There’s nothing better than a homemade authentic Italian Marinara with Meatball dish that has been passed down for decades!. This pasta recipe features a sauce made with fresh basil and oregano mixed with crushed tomatoes and classic Italian herbs and spices. The meatballs have fresh basil and oregano mixed in and are big and full of flavor with every bite!
We all have that friend or family member that is constantly sharing recipes they love. Personally, I LOVE getting recipes from others that are amazing (hence, my website name….Recipes Worth Repeating). I love the variety of recipes I get and I love to try new foods, so I’m super thankful for my aunt Sondra who sends me recipes and for my aunt Elaine who shared a lot of her recipes with me before she passed away to be with the Lord. Gosh, I need to post some of her recipes on here. I have some classics sitting in my recipe book!!
My friend Lindsay is another person who is always sharing a lot of yummy recipes with me, like this Feta and Sun-Dried Tomato Turkey Meatloaf and these Turkey Tots, but I think this Italian Marinara with Meatballs recipe is my all time favorite of all the recipes she has shared. With this recipe came the story about how her Italian family has been making this dish for years! Ya’ll…let me tell you, this authentic Italian Marinara with Meatballs dish is a classic! Look at those meatballs!
This dish features a lot of fresh basil and fresh oregano, mixed with other Italian spices. I think that’s why I love this recipe so much. It’s screaming authentic flavor with every single bite! Plus, this dish is made in the slow-cooker so that makes it super convenient and super tasty because all these Italian ingredients have time to meld and marinate together. Is your mouth watering yet?!
To make the sauce, you literally throw in the marinara ingredients into the crock pot.
From there, you’re going to mix up the ingredients to make and roll your meatballs. Before adding the rolled meatballs to the slow-cooker, you’ll first need to brown them on the stove. You’ll add 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil (use flavored oil if you have it on hand) to a skillet and brown the outsides of the meatballs. This step is crucial! If you don’t do this step, the meatballs will fall apart in the sauce while everything is cooking. The intent is to brown both sides of the meatballs, not cook them all the way through. They will finish cooking in your slow-cooker. Once the meatballs are browned, you’ll spoon them out of the skillet and place them on top of your sauce.
You’ll then gently spoon some of the sauce on top of the meatballs before placing the lid on and letting the slow-cooker do all the work. You’re going to let this recipe slow-cook for 5 hours. About 20 minutes before the sauce and meatball are scheduled to be done, I make my gluten free spaghetti noodles. I drain the noodles and make my plate!
This recipe can be made gluten free if you use gluten free noodles and gluten free breadcrumbs. Oh and by the way…Lindsay add a Young Living Essential Oil called “Taste of Italy” that contain basil leaf oil, Oregano (Origanum vulgare)† aerial parts oil, Oregano (Origanum minutiflorum)† aerial parts oil, Oregano (Origanum onites)† aerial parts oil, Oregano (Origanum majorana)† aerial parts oil. This add is optional, but adding it really enhances the taste of this dish! To find out more about this oil from Young Living, read about it here: Order Young Living Oils. You can also order the oil from their website!
You guys, I’m telling you…you are really going to enjoy this recipe! It’s a repeater for sure!! And if you just can’t get enough of my pasta recipes, you have to check out these favorites like my Garlic Basil Chicken Pasta with Alfredo Sauce, Penne Pasta with Italian Marinara Sauce and my Chicken Florentine with Sun Dried Tomato Pasta…so yummy!!
There's nothing better than a homemade authentic Italian Marinara with Meatball dish that has been passed down for decades!. This pasta recipe features a sauce made with fresh basil and oregano mixed with crushed tomatoes and classic Italian herbs and spices. The meatballs have fresh basil and oregano mixed in and are big and full of flavor with every bite!
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
- 2 bunches fresh basil, (you will take this out at the end so they need to be whole bunches)
- 4-5 sprigs fresh oregano, (you will take this out at the end so they need to be whole bunches)
- 1/4 cup c freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 drop Taste of Italy Young Living Essential Oil, optional
- 2 pounds ground turkey, (Jennie-O, 93/7 fat)
- 1 1/2 pounds turkey sausage, (hot or sweet- I buy Jennie-O)
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, (I use a Gluten Free Panko Bread Crumbs)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, (if you have a flavored olive oil, use it!)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Fresh basil & oregano, (as much as you want, cut or torn into small pieces)
- 1 drop Taste of Italy Young Living Essential Oil, optional
Combine all marinara ingredients in a slow-cooker, stir together.
