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Meatball Marinara is a semi-homemade spaghetti sauce that goes great served over pasta! It’s so easy to make in the crockpot with convenient store-bought ingredients like marinara sauce, Alfredo sauce, stewed tomatoes, frozen meatballs, and dried seasonings.
Do you want more easy, family favorite pasta sauces? Be sure and try my Easy Spaghetti Sauce or this Homemade Spaghetti Recipe.
Meatball Marinara Recipe (Easy Crockpot Recipe)
This easy marinara sauce makes for a delicious dinner, that’s perfect for those busy nights, because it’s a dump & go crockpot recipe!
This meatball recipe features simple ingredients such as frozen meatballs, jarred marinara sauce, Alfredo sauce, and canned tomatoes. Full of flavor and no one would believe it takes less than 5 minutes of prep work!
This is one of my favorite things to make for dinner when I need something prepped and ready to eat for dinner that night. We’re in the middle of sports season (swimming, football, and tennis) so I am always on the lookout for dump & go crockpot meals that keep well on the warm setting – because let’s be honest, during the busy sports season we all eat dinner at different times.
Full List of Ingredients Needed
- Frozen Meatballs
- Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce : This is the jarred spaghetti sauce and you can use any flavor/variety you love. I make it with traditional marinara sauce (like tomato basil) but you could use garden vegetable, spicy sauce, garlic, mushroom, etc.
- Alfredo Sauce
- Italian Recipe Stewed Tomatoes : These are stewed tomatoes in Italian herbs such as oregano and basil.
- Tomato Paste w/ Basil, Garlic, Oregano
- Dried Basil
- Garlic Powder
- Italian Seasoning
- Granulated Sugar : You can also use brown sugar or omit the sugar entirely; although adding just a touch of sugar elevates the acidic tomato flavors and round them out more.
- Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
How To Make Slow Cooker Meatball Marinara Sauce (Printable Recipe Card)
Spray the insert of the crockpot with cooking spray. Dump the frozen meatballs into the crockpot.
Add the remaining ingredients into a blender, and blend on medium-high speed until it’s a smooth mixture. Pour the sauce from the blender into the crockpot.
Stir everything together making sure that all the meatballs are covered with sauce.
Cook on LOW heat for 4-6 hours, or until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Serve the meatball marinara over cooked spaghetti noodles or your favorite pasta, inside subs for meatball subs, and garnish with parmesan cheese.
How To Store Leftover Meatball Marinara Sauce
Store any leftover meatballs, including some of the marinara sauce from the crockpot, inside an airtight container. Meatballs will keep well for up to 4-5 days in the fridge. I recommend storing the meatball marinara sauce in a separate container from the leftover spaghetti noodles (if serving as spaghetti & meatballs).
For longer storage, you can freeze the meatballs and sauce, in a freezer safe Ziploc bag or container, for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight, and then warm them up your preferred way for serving (stove top, slow cooker, or microwave).
You can also make a freezer meal from this recipe. Prepare the marinara sauce as directed, blend all the ingredients inside the blender, and then add the blended sauce along with the frozen meatballs into a freezer safe Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. You can let it thaw in the fridge overnight, or put the frozen meatball marinara straight into the slow cooker and let it cook on LOW heat for 6-7 hours or until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
- Meatball Subs : Make meatball sandwiches or subs by using sub rolls or slider rolls. Add some fresh mozzarella cheese, or sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese. I love toasting the subs under the broiler in the oven, this makes them golden brown and crispy and melts the cheese.
- Fresh Basil Garnish : Using fresh herbs, like basil, is a great way to elevate the flavors in Italian food.
- Favorite Pasta : Cook up your favorite pasta shape, according to the box instructions, and serve the meatball marinara over the paste.
- Spaghetti & Meatballs : This is how my family loves this recipe! I cook up some thin spaghetti noodles for serving.
- Parmesan Cheese : This is a must when serving pasta. Use freshly shredded parmesan from a wedge, the refrigerated shredded or shaved parmesan cheese, or use the shelf-stable grated parmesan cheese (my kids prefer this stuff).
- Zucchini Noodles : For a lower carb serving option, serve the meatball marinara over some zucchini noodles.
- Garlic Bread & Side Salad : These are traditional side dishes that go great with spaghetti and meatballs. Try my Cheesy Garlic Bread or Easy Garlic Parmesan Knots.
Tips & Variations
- Make It Spicy : Add red pepper flakes in with the other dried seasonings. You can also use a spicy spaghetti sauce instead of tomato basil. Red pepper flakes also make a great garnish when serving the meatballs with spaghetti.
- Frozen Meatballs : My favorite frozen meatballs are actually the Great Value brand homestyle meatballs. However, feel free to use your favorite frozen meatball or a different variety of frozen meatballs such as Italian meatballs, spicy meatballs, or turkey meatballs. You can also use homemade meatballs instead of store bought frozen meatballs; you will need about 60-65 small meatballs.
- Spaghetti Sauces : It’s important to use a jarred marinara sauce and Alfredo sauce that you love the taste of. Since this recipe has so few ingredients, with most of them being prepared canned ingredients, it’s important to use a good quality, and good tasting marinara sauce and Alfredo sauce.
- Use The Blender : It may seem like an unnecessary extra step, but trust me, use the blender to make a smooth and creamy sauce. Stewed tomatoes come in really large pieces inside the can, so blending them up makes a smooth sauce with tons of flavor.
- Sauce Too Thick? : If you prefer a thinner sauce then use two cans of stewed tomatoes.
More Meatball Dinner Recipes
- Easy Swedish Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak Meatballs
- Dump & Bake Meatball Casserole
- Slow Cooker Asian Sesame Meatballs
- Crockpot Meatball Stroganoff
- Hawaiian Roll Meatball Sliders
Meatball Marinara
Ingredients
- 1 bag (32 oz) frozen homestyle meatballs (about 60-65 meatballs)
- 1 jar (24 oz) tomato basil marinara pasta sauce
- 1 jar (15 oz) Alfredo sauce
- 1 can (14.5 oz) Italian recipe stewed tomatoes
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste w/ basil, garlic, oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- cooked spaghetti noodles & parmesan cheese serving idea
Instructions
- Spray the insert of the crockpot with cooking spray. Dump the frozen meatballs into the crockpot.1 bag (32 oz) frozen homestyle meatballs
- Add the remaining ingredients into a blender, and blend on medium-high speed until it's a smooth mixture. Pour the sauce from the blender into the crockpot.1 jar (24 oz) tomato basil marinara pasta sauce, 1 jar (15 oz) Alfredo sauce, 1 can (14.5 oz) Italian recipe stewed tomatoes, 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste w/ basil, garlic, oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Stir everything together making sure that all the meatballs are covered with sauce.
- Cover and cook on LOW heat for 4-6 hours, or until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165℉.
- Serve the meatball marinara over cooked spaghetti noodles, or your favorite pasta, and garnish with parmesan cheese.cooked spaghetti noodles & parmesan cheese
Notes
Nutrition
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