Simple One Pot Crock Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs [Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, Baked, Freezer Meal]

Boy, oh boy.  This is a good one.  Not only is this crock pot spaghetti and meatballs delicious.  It's completely and totally NO COOK.  And I mean no pre-cooking anything.

Want to hear a little secret?  Well, it's sorta a secret.  I've wanted to try making this for years.  Because seriously.  A completely no-cook spaghetti and meatballs recipe for the slow cooker...if it'd work) that'd it would be the ultimate comfort food "toss and go" recipe.

If it'd work... that'd be one of those ultimate comfort food "toss and go" recipes.  But honestly, I just didn't think it would work.  I'm very happy to say I was wrong!

Why Cook Another Crock Pot Pasta Recipe?

Well, here's it is.  Slow Cooker Kitchen takes requests.  I can't do all of them.  But try as much as possible.  And we got the request.  Not once, but twice over the course of a few weeks.

For what you ask?  Of course, crock pot spaghetti and meatballs.  The completely no precooking kind.

So after thinking "dang it" for a bit, it was time to research.  So it began.  Cookbooks, other websites, and a couple of friends were all consulted.

How to Keep the Spaghetti from Gooping Together

And all the cookbooks I own (and that's a lot mind you) precook their pasta.  Every human did too...or added it later.

But the only true no pre-cooking recipes were on other websites.  And there were several complaints too.  Not all or anything.  Just a few here and there.  All about the pasta sorta globbing together.

And that's exactly why it hadn't been cooked here yet.  I was worried about the globby pasta thing.  It's rather gross when that happens.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Eureka Moment!

Then on came the brain light bulb.  Most all crockpot casseroles are layered or stirred up well.  That's so the liquid can be evenly absorbed.

So I figured if it worked for the casseroles it should work for this.  And you can't stir dry spaghetti noodles and them not break...so layers it was.

And it worked!

Not only did it work... it worked great!  It's creamy, cheesy, and delicious.  I've actually been requested to never make spaghetti any other way again.

I'll be cooking up another recipe or two over the winter with ground beef and sausage.

Those won't be completely "no precooks" but they'll still be yummy...so not so bad either 🙂

Step-by-Step Crock Pot Meatballs and Spaghetti

Like I was saying earlier...the biggest thing is making the layers.  The pasta needs to not touch too much and it needs to be kinda sprinkled in.  This recipe uses linguine noodles.

I am sure thick spaghetti noodles would work too.  But NOT angel hair for this. I'm pretty sure that would just turn to mush.

Ready to Eat or Not?

Now, you can dig in.  And it's good!  The pasta is done and it's creamy and yummy BUT...

If you've got another 20 minutes it's better.  MUCH BETTER if you add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup beef broth and one more jar of spaghetti sauce.

Then just stir it up, cover and let it heat up.  It took about 20 more minutes to be heated all the way through on ours.

And this pot will feed 6 to 8 very hungry people.

Freezer Meal Prep

There is NO reason this can't be a freezer meal.  I wouldn't toss everything in a bag like a lot of our freezer meal ideas.  You could easily put the spaghetti sauce and beef broth in a bag and then tape it all together like I did in this Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie Recipe.  That'd work...

But this recipe also freezes very well afterward too.  I honestly have no idea why.  Pasta usually doesn't, but this did.  So FYI on that one too 🙂

Printable & Pinnable Crock Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Here's the printable crock pot spaghetti and meatballs.  Sure hope you like.  Let us know what you think!  And Rock That Crock!

Crock Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs

Gwen@SlowCookerKitchen.com

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 5 hrs

Total Time 5 hrs 5 mins

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds meatballs whatever kind you like
• 3 24 to 26- ounce jars of spaghetti sauce
• 1 pound linguine or thick spaghetti noodles
• 1 8- ounce canister Chive & Onion Cream Cheese optional
• 1 cup mozzeralla cheese
• 3/4 to 1 1/2 cups beef broth depending on how soupy you want your spaghetti
• 2 cups water instant pot recipe only

Instructions

 

Slow Cooker

• Pour jar #1 of the pasta sauce and 1/2 cup of the beef broth in the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Break the pasta in half. Sprinkle half of it on top the sauce (scatter it around so it's touching as little as possible).
• Pour in the meatballs and top with the other half of the pasta.
• Spoon out chunks of the cream cheese and place them all around the crockpot
• Top with another pasta sauce and sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese.
• Cover and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 5 hours (I've never tried it on low).
• You can either stop here and eat or you can continue with the directions.
• Stopping here will give you more of a spaghetti casserole with a lot less sauce.
• If you want a more traditional, creamy cheesy pasta...continue with the directions below
• Uncover and stir well. Add as much of the pasta sauce and remaining beef broth to get the sauce to the consistency you prefer. I added another full jar of sauce and another 1/2 cup beef stock.
• Cover and cook on low until heated (20 minutes or so); or even up to 2 hours if you have other stuff to do.
• If you're gonna be busy more than 2 hours, just turn it to warm and it's fine for several hours.

Instant Pot

• Pour frozen meatballs into the bottom of the insert. Stop with broken spaghetti noodles and spread them out just like in the slow cooker directions/images.
• Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of beef broth and 2 cups of water. Top with spaghetti sauce and cream cheese. Don't stir.
• Set to manual high for 9 minutes. Allow 2 minutes natural release, then quick release. Stir well and serve.

Oven-Baked

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pasta according to package directions for al dente.
• Butter or oil a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour one jar of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish. Add al dente spaghetti noodles.
• Add the frozen meatballs in a single layer and pour the second can of pasta sauce over everything.
• Mix the softened cream cheese and at least 1/2 cup beef broth. Mix well and pour over casserole.
• Cover with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes if you want the top to brown a bit.

Freezer Meal Directions

• Use freezer tape to attach the meatball bag and the shredded cheese.
• Make a note on your label that you'll need pantry items: spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles, beef broth. And also note you'll need the cream cheese.
• Label and as per the expiration date on the frozen meatballs. Or 6 to 8 weeks if you're making homemade.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Other Recipes with Crock Pot Meatballs

If you're in the mood for meatballs...we got you covered!

Crock Pot Meatballs and Ravioli Casserole

This Slow Cooker Ravioli and Meatballs is a lot like the spaghetti and meatballs up above.  But it's all in the Italian family so lots of it taste similar.  Another excellent point, 5 ingredients!

3-Ingredient Crockpot Meatballs Appetizer

If you're looking for slow cooker meatballs but NOT Italian...here's a recipe you might wanna try.

Lots of Meatball Recipes

And if you still want more crock pot meatballs...check out this page.  There are 9 more delicious meatball ideas here!