The Best Crockpot co*cktail Meatballs (Save this recipe!) - Paleo Grubs (2024)

Slow Cooked Goodness

Before you begin making your meatballs and sauce, you’re going to want to preheat your oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With that out of the way, get a bowl ready to start mixing your meatball ingredients together. Add your ground beef, dried oregano, basil, and parsley, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and then your choice of either almond flour or coconut flour.

Both of these flours make incredible paleo cooking ingredients that are much healthier options than refined white flours, which have been known to cause inflammation in many people. When you consider that chronic inflammation has been linked to nearly every type of modern disease (1), it only makes sense to use these healthier flour alternatives. The mixture of herbs and spices used also help to provide a ton of antioxidants that further help prevent diseases like cancer, on top of adding an immense amount of flavor to your meatballs. (2)

The next step is to bake your meatballs for a brief period of about five minutes or so and then transfer them into your slow cooker. With that out of the way, it’s time to prepare the sauce. It’s incredibly easy to prepare as well — simply get a separate bowl ready and mix all of your ingredients together. You’ll need to use either homemade or a store bought brand of cranberry sauce that’s paleo friendly, as well as tomato puree, honey, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and a small amount of ground cinnamon. This homemade sauce is the real secret ingredient that makes this meatball recipe shine, as it serves up a delightful honey mustard taste that is slightly offset by the bitter flavors added by the vinegar and cranberry sauce.

To finish things off, all that’s left to do is pour your sauce over the meatballs and then leave your co*cktail to cook for a few hours. When it’s ready to serve, I recommend sprinkling a little bit of chopped parsley or chives over top to add just that little bit extra to your meal. I love this recipe because it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and then you can just let the crockpot do its thing, and before you know it you’ll be enjoying a delicious, slow cooked gourmet style meal.

PS. If you’re looking for some more inspiration for paleo meal ideas to cook in a crockpot, we’ve got quite a few slow cooker recipes that I highly recommend as well. The first recipe is for slow cooked roasted chicken with lemon and rosemary. If you enjoy that one, you’ll probably also love this slow cooked white chicken chili recipe. And last but not least, you simply must try out this slow cooked cauliflower chicken chowder with some paleo bread on the side. So simple and so easy without compromising on taste. It may take a little longer, but it’s definitely worth the wait.