Crowd-Pleasing Slow Cooker Meatballs

Saucy meatballs are one of my favorite freezer meals. They’re quick to assemble, take very little time to prep for dinner, and my four year old will eat them every time. What else can you ask for in a freezer meal?

I typically just use stored bought, frozen meatballs. (Every once in a while, maybe two times a year, I’ll make homemade meatballs and flash freeze them myself. Best tool for mass producing meatballs?  A cookie scoop.) You can find meatballs in a bunch of different sizes, but my favorite are the party meatballs from Trader Joes. They are small, about 1” in diameter, and so are easy for kids to eat. These meatballs also have a nicely seasoned flavor that pairs well with many different sauces.

Here are just a few different sauce recipes that our family enjoys.

Saucy Asian Meatballs adapted from Gimme Some Oven 

2/3 cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
2 TBS. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 lbs. frozen meatballs
Garnish: chopped green onions and sesame seeds

In a large mixing bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. Add the meatballs and stir to coat. Portion the meatballs into gallon-sized Ziploc bags. One bag should be enough for one meal for you family. Place bag in freezer.

On the day you’d like to eat this meal, place the frozen saucy meatballs in a greased slow cooker. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours.

Our family likes to eat this over rice with stir-fry veggies on the side.

Meatball Stroganoff adapted from Rita’s Recipes 

2- 12 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
2- 14 oz. cans of beef broth
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I’ve never added this to our meal since we’re not huge mushroom fans in our house)
2 TBS. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. pepper
1 cup sour cream

In a large bowl, whisk the mushroom soup and beef broth together. Add the onion, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Add meatballs and stir to coat. Portion the meatballs into gallon-sized Ziploc bags. One bag should be enough for one meal for you family. Place bag in freezer.

On the day you’d like to eat this meal, place the frozen meatballs and sauce in a greased slow cooker. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours. About 20 minutes before serving, stir in the sour cream. Since this recipe uses about half as much sour cream as most stroganoff recipes, I stick to full fat sour cream.

Our family likes to eat this over egg noodles with roasted carrots and green beans on the side.

Sweet and Tangy Meatballs from Six Sisters Stuff 

1- 12 oz. jar chili sauce
1- 16 oz. jar grape jelly
2 lbs. frozen meatballs

Combine the chili sauce and grape jelly in a large mixing bowl. Add meatballs and stir to coat. Portion the meatballs into gallon-sized Ziploc bags. One bag should be enough for one meal for you family. Place bag in freezer.

On the day you’d like to eat this meal, place the frozen saucy meatballs in a greased slow cooker. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours.

Our family likes to eat this over rice with broccoli on the side.

Meatball Subs adapted from Rick on the Rocks 

3 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
1- 28 oz. can Hunt’s crushed tomatoes with basil
1- 4 oz. can tomato paste
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt (more to taste)
1 teaspoon of cracked pepper (more to taste)
2 cups shredded mozzarella
6 kaiser rolls

Combine paste, crushed tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of minced garlic. (I usually just use a jar of spaghetti sauce, but Rick’s sauce recipe is yummy too.) Add the meatballs and stir to coat. Portion the meatballs into gallon-sized Ziploc bags. One bag should be enough for one meal for you family. Place bag in freezer.

On the day you’d like to eat this meal, place the frozen meatballs in a greased slow cooker. Cook on high for 1-2 hours or low for 3-4 hours.

Open the rolls and place them on a foil lined baking sheet. Toast them under the broiler until golden. Top with roll with scoops of meatballs. Add a handful of cheese to each sub. Broil again for about 3 minutes until cheese is completely melted. (Keep a close eye on the subs it only takes second the burn the edges of your bread.)

Be sure to have lots of napkins on hands. These meatball subs are a {delicious} gooey mess!

So, watch the grocery store ads. Frozen meatballs go on sale about every three months. When they’re sale, stock up and prep a few of these meatball recipes. You’ll be saving money and time!