 4-5 hours).
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Remove and serve over rice.
Nutrition per serving: 236 calories
- Calories
- 236 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 12 g
- Protein
- 14 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Saturated fat
- 6 g
- Polyunsaturated fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated fat
- 7 g
- Cholesterol
- 50 mg
- Sodium
- 931 mg
- Potassium
- 801 mg
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 8 g
- Vitamin A
- 742 IU
- Vitamin C
- 14 mg
- Calcium
- 40 mg
- Iron
- 2 mg
Nutrition is an automatic estimate and will vary with the brands you use.
I love this recipe! I added more meatballs, so I also added a can of tomatoes that I slightly blended. I added lots of seasonings too. The meatballs turned out great! I cooked bow tie pasta and added it in the crockpot, instead of rice. Love, love!