Flavorful Crockpot Turkey Meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese and served over zoodles, or your favorite noodle, is a healthy and delicious recipe made right in your slow cooker!
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Serve these meatballs with zoodles, over your favorite pasta, with simple garlic knots, or as a meatball sub.
Bob gets credit for this recipe. While I love baking, he loves meat, so you can rest assured that these meatballs are juicy, perfectly seasoned, and full of flavor.
Not to mention cheese. They’re also full of cheese.
We stuffed the meatballs with mozzarella cheese sticks, which we always have on hand for the girls. If you want to keep them dairy free, you can skip the cheese, but it’s a fun surprise in the middle.
If you’ve never made zoodles (zucchini noodles), don’t be intimidated. They’re a great way to replace carbs and get in a serving of veggies. I used a Veggetti but I also have a simple slicer that works well (takes up less room but basically the same price), or you can get fancy and get a spiralizer.
INGREDIENTS
- Ground Turkey
- Eggs
- Onion
- Parmesan Cheese
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- Seasoned salt
- Pepper
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Marinara – your favorite jarred or make your own
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
TOOLS FOUND ON AMAZON TO HELP YOU:
- Mixing Bowls – I love the grippy bottoms.
- Spatulas – I love one-piece silicone spatulas. They’re great for so many things & easy to clean.
- Veggie Chopper – To easily chop onions & garlic.
- Slow Cooker – My slow cooker of choice has been the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget for years.
HOW TO MAKE CHEESE STUFFED TURKEY MEATBALLS:
STEP ONE: To a large bowl, add the ground turkey, beaten eggs, chopped onion, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, seasoned salt & pepper. Use a spatula, or your hands, to bring it together, but don’t overmix.
STEP TWO: Pour half the sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker pot. Use your hands to portion out golf ball sized balls, flatten in your hands, add a piece of cheese to the center, then form back into a ball. Place it into the slow cooker and repeat until you’re out of meat mixture.
STEP THREE: Pour the rest of the sauce over the top, cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.
STEP FOUR: To make the zoodles, use a slicer to form “noodles” out of your zucchini. Place them in a bowl lined with paper towel to drain excess moisture for approximately 30 minutes. Once ready, heat a skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Add the zoodles and season with garlic, salt & pepper and saute until tender.
DO YOU NEED TO BROWN THE MEAT BEFORE YOU ADD IT TO THE CROCKPOT?
The beauty of crockpot meatballs is not having to cook them before you put them into the slow cooker. Prep them then let the slow cooker do the work. No need to brown the meat – you put the raw meatballs directly into the crockpot and a few hours later, get to enjoy a juicy & flavorful dinner.
NEED MORE CROCKPOT RECIPES? TRY THESE:
- Crockpot Honey Bourbon Chicken
- Creamy Ranch Crockpot Chicken
- Crockpot BBQ Chicken
- Crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast
- Crockpot Chicken Alfredo
- Slow Cooker Chicken Potatoes & Green Beans
- Crockpot King Ranch Chicken
- Crockpot Turkey Stuffing Casserole
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Crockpot Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 /2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs Italian seasoned
- 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 mozzarella cheese sticks cut stick cut into 5 pieces – about 1″ each
- 24-32 oz. pasta sauce
For the Zoodles
- 2 medium zucchini sliced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
- olive oil
Instructions
- To make the meatballs
- In a large bowl, add the ground turkey, beaten eggs, chopped onion, Parmesan, panko, Lawry's, and pepper and mix well. Use a spatula or your hands to mix together.
- Pour approximately half of the sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker pot.
- Use your hands to scoop the meat mixture into golf ball size balls. Slightly flatten with the palms of your hands, tuck in a piece of cheese, then form the meat into a ball. Place into the sauce. Repeat until all the meat is used up – this batch made 17 meatballs for us.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the top.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.
- Right before you're ready to serve, sprinkle on some shredded cheese, replace the cover, and let it melt.
- To make the zoodles
- Use a Veggetti (or slicer or spiralizer) to make zucchini “noodles”. Place them into a bowl that’s lined with pepper towel. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for about 30 minutes to lose some moisture.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat and add some olive oil to the pan. Add in the zoodles and garlic and season with salt & pepper. Saute until tender.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This recipe first appeared on Love Bakes Good Cakes and was originally published here January 20, 2016.
Would love a new modern blender to go with my new mixer attachment that makes veggie noodles! This is going to be the first recipe I try.
Just love this! I’ll be hoping around to check out everyone’s recipes!
Oh wow! Just the caption sounds so tempting! Love the pictures and recipe 🙂
Thanks, Mary! =)
Fabulous, Melissa You make them look so appetising! Have a great week.
Family loves the turkey meatballs and the added cheese surprise. Question – could I prep meatballs night before? Then bring to room temp before putting in crockpot? Thanks in advance!
Yep, they should be fine for up to 24 hours prepped in the fridge and then they should be ok straight from the fridge to the crockpot.