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Slow Cooker Meatball Dinner

This slow cooker meatball dinner will help make your life easier! Meatballs, potatoes, and your preferred green vegetable cook together in this easy one-pot crockpot recipe. This dinner can be tailored to your liking. The homemade meatball recipe is paleo and Whole30 compatible. Feel free to swap in your preferred meatball recipe or even frozen meatballs. Use your favorite type of potato and your green vegetables. Instructions to make this simple meatball meal in the Instant Pot are also included.

overhead shot of cooked meatballs, green beans, and a baked potato in a white plate

Ingredients For Slow Cooker Meatball Dinner

  • Tomato Sauce (crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, pepper) or Store-Bought
  • Green Beans (or another sturdy green vegetable)
  • Potatoes
  • Meatballs (ground meat, egg, almond flour, garlic, basil, salt, pepper) or Frozen

collage of ingredients for Slow Cooker Meatball Dinner

How To Make A Meatball Dinner In The Crockpot

Slow Cooker

  1. Add sauce ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
  2. Add all the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix together well with your hands until all the ingredients are blended together. Form mixture into 9-12 meatballs.
  3. Add meatballs and potatoes to the slow cooker.
  4. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours, LOW 6-8 hours.
  5. 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the green vegetables on top of the food. 

Instant Pot

  1. Add all the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix together well with your hands until all the ingredients are blended together. Form mixture into 9-12 meatballs.
  2. Set Instant Pot to the high sauté setting. Once hot, add oil. Add the prepared meatballs and brown on each side, 3-5 minutes. Remove meatballs from the Instant Pot and set aside. You will probably have to brown them in batches.
  3. Add sauce ingredients and stir to mix well.  Add the potatoes and meatballs. Make sure you are not over capacity.
  4. Close and seal vent. Select manual setting and set time for 7 minutes. When cooking time is complete, quick-release the pressure. Add the vegetables on top of the food.
  5. Close and seal vent. Select manual setting and set time for 3 minutes on high pressure or until the veggies are tender.
overhead shot of uncooked meatballs in a tomato sauce with whole russet potatoes stacked in the middle

before

Homemade Meatballs 

This easy one-pot slow cooker dinner uses fresh meatballs. Having said that, of course you can substitute frozen meatballs in you choose. When making this in the Instant Pot, you will need to brown the meatballs as instructed in the recipe box. With the slow cooker, you add them in raw.  The meatball recipe I provide is low-carb, paleo and Whole30 compatible. If you have a preferred meatball recipe, feel free to substitute it in. When making your meatballs, keep in mind the size of your slow cooker. Form meatballs that will fit properly along with the other ingredients. I suggest no more than 12 meatballs.

overhead shot of cooked meatballs in a tomato sauce with whole russet potatoes stacked in the middle

after

What Type Of Veggies To Use

Green beans or asparagus are my preferred vegetables for one-pot meal. This can be fresh or frozen vegetables. Other vegetables that you can use other than asparagus and green beans are broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini or even eggplant.  

overhead shot of cooked meatballs in a tomato sauce with whole russet potatoes stacked in the middle and uncooked green beans on top

add the green veggies the last 30 minutes of cooking

What Type Of Potatoes To Use

Use your preferred potato! Russet potatoes, yellow potatoes, baby potatoes, the sky is the limit. Heck, sweet potatoes are a good choice to make this paleo friendly. Omit the potatoes all together and for a low-carb meal. 

close upi shot of cooked meatballs, green beans, and a baked potato in a white plate

FAQs & Tips

  • It’s okay if all the food is not fully submerged in the tomato sauce when cooking starts. 
  • If you use ground poultry for your meatballs, you may need to reduce the slow cooker cooking time by 30 minutes to an hour.
  • I used a large 6-quart slow cooker or Instant Pot for this recipe.

Meatball Recipes

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overhead shot of cooked meatballs, green beans, and a baked potato in a white plate

Slow Cooker Meatball Dinner

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

This slow cooker meatball dinner will help make your life easier! Meatballs, potatoes, and your preferred green vegetable cook together in this easy one-pot crockpot recipe. This dinner can be tailored to your liking. The homemade meatball recipe is paleo and Whole30 compatible. Feel free to swap in your preferred meatball recipe or even frozen meatballs. Use your favorite type of potato and your green vegetables. Instructions to make this simple meatball meal in the Instant Pot are also included.

  • Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 pound potatoes or sweet potatoes, chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds green beans or asparagus vegetables
  • 1 tablespoon oil of your choice (for Instant Pot only)

MEATBALLS

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground meat
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tablespoons almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil (or another dried herb)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

SAUCE

  • 28 ounces diced or crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Slow Cooker

  1. Add sauce ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
  2. Add all the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix together well with your hands until all the ingredients are blended together. Form mixture into 9-12 meatballs.
  3. Add meatballs and potatoes to the slow cooker.
  4. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours, LOW 6-8 hours.
  5. 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the green vegetables on top of the food.

Instant Pot

  1. Add all the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix together well with your hands until all the ingredients are blended together. Form mixture into 9-12 meatballs.
  2. Set Instant Pot to the high sauté setting. Once hot, add oil. Add the prepared meatballs and brown on each side, 3-5 minutes. Remove meatballs from the Instant Pot and set aside. You will probably have to brown them in batches.
  3. Add sauce ingredients and stir to mix well.  Add the potatoes and meatballs. Make sure you are not over capacity.
  4. Close and seal vent. Select manual setting and set time for 7 minutes. When cooking time is complete, quick-release the pressure. Add the vegetables on top of the food.
  5. Close and seal vent. Select manual setting and set time for 3 minutes on high pressure or until the veggies are tender.
  • Author: Shannon Epstein
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 3 hours

 

 

 

 

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Slow Cooker Meatball Dinner
Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Janna

Tuesday 5th of November 2019

This recipe is so good! My hubby went back for seconds.

Fit SlowCooker Queen

Wednesday 6th of November 2019

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

Natalia

Sunday 28th of April 2019

I see you meatball recipe makes approx 20 meatballs. Do you make the full recipe of your meatballs for this recipe (just making the meatballs larger) or do you halve the meatball recipe?

Fit SlowCooker Queen

Tuesday 30th of April 2019

You nailed it. I use my meatball recipe (https://fitslowcookerqueen.com/herbed-baked-meatballs/) but I make the meatballs larger than usual would.

sch08

Sunday 4th of November 2018

I made this dish in my pressure cooker with sweet potatoes and it was so good! Thank you for sharing.

Fit SlowCooker Queen

Tuesday 6th of November 2018

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!