This little meal is quick, tasty, and nutritious. Plus, it won’t break the bank either.
Many of us grew up eating various versions of spaghetti. For some of us, it was the classic bolognese with minced beef and cheese topping. For others, it was more exotic - perhaps carbonara sauce or avocado and lemon with pine nuts.
Whatever the case, we can all agree that spaghetti is comfort food and deeply ingrained in our culture. Italian immigrants brought it here over a century ago, and we’re still enjoying the same delicious flavors all these years later.
Spaghetti and meatballs are the ultimate comfort foods. But making it the traditional way is a massive time overhead. When you’re busy on a weeknight, you don’t want to have to spend hours making the darn thing and then washing up all the pots and pans.
You want something simple.
That’s precisely what this crockpot recipe gives you. You basically dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker and then let it work its magic all day. By the end of it, you’ve got a delicious meaty sauce and pasta to enjoy - just what you want. Serve with homemade cheddar bay biscuits for a classic night in with the family.
Ingredients For The Meatballs
- One pound ground beef
- One beaten egg
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- Two cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Grated parmesan to taste
- ¼ bread crumbs
Ingredients For The Sauce
- Two cans crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ yellow onion
- 2 tsp oregano
- One clove garlic
- Pepper
Everything Else
- 1 ½ cups of spaghetti
- Broth of your choice
Instructions
- Make the meatballs. Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large mixing bowl and stir them into each other. After a while, you should notice the breadcrumbs firming up the mixture. Once it is ready to mold into patties, form it into balls and then place them in your crockpot.
- Mix the sauce ingredients. In another bowl, make the sauce ingredients by mixing them all. Then pour the sauce over the meatballs in your slow cooker and cover with the lid.
- Set the timer. The length of time it takes to cook your meatballs depends on the setting you choose. If you want to slow cook them all day on the lowest setting, it’ll take about five hours for them to cook all the way through. On high heat, you can get the job done in around three hours.
- Add the broth and spaghetti. The real beauty of this recipe is the final stage. Just add the broth and the spaghetti to the crockpot and then allow it to cook for another 90 minutes, stirring and checking it every half an hour.
The result is a thick, rich spaghetti-based meal that tastes delicious.