Crock Pot Turkey Meatballs
Crock Pot turkey meatballs are healthy, homemade, and cook easily in a slow cooker. Get the freezer-friendly Italian meatballs recipe here!
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 4 hours 6 minutes
Total: 4 hours 36 minutes
Servings: 38 1 1/2-inch meatballs
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup non-fat milk
- 3 large eggs
- 20 ounces 93% lean ground turkey (1.3 pounds)
- 12 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausage
- ¾ cup Italian breadcrumbs plus 2 tablespoons
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan pecorino, or asiago cheese, plus additional for serving
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 jars prepared tomato pasta sauce (24 ounce jars) (choose something with good flavor that you love) or homemade
For Serving:
- Prepared whole wheat pasta sub-style buns, polenta, or enjoy alone as an appetizer
Instructions
- Place two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs until evenly combined. Add the ground turkey, turkey sausage, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Lightly mix with a fork or your fingers, just until combined, being careful not to compact the meat. With a scoop or spoon, scoop the meat, then shape into 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets. (You will have about 38 meatballs total).
- Bake the meatballs for 3 minutes, remove the pans from the oven and flip the meatballs, then return the pans to the oven, switching each pan from bottom to top. Bake 3 additional minutes, then remove from the oven. The exterior of the meatballs should be lightly browned, but they will not be cooked through.
- Lightly coat a 5-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray. Arrange a layer of meatballs over the bottom, pour on half the sauce, then stack any remaining meatballs on top. Pour on the remaining sauce. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours, until the meatballs are cooked through and reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Serve warm with pasta, on buns, over polenta, or enjoy alone as an appetizer.
Notes
- To freeze AFTER the meatballs have been cooked: Freeze with sauce for up to two months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- To freeze BEFORE the meatballs have been cooked: Complete the broiling portion, then bake the meatballs at 350 degrees F until cooked through. Freeze separately from the sauce. Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then place in the slow cooker, top with sauce, and cook as directed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1meatball (with 1.25 ounces sauce)Calories: 65kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 6gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 34mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2g
