Easy Gluten Free Slow Cooker Meatballs
Whether you’re looking for a quick and easy appetizer idea or delicious dinner, meatballs are a great choice. But since most meatball recipes use breadcrumbs, it can be hard to find a good gluten free option to make. These easy gluten free slow cooker meatballs aren’t just simple, they’re also quick! Just roll up your meat balls, toss them in the slow cooker, and forget about them until dinner time. That makes them one of the best gluten free recipes in my opinion.
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I have always loved meatballs, but finding the perfect gluten free recipe has been difficult. While I love using breadcrumbs as a coating, like for my gluten free fried pickles, they don’t work as well as a binder. That’s because they’re usually hard and crunchy. There’s nothing worse than getting a crunchy bite when you’re chewing up a meatball!
So, instead of trying to make these slow cooker meatballs gluten free by using gf breadcrumbs, I decided to go a different route. These gluten free crockpot meatballs don’t have any breadcrumbs at all!
Gluten Free Meatballs Recipe Without Bread Crumbs
The first step to making these simple gluten free meatballs in the slow cooker is to gather your ingredients. To make gluten free meatballs without breadcrumbs, you’ll need:
- Ground beef: Using a lean ground beef, either 90/10 or 85/15, will help keep your meatballs from getting greasy as they cook in your slow cooker.
- Ground pork: Add more flavor to your meatballs with the help of ground pork. The pork will also help bind the crumbly beef together, helping you avoid the need for breadcrumbs in your meatballs.
- Egg: Using egg in your meatballs is a must. The egg works as a good binder for your meatballs, helping them stay together while they cook.
- Olive oil: In addition to egg, you’ll also need to add some oil to your meatballs to use in place of the breadcrumbs. The combination of oil and egg will help bind your meatballs together.
- Seasonings: Finish by adding some seasoning to your meatball mixture to give it more flavor. My recipe uses minced garlic, onion powder, black pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning blend.
- Marinara sauce: Keep your meatballs from sticking and from drying out while they cook with the help of marinara sauce.
And that’s all you need to make this easy meatball recipe. In addition to being gluten free, these quick and easy appetizers are also low carb.
To make your slow cooker meatballs, start by putting all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Then, use your hands to mix up all the ingredients. When everything is fully combined, you can start rolling them into meatballs.
I used a tablespoon to scoop out the meat, then rolled it between my hands to form a ball. Spray the bowl of your crockpot with nonstick cooking spray, then place a layer of meatballs in the bottom. Try to keep this bottom layer from touching to keep the meatballs from sticking together.
How to Make Gluten Free Slow Cooker Meatballs
After you have created a bottom layer of your meatballs in your slow cooker, grab your marinara sauce. Spoon the sauce on top of each meatball in this layer, but don’t use all the sauce. You’ll need more to cover the remaining meatballs.
Now that you have the first layer of meatballs covered in sauce, you can start adding a second row of meatballs. Just stack the meatballs on top of the ones covered in sauce. The sauce will help keep the meatballs from sticking together as they cook in the slow cooker.
When you’re finished with that layer, top each of the new meatballs with sauce. Continue this process until all the meat mixture has been used. If you have any remaining marinara sauce in your jar, just pour it over the top of the meatballs.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for six hours or high for three to four hours.
Easy Crock Pot Meatballs
When the cook time is up, your meat balls are ready to serve! And there are a variety of ways you can enjoy these easy slow cooker meatballs.
- As an appetizer. My favorite way to eat meatballs is as an appetizer. Just stick some toothpicks in the top of the meatballs and put them on a plate to serve your gluten free, low carb appetizers at your next party.
- On top of gluten free pasta. These Italian style meatballs also go well with pasta. Just boil up some gluten free spaghetti to serve with your slow cooker meatballs. But since the sauce gets greasy while the meatballs cook in your slow cooker, I suggest having another jar of marinara sauce ready to add to your pasta.
- Covered in cheese. There’s no need to add pasta to these low carb meatballs to enjoy them for dinner! Just cover them with some cheese and eat them with a salad or veggies.
Gluten Free Slow Cooker Meatballs
These easy gluten free slow cooker meatballs are made without breadcrumbs, making them a great low carb appetizer option for any get-together.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 jar premade marinara sauce
Instructions
- Spray the bowl of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
- Use your hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients together.
- Scoop out the meat mixture with a tablespoon and roll it into a ball. Place each ball into the greased slow cooker bowl. Continue adding balls until the bottom of the bowl is covered.
- Spoon marinara sauce on top of each meatball in the slow cooker.
- Continue rolling meatballs, then add them on top of the bottom layer. When there is no more space, cover those meatballs with sauce. Repeat the process until all the meat mixture has been used. Pour any remaining marinara sauce over the top of the meatballs.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for six hours or high for four hours.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 117Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 102mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 11g
More Delicious Gluten Free Recipes:
Gluten Free Meatballs with Grape Jelly Sauce
Gluten Free Chip and Guacamole Bites
40 Delicious Gluten Free Appetizers
Gluten Free Thai Chicken Bites
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Emily is a midwestern mom of two boys. She loves all things DIY — from home renovations to kids birthday party planning. Whether she’s making a new farmhouse craft for her home or helping her kids with a cool activity, you can bet she’s in the middle of some kind of DIY project (or three) right now!
