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Crockpot Meatball Sliders
Tender and flavorful meatballs with an incredible homemade marinara sauce made in the slow cooker. Add the meatballs and sauce to a slider roll, add cheese, and broil them to make the ultimate meatball sliders. These sliders are the perfect hearty meal or appetizer and are sure to please a crowd.
Servings 20 Meatballs Sliders
Calories 250kcal
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 pounds (32 oz) ground beef (or ground chuck; OR use 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound Italian sausage)
- 1/4 cup (64g) milk (I use whole)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (115g) Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup (23g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup (120g) grated yellow or red onion
Sauce
- 1 container (42 ounces) Marinara/Pasta Sauce (I highly recommend Rao's!)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Fine sea salt and pepper
- Optional: fresh parsley
- Sandwich buns, mozzarella cheese, unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, milk, eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, onion, and salt and pepper to taste (I add 2 teaspoons fine sea salt and 1 teaspoon pepper; add less if using table salt)
- Knead the mixture with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Move your oven rack to 4 inches from the top and set your oven to broil (550 degrees F).
- Line a large tray with foil and spray generously with nonstick spray.
- Form small meatballs (1 tablespoon EACH in size) until you have about 64-66 meatballs.
- Broil in the oven 3 minutes on each side (6 minutes total). This helps to keep in the moisture and cook evenly in the crockpot.
- Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Add half of the meatballs to the crockpot. Cover with marinara sauce, minced garlic, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon each of seasoned salt and pepper. Add remaining meatballs.
- Very gently stir until all the meatballs are coated in the sauce.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley if desired.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until fully cooked through (registers 160 degrees F with a thermometer). High setting not recommended.
- When ready, slice buns in half and add meatballs and sauce on top. Add mozzarella cheese on top. Spread butter (about a teaspoon) on the "tops" of the buns. Place the loaded bun and top bun on a large sheet pan and broil sliders 4 inches away from the top for about 30 seconds to a minute watching carefully. Remove and place top on bottom and enjoy while nice and toasty!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 250kcal