Simple Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Once the weather starts to cool off, we start to eat a lot more pasta with red sauce. One of the great things about this is that it is so quick and easy to make a simple red sauce and a pot of pasta, but if we want meatballs, that takes a bit more time. So I like to make a big batch of meatballs and put them in the freezer. When it is time to make some pasta, I pull out a few meatballs for everyone, thaw them in the microwave and add them to the red sauce.

You Will Need:

A 3 pound package of Ground Turkey
1 Large Onion
1 1/2 Cups of Italian Bread Crumbs
A Handful of Italian Seasoning
A Couple of Cloves of Garlic
2 Large Cans of Tomato Sauce

Turn the crock pot on high and add the 2 cans of Tomato Sauce.

In a large mixing bowl, add the Ground Turkey and Bread Crumbs. I like to add a small handful of Italian Seasoning, just cup your hand and fill the palm of your hand with seasoning. Chop the onion in to small pieces and mince or press the garlic and add them to the bowl.

The easiest way to mix everything together is with your hands. Squeeze everything together in the bowl and dump the whole thing out on the counter. I like to knead the mixture together like a loaf of bread until everything is mixed well. Once everything is mixed, divide the mixture in half, then the halves into quarters. Continue dividing each section in half until you get 32 meatballs of the same size.

Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce in the slow cooker, there should be enough sauce to cover the meatballs. Turn the temperature down to low and cook for 8 hours.

If you are going to freeze them, tap the sauce off of them and place them on a greased cookie sheet in a single layer. They need to be far enough apart that they are not touching each other. Let them cool completely before putting them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, put them in an air tight container or freezer Ziploc bag. When you need them you can pull out a few of them and toss them in the microwave or straight into your pasta sauce.

Most of the tomato sauce will be absorbed by the meatballs, but there will be a small amount left over. I like to put that in the freezer and add it to my pasta sauce the next time I make it.

Enjoy!