Preparing turkey meatballs in the slow cooker is so easy and delicious you may never want to go back to pan frying or baking again. There is no browning of the meatballs involved in this recipe, the meatballs are just rolled and then added into the crock pot with the sauce. Using ground turkey is a healthier alternative from ground beef. The only use of a frying pan in this recipe is to brown the garlic. If you want more sauce you can add an extra can of crushed tomatoes. This recipe uses standard Italian meatball ingredients such as egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, parmesan cheese and seasonings. When you roll the meatballs, try and roll them softly. You do not want to pack the meatballs too tight because they will become tough while cooking. These meatballs go great served over pasta. Enjoy.
Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1.3lbs 93% lean ground turkey
- ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 egg
- 1 large garlic clove (minced)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Sauce-
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves (smashed)
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup fresh chopped basil or parsley
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, 1 garlic clove, and parmesan cheese.
- Mix well using clean hands and form the mixture into small meatballs that are about 1/8th cup each.
- Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden (being careful not to burn the garlic).
- Pour the crushed tomatoes into the crock pot with the bay leaf. Add the garlic and oil from the pan. Drop the meatballs into the sauce, cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until fully cooked (the internal temperature has reached 165 Degrees F).
- When the meatballs are finished cooking, add more salt and pepper to taste if needed and add the fresh basil or chopped parsley.
- Serve over pasta.