Slow Cooker Marinara Meatballs

Thanks to Food Recipe Search for this hearty marinara meatball recipe! 

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1 ¾ pound of ground beef, choose the 85% lean grade
• ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon of onion powder
• ¼ cup of blanced almond flour
• 1 whole egg
• Crush red peppers
• 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning blend
• ¾ teaspoon of fine grain sea salt, divide
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley

Marinara Sauce:

• 1 can of 6 oz of tomato sauce
• 1 can of 14 oz of diced tomatoes with garlic and basil
• 1 can of 28 oz of crushed tomatoes with basil
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoon of chopped fresh garlic
• ½ of medium onion, chop
• Sea salt for taste

Directions

1. Let’s make the meatballs first. Take a medium bowl, and add in the crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, ½ teaspoon of sea salt, and almond flour. Mix them together and make sure everything is dissolved well into a solid mixture.
2. Take a large bowl, and add the ground beef in it. Pour the remaining sea salt, parsley, the almond flour mixture, and egg. Mix using your clean hands. The mixture should bind and get distributed evenly. Don’t work on the meat too much because the mixture will get tough. Mix slowly to prevent it.
3. Take a large baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Meanwhile, pre heat the broiler. Spoon some of the meat mixture and roll it into a ball. You can make up to 20 meatballs with this mixture. Place the meatballs on the baking dish and make sure to give each meatball some rooms.
4. Transfer the baking dish to the broiler, and broil for around 2 to 4 minutes. The meatballs will turn to light brown and release a small amount of fat. When it looks juicy enough, remove the baking dish from the broiler.
5. Transfer the meatballs to the slow cooker, and don’t include the fat. This will make healthier option. Pour over the entire ingredients of marinara sauce and stir until it is mixed evenly. Stir slowly so you don’t break the meatballs. Cover the slow cooker and cook for around 4 hours. Considering that each slow cooker is different, you can check after 3.5 hours and adjust the timing from there. Don’t cook the meatballs more than 4.5 hours. It will get dry and overcooked.
6. The meatballs are great to serve with any pasta or veggie noodles. Sweet potatoes and zucchini noodles make perfect and fresh fit, yet it tastes well on rice or eggs as well. Don’t forget to garnish the meatballs with fresh herbs, any of which you like best. You can refrigerate the leftovers up to a month in the freezer and 4 days in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

• You can use your own favorite mix of ground meat. However, extra lean ground meat always tastes better and healthier.
• Please use extra garlic and basil if you use plain tomatoes instead of the recommended above.