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Whole 30No Added Sugar
Make a big batch of these Paleo Slow Cooker Meatballs for a delicious stress-free dinner! Easy, Whole30, Paleo friendly, and kid friendly meatballs in marinara sauce that makes enough for a crowd and great for leftovers. Serve with veggie noodles, sweet potatoes, or even eggs – they’re perfect with anything!
You know what’s been missing from my meal rotation? Slow cooker recipes.
In the past I never actuallyneeded my slow cooker – it was more “fun & different” than an actual requirement in my life. But, beginning with this school year, there are several days we don’t get home until 6, sometimes 7.
I don’t have a shortage of go-to meals I can whip up in under 30 minutes, but, under 5? Don’t have any of those. Even the best microwave dinners from the 90’s took at least 7-8 minutes, I think.
Let’s just forget I mentioned microwave dinners of any kind, mmkay? I have more appealing, healthy and delicious things to talk about today!
1.) The beauty and ease of Paleo slow cooker meatballs in sauce and
2.) Western Grassfed Beef – an incredible 100% grass fed beef company that’s Certified Paleo and Paleo Approved!
I typically don’t make meatballs with beef alone, but after sampling the Western Grassfed Beef 85% ground beef (for burgers) – along with NY Striploin steak, beef stew meat, and Ribeye steak – I knew the superior flavor and quality would make great meatballs!
Western Grassfed Beef is a 100% grass fed beef company that’s been around from 2002. Earlier this year, they also started selling beef online!
Their beef is100% grass-fed and finished and all cattle are born & raised in the USA. They are also Certified Paleo and Paleo Approved by the Paleo Foundation for all products!
The high quality grass fed ground beef proved to work out perfectly in my slow cooker meatball recipe! Meatballs are a huge favorite for my family – one of those meals thatalwaysgets eaten – which means stress-free dinner for me.
I’m always trying to find ways to make dinnertime less stressful, because, let’s face it – it’s not my finest hour of the day. I can pull it together at 7am, but 7pm is another story.
These Paleo slow cooker meatballs are more than just stress management though – they’re seriously delicious! I’ve owned this slow cooker for a few years now and love that you can program the cook time so you can use it overnight, or while you’re out all day and come home to everything ready to eat.
The prep time for the meatballs and sauce is about 15 minutes, but this can easily be done ahead of time and refrigerated overnight if you want to throw the meatballs in the slow cooker before leaving in the morning.
I do recommend browning them under the broiler for a few minutes to avoid an overly greasy sauce, but the meatballs will also turn out fine if you skip this step and put them straight in the slow cooker with the sauce.
The final consideration is what to serve them with! I honestly will eat meatballs with anything, and have been known to eat them with eggs and sweet potatoes for breakfast whenever I can.
If you have the time/motivation to spiralize a sweet potato for “noodles” – they are delicious this way! Otherwise, anything will do – you really can’t go wrong here!
Be sure to visit Western Grassfed Beef to receive a 15% discount off your first grass fed beef order with this code: RunningMomma15. Their beef is now the family favorite and nothing else measures up! I know you will love it!
Paleo Slow Cooker Meatballs in Marinara Sauce {Whole30}
Paleo Slow Cooker Meatballs in Marinara Sauce {Whole30}
These Paleo Slow Cooker Meatballs in Marinara Sauce are great to make ahead of time for busy weeknights or for a lazy Sunday meal! Healthy, Whole30 friendly and perfect for leftovers. Kid friendly, delicious meatballs in classic Italian inspired marinara sauce.
Author: Michele Rosen
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Course:Dinner/Lunch
Cuisine:Paleo &, Whole30
Servings: 8 servings
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4.47 from 108 votes
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 3/4lbsground beef85% lean*
- 1egg
- 1/4cupblanched almond flour
- 3/4tspfine grain sea saltdivided
- 2tsponion powder
- 1/2tspgarlic powder
- 1tbspItalian seasoning blend**
- generous pinch crushed red pepperadjust for spice preference
- 1tbspchopped fresh parsley - optional
For the Sauce:
- 28oz cancrushed tomatoes with basil***
- 14oz candiced tomatoes with basil and garlic***
- 1 - 6oz cantomato paste
- 1/2medium onionchopped
- 2tbspchopped fresh garlic
- 2tbspchopped fresh oregano leaves
- 2bay leaves
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
To Make the Meatballs:
In a small bowl, mix together the almond flour, 1/2 tsp of the sea salt, onion and garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper.
In a large bowl, add the ground beef and sprinkle evenly with the remaining sea salt. Add the egg and almond flour mix (plus parsley if adding) and gently mix with your hands until the mixture binds and is evenly distributed. It's important not to work the meat too much or it becomes tough.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your broiler. Form the meat mixture into 20 meatballs and arrange on the baking sheet.
Broil 2-4 minutes just to lightly brown and release a small amount of fat (this avoids an overly greasy sauce) and remove promptly.
Add the meatballs to the slow cooker, leaving behind any rendered fat. Top the meatballs with all sauce ingredients and give a gentle stir (careful not to break the meatballs!)
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, until meatballs are cooked through****
Serve when ready to eat with anything you want and garnish with your favorite fresh herbs. Sweet potato noodles are a favorite (white sweet potato noodles are pictured) zucchini noodles, or simply your favorite roasted veggies, potatoes, or even eggs. I love to use the leftovers and sauce for variety in breakfast and lunch the next day!
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to one month.
Recipe Notes
*You can use your favorite mix of ground meat as well
**I used this one
***I used this can of crushed tomatoes and this can of diced tomatoes - I recommend always adding extra basil and garlic if you use plain tomatoes.
****Each slow cooker is a bit different. I cooked mine for 4 hours, you can check at 3.5 hours if you can and adjust cook time from there, if necessary. Cook time should not be longer than 4.5/5 hours or meatballs will be overcooked and dry.
Nutrition
Calories: 327kcal
Carbohydrates: 11g
Protein: 20g
Fat: 22g
Saturated Fat: 7g
Cholesterol: 90mg
Sodium: 495mg
Potassium: 683mg
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 6g
Vitamin A: 310IU
Vitamin C: 14.4mg
Calcium: 91mg
Iron: 4.2mg
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A big thanks to Western Grassfed Beef for sponsoring this post! Remember to receive 15% off your first order using this code: RunningMomma15
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