Crock Pot Cheese Stuffed Turkey Meatballs in homemade marinara sauce is a family favorite in my house and perfect for a busy school night dinner! These are made grain free, low carb, keto, and gluten free!
How to Make Turkey Meatballs
You may or may not be in love with your crock pot. If you have been scarred from one too many dry dinner recipes that made you feel like you could never trust it anymore, I can relate. I've been there too.
But given the right balance of time and liquids and you've got a winning recipe for the family.
This is my favorite way to add flavor to a somewhat bland kind of meat, ground turkey. The addition of spices and stuffed with cheese, slow cooked in a homemade marinara make this a recipe your family will ask you for often.
Slow Cooker or Baked Turkey Meatballs
Everyone loves meatballs so stuffing them with cheese was just something that had to happen in my opinion.We are a family of cheese lovers. I've made this recipe with both mozzarella and fontina, both equally delicious. The fontina is a bit more ooey gooey as you will see from the pics.
I've added directions to bake in the oven if you don't have a slow cooker. Either way is delicious!
This recipe makes 2 dozen so you should have enough left overs as well.
Warning: If you have a boy teenager in the house, like my son, you may not have much left over at all. My own son, who after having been sick for a week barely eating, enjoyed about 8 of these the first night his appetite was back. True story.
Other fabulous Slow Cooker Meals to feed the whole family:
Moral of today:
If you're ready to love your crock pot again and make peace with it if it has failed you terribly in the past, this recipe is the one that will help you make amends. 🙂
If you like this recipe, you’ll find many more in my Meal Plan Membership.
Crock Pot Turkey Meatballs
Crock Pot Cheese Stuffed Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup pork rinds crushed
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasonings
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 ½ pounds ground turkey
- 8 ounces Fontina cheese cut into 24 pieces or mozzarella
Marinara Sauce
- 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Crock Pot Directions
- In a large bowl whisk the eggs, pork rinds, cheese and seasonings together.
- Add the ground turkey and mix just until combined.
- Roll mixture into 24 meatballs.
- Insert 1 cube of cheese into the center of each meatball. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl stir together the marinara sauce ingredients.
- Pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of the crock pot.
- Place meatballs in the crock pot and cover with remaining sauce.
- Cover and cook on high 3 hours or low 6 hours.
Oven Directions
- Follow the recipe up until you put the sauce in the crock pot. Instead place half the sauce into a 9 by 13 baking pan. Add all the meatballs and cover with remaining sauce. Bake 30 minutes or until turkey is no longer pink when cut open.
Notes
Nutrition
Brian Schultz
So, it says you cook on low for 6hours, but the total cook time at the top says 8hrs w 20 min prep? And since I'm new to this ...so you just mix the packaged turkey with the ingredients and roll into balls then it cooks thoroughly through out the meatballs?
Brenda
I just switched my recipe plug in and I'm finding a few errors when it was converting recipes to the new plug in. This is one of them as well as making all my serving sizes crazy unrealistic like 1 gram! Anyway, I updated the time issue here, thanks for letting me know. Yes make the meatballs, roll them up, add to crock pot.
Brian Schultz
Thank you so much!!! The kids can't wait....Dad is being Mr mom now. Lol...
JanetB
Wow!! I made this because I had the ground turkey and didn't have a recipe. I had to change the oats to quinoa because I'm Celiac and they were totally delicious!! I also didn't have time to put them in the crock pot and just browned them in the frying pan and poured the sauce over top and let it simmer for a few minutes. I don't think I'll ever eat ground beef again!! Thanks again!!
Jessica
Hello, I'm curious on the carb content, I did not see it listed on the nutrition list. Thank you.
Brenda
Sorry the plug in I switched to is not working properly. I will need to get back to you on that.
Brenda
Total Carbs: 4.5g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6g
Net Carbs: 3.9g per serving
Marta
This was so amazing, my daughter and hubby loved them! Sooo good!
Dawn
These were amazing! Found Fontina at Kroger and Food Lion. The kids and the hubby said,
"Make these again" -- with my newly found, sugar free marinara recipe. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
trisha
I could not find fontina cheese. Would swiss, cheddar or cream cheese be a good alternative?
Brenda
Mozzarella would work. I wouldn't use Swiss myself, not a fan. Cheddar would be fine too.
Melissa+from+HungryFoodLove.com
I grew up eating cheese stuffed meatballs and I can't believe I don't make them often. They are the best and this recipes sounds so much better. I should try it!
valmg @ From Val's Kitchen
They look awesome! I have made stuffed meatballs before but never in the crockpot.
Nutmeg+Nanny
Cheese stuffed meatballs! Yes please!
Kim+Beaulieu
This is divine. I want to run right into my kitchen right this minute and whip this up.
Meseidy
OMG! These meatballs are a treat!
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos
Oh my heavens - slow cooked in a crockpot and with cheese inside? Love this meatball recipe!
Christie+-+Food+Done+Light
These look so delicious. My daughter would be thrilled with the cheese in the middle.
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
Brenda, it was so good to see you again. . um, hello?! love these meatballs!!! I can't believe I've never made meatballs in my slow cooker!!! It's my fave appliance in the fall. . love this and pinned!
Brenda
So nice seeing and chatting with you this weekend Alice!! Thanks for pinning too!
Stephanie+@+Back+For+Seconds
I LOVE using my crock pot and these are just begging for me to make them. Thanks for the great recipe!
rocio
I just made this and was super delicioso
Brenda
Wow You are fast!! Glad you liked them!
Ginny+McMeans
This actually looks like a fun recipe to put together. Love that it can go in the slow cooker too. I LOVE my crock pot.
Amanda+@The+Kitcheneer
I LOVE this! I am making a stock of slow cooker recipes and I am definitely making this one!
Lora+@cakeduchess
I don't know why I never bake meatballs in my slow-cooker...wow! This is the recipe I will make next! My kids will be delighted:)
christine
I used to have a love/hate relationship with mine. Then I realized that my crock just cooks a lot "hotter" than others. Once I realized how to adjust the cooking time, I fell back in love. These meatballs look amazing and fontina is by far my favorite cheese!
Ashley+@+Wishes+and+Dishes
Yeah I've been burned by my crock pot a time or two LOL I am willing to give it another try though! I love the Fontina cheese used here - that's actually my favorite cheese ever.
Renee+-+Kudos+Kitchen
You just can't go wrong with a stuffed meatball. I love that you used two kinds of cheeses and ground turkey. I'm going to pin your recipe and hopefully try it very soon. It look like something my family will really enjoy!
Brenda
Thanks for pinning!
Kellie+@+The+Suburban+Soapbox
I love that you made these in the crock pot!!! And that cheese.....oh.boy. 🙂
Martha @ A Family Feast
So much goodness stuffed into these meatballs - and the fact that you can make them in a crock pot makes them even better!
Heather+//+girlichef
We are also a family of cheese-lovers...I don't know which I want to try more, the fontina or the mozzarella. I think I'd have to go half and half! And since I do have a teenage boy in the house (and a swimmer, at that), I think these would be the perfect dinner.