Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs with Sauce

“By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Kikkoman and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

As I have mentioned in past posts, spaghetti and meatballs is a big deal in this house and I have my tried and true meatballs and sauce recipes that I use whenever it is on the meal plan. I have made them so many times that I can knock it out in about 45 minutes, which isn’t too bad, but when the opportunity to play around with Kikkoman Soy Sauce came up and I was brainstorming what sorts of recipes I would like to make easier for myself (and you!), the first dish that popped into my head was spaghetti and meatballs.

Now I am sure that you are thinking, “soy sauce in meatballs?!” And all I can say in response is: trust me. There is a method to my madness. You see, while we all think of soy sauce as being salty, the truth is that it offers another important flavor profile as well: umami. Umami is that additional savory quality that is not salty, bitter, or sour. It is the one that fills your mouth with flavor, that lights up foods like aged parmesan cheese and sundried tomatoes. So why put it in turkey meatballs? Because it allows you to use a leaner protein but gain back some of the heft of flavor that you lose when not using beef or pork. Pretty cool, huh?

The other perk to using soy sauce is that it reduces sodium—by using ½ tsp. of Kikkoman Soy Sauce in place of ½ tsp. of table salt, the sodium content is cut by 1000 mg. Similarly, a study in the Journal of Food Science showed that replacing salt with soy sauce reduced the sodium content by up to 50%, without decreasing consumer acceptance! How cool is that?! And if you are still nervous about making the switch, Kikkoman offers a ton of less sodium products including, Less Sodium Soy Sauce, 50% Less Sodium Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce, Less Sodium Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce, and 50% Less Sodium Gluten-Free Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce.

So now that I have hopefully convinced you that I wasn’t completely crazy to swap the salt for soy sauce, I want to tell you that I love this recipe because it is so much easier to make than the way I normally make my sauce and meatballs since I can just set it up in the slow cooker and forget about it all day. Also, my guys LOVED it! This recipe will definitely become part of our regular rotation and I hope you’ll add it to yours as well!

Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs with Sauce

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

6 hours

Total time

6 hours 15 mins

 

Author: Jessica Braider

Recipe type: Slow cooker, Dinner

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• For turkey meatballs:
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 egg
• ½ cup grated carrot (about 1 large carrot, don’t both peeling)
• ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
• ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon Kikkoman Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• For the sauce:
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28-oz can of crushed tomato
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Start with the sauce. If you’ve got a slow cooker with a sauté function, use that, otherwise, in a medium skillet heat the olive oil over a medium high heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add the onion and sauté until starting to turn golden, about 6-8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. If you are using a skillet, pour the onion and garlic into the slow cooker, scraping in as much as you can.
4. Add the tomatoes, bay, oregano, salt and pepper.
5. Then assemble the meatballs. In a large bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix well with your hands.
6. Once it is well mixed, scoop out portions, about 2 Tablespoons in size, and form into balls. Place into the sauce in the slow cooker.
7. Once all of the meatballs are formed, set your slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours. Serve with spaghetti or bread.

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