I hope 2016 is off to a great start for you! This year I am focusing on balancing my home and work life a little bit better along with balancing what I eat in the kitchen too. I love comforting meals, but I am working hard to make sure my family gets even more fruits and vegetables in every meal I cook as well. These delicious Slow Cooker Veggie Loaded Meatballs in Tomato Sauce are perfect any night of the week and even your picky eaters won’t complain about the added vegetables!
Spaghetti and Meatballs are just one of those meals that everyone loves. Any type of pasta with sauce and meatballs is a hit at our house. Since I don’t want to give up yummy beef meatballs to make my dinner a little more healthy, I decided to add some fresh veggies to lean ground beef which gives you these delicious, moist and colorful meatballs that are sure to become a family favorite.
The best part about these meatballs is how easy they are to make. Who knew you could have meatballs and sauce on a busy weeknight without any hassle?
These meatballs can be made ahead of time for your convenience. Start by quickly chopping all of your veggies in the food processor.
Then roll up your sleeves, and start combining the veggie mixture, lean ground beef, egg, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs and a little salt & pepper with your hands lightly and gently, then roll the mixture into 2 1/2 inch balls.
Set them on a plate while you prepare the sauce, or store in the refrigerator or freezer for later use.
Combine your favorite tomato sauce with a can of crushed tomatoes and add a little seasoning and you’re almost done!
Pour half of the tomato sauce into your (affiliate) Slow Cooker
Since I can’t stick to a serving size of spaghetti and am trying to make better choices this year, I like to serve these yummy meatballs in tomato sauce over penne pasta topped with some fresh Parmesan along with a nice big salad.
The tasty slow cooked sauce gets into every bit of the penne pasta and can be a little easier to portion control too. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- For the Meatballs:
- 1 lb. 90% lean ground beef
- 1 cup baby carrots or 1 large carrot
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 medium red pepper
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- For the Sauce:
- 1 (24 oz.) jar of your favorite tomato sauce
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. sugar (optional)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp.dried parsley
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Combine your veggies and garlic in a food processor and pulse until chopped finely.
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients gently (being careful not to overwork them) and gently roll into 2 1/2 inch balls.
- Set on a plate, or store in the refrigerator or freezer for later use if needed.
- In a bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.
- Pour half of the sauce into the slow cooker, add the meatballs and cover them with the remaining sauce.
- Cover and cook on Low for 7-8 hours or on High for 4 hours.
- Serve over your favorite pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan!
- Makes 18 meatballs and serves 6.
- Enjoy!
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Beautiful meatballs 🙂 & I love putting veggies in mine too!
Thank you Tamara! 🙂 I hope you’re having a great weekend!