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Slow cooker meatball stroganoff cooks quickly in the crock pot.
Quick Slow Cooker?
The oxymoron is intentional here.
Yes, you can make something that cooks relatively quickly in your slow cooker. The trick is using foods you have prepared in advance and/or have in your freezer. On high, this should take about 3 hours to cook.
This recipe is the next best thing to a freezer meal.
Meatballs–Yours Or The Store’s
The choice is yours–the pre-made, ready cooked meatballs you buy frozen or your own homemade that you have frozen.
I’m not that crazy about the taste of the pre-made frozen variety of meatballs, so I make my own, in bulk, and freeze them. That’s the secret to this meal being quick to make. The meatballs merely heat up in the sauce. As for the sauce, that only has to heat through as well.
Make Your Own And Freeze Them
When I find a super sale on ground beef, I buy it in bulk. Most of it I freeze in 1 to 1 1/2 pound portions but I will take about 2 pounds and make meatballs to freeze. They are so handy to have in your freezer for a rainy day.
I cook the meatballs then cool them to room temperature. Then I place them on a baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, I pop the meatballs in a freezer bag for later use. Freezing the meatballs individually makes it easy to only take out as many as you need. I make mine with generic flavoring so I can use them in a variety of meals.
I give my recipe for the meatballs in the recipe card below. Feel free to add your favorite seasonings, although I do recommend using the gravy mix no matter what other herbs and spices you choose to use.
Watch The Video
The Recipe
Slow Cooker Meatball Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 lb approximate frozen meatballs
- 10.75 oz can cream of mushroom soup (I use low-sodium soups)
- 8 oz whole button mushrooms
- 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 cup sour cream
MY MEATBALL RECIPE
- 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
- 3 slices white bread
- water
- 2 tbsp instant minced onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp au jus gravy mix
- 2 eggs
- Olive oil for browning
- 1 tsp water
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except sour cream in a 4-6 quart slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high approximately 3 hours. I don't use low heat for this recipe. If you use low heat, I cannot guarantee the results but I wouldn't cook it longer than 5 hours.
- At the end of the cook time, stir in the sour cream.
- Serve over pasta or egg noodles.
- TO MAKE MY MEATBALL RECIPE
- Place bread in a small bowl and add about 1 cup of water. Let this sit for 5 minutes, then squeeze as much water out of the bread as you can, then place the bread in a larger bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix very well.
- Shape into meatballs about 1.5-2-inches in diameter. Brown on all sides in 1-2 tbs of olive oil.
- Drain off excess fat. Add 1 tsp water, cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Cool meatballs to room temperature, then place them on a baking sheet in a single layer, place in freezer about 1 hour until completely frozen. Store in a zipper bag in the freezer for future use. This recipe can be doubled or tripled.
Nutrition
Miranda says
Slow cooker recipes are always so great! I love just being able to throw dinner in and let it cook without me doing much!
Miranda recently posted…Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake
Judith Hanneman says
This one’s a real”toss and go”!
Sacha Grady says
Can I get your meatball recipe? My husband would eat more spaghetti and other noodle dishes if I had meatballs to put in them.
Judith Hanneman says
It’s right in the recipe card Sacha. 🙂
Megan says
Do I need to defrost the meatballs before putting them in the crockpot? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Judith Hanneman says
You can toss them in frozen! You will love this recipe!
Megan says
Thank you so much! I’m making it for my family tonight and we are all so excited!
Anna says
Do you use condensed soup or just a regulate premDe one that you don’t add water to?
Judith Hanneman says
I use condensed soup but don’t add water Anna. I find the crock pot extracts a lot of water from food so it’s not necessary. One thing I do is used lower-sodium condensed soup–you can always add salt to taste/