Turn slow-cooker on low heat.
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Roll mixture into medium sized balls (about 1.5 to 2 inches thick).
Add 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil to the skillet and brown the outsides of the meatballs before putting them into the slow-cooker (If you don’t do this step, they will fall apart in the sauce).
Add the meatballs to slow-cooker after they’ve been browned. (Note – the sauce will not cover them; this is okay. The sauce cover the meatballs by the end of the cooking process)
Place the lid on the slow-cooker and cook on low for 5 hours.
About 20 minutes before the sauce and meatballs are finished cooking, make your favorite pasta and cook according to packaged directions.
When you remove the meatballs from the sauce at the end, do so with a slotted spoon to catch the basil and oregano leaves/stems to remove them from the sauce.
Once the meatballs and sauce are done, serve on top of a plate of pasta! Top with fresh Parmesan cheese!
I’ve made 2 recipe cards for you because I love these meatballs and the sauce over spaghetti but I also love to eat the meatballs by themselves as a snack!
Pin this recipe on your favorite PASTA board on Pinterest!
- Recipe source: inspired by Lindsay Pineda
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I’m a little biased here, but honestly, this recipe is amazing! It’s so wonderful to see the recipe being passed around; my grandma and great grandma would be so happy. They loved nothing more than to feed as many people as possible and I hope you all enjoy these yummy meatballs and sauce as much as we do!
Yeah! I’m glad this would make your grandparents happy! Such a great meal! I make it at least once a month! The meatballs are perfect for a snack!
Nothing beats a great bowl of spaghetti and meatballs on the weekend with a glass of wine. Perfect for entertaining too. The simple things on life are often the best and tastiest!!
Well said! Thank you! You summed it up perfectly!
Being Italian, I always feel good when I see recipes passing down from one to another. Ths dish looks beautiful and such a great weeknight meal!
Thanks! You should try it…true authentic Italian with this recipe!!
This looks like a plate of my favorite comfort food. I could eat this all winter.
Yes, it is SO delish! I hope you enjoy it!
This recipe looks like a winner!! I love the addition of essential oils here, I’ve never tried that! I also love the use of a slow cooker… that’s my kind of recipe. I’m bookmarking this for later!
Thanks! Enjoy it! It’s a fantastic dish! Super yummy home cooked dish here!
Gorgeous clicks ! comforting meal i must say.
Thank you! Yes, this one is such a comfort food!!
Love that this recipe is gluten-free! Most meatball recipes that I see use some kind of bread crumbs as a binder. These look tasty and would be perfect on some gluten-free pasta.
Yes – I serve these meatballs with gluten free pasta! I eat the meatballs alone as a snack sometimes, too!!
That oil sounds really interesting. I can see so many uses for it beyond these lovely meatballs. Speaking of these meatballs. . .I love that they were made in the slow cooker. I’m definitely going to need to give that a try next time.
I sell Young Living Essential oils so if you want Taste of Italy let me know! Yes, a slow cooker is amazing for this recipe..who would have thought!
I agree that nothing beats a great bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and this sure looks great! I’m going to try making them in the slow cooker next time for sure!
You’ll love the convenience of that crockpot!
I’m always looking for new spaghetti recipes since it is about the only thing i can get my 3 yr old to eat. I will try this soon for him, delicious!
He will LOVE it!! My kids ADORE this dish! Those meatballs are super yummy!
Few questions as based on what I have I was going to do a little substitution. Instead of ground turkey & ground sausage I have 1 lb of 92% lean organic grass fed beed. How can I adjust the rest of the sauce recipe to make this work? I’m craving beef & I like tomato basil sauce
Hi Jamie!!
Using ground beef will work out just fine! Use your 1 lbs of ground beef in substitute of the turkey and ground sausage. You can leave the rest of the recipe the exact same. Let me know if you have any other questions and let me know how it turns out!