Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs – 4 Weight Watcher Smart Points!

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I fantasize about things that work for me while I am sleeping. A slow cooker is totally at the top of that list! Seriously, set it and forget it? What is there to NOT love? These slow cooker Italian Meatballs are something simple to toss together at night and let rip away while you are counting sheep. Use them for all sorts of things like Meatball Sandwiches, hors d’oeuvres or even simply spaghetti & meatballs! This recipe is perfect for those hot summer days when you really don’t want to heat up the house. Only 4 Smart Points Per Serving!

Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs

Makes about 36 medium size meatballs

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. of meat (ground beef, Italian sausage, turkey) I used 1 pound of Italian sausage, 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 1/4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Jar of Spaghetti sauce or you can use your favorite homemade spaghetti sauce recipe

Directions:

• In a slow cooker, mix the spaghetti sauce, along with about 1 teaspoon crushed basil.
  
  
• In a bowl, mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, onion, and egg. Shape the mixture into 1-2 inch size meatballs,
  
  
• Once you have shaped your meatballs you can put these directly into your sauce in the slow cooker, or you can bake them for 15 minutes at 350 degrees to cook them some and that cuts down on the grease in the sauce.
  
  
• Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

This makes a pretty big batch so I like to take half the batch of meatballs and freeze them. When we have a crazy busy night I simply pour some sauce in the slow cooker along with the frozen meatballs and cook on low for 4-5 hours.