These are a must try, and yes, I made them in the crock pot but you can also bake these in the oven as well. Here’s the recipe:
Mix together (use your hands)
2lbs grassfed ground beef
1lb of pork sausage
chopped celery, onions, and carrots
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
lots of dried oregano, garlic powder, cracked black pepper, and a little cayenne
small drizzle of raw honey
Form into large meatballs and cover bottom of crock pot, you might have to stack them depending on the size of your crock pot.
For the sauce mix:
1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomatoe paste
a large handfull of torn fresh basil
5-6 coarsely chopped garlic cloves
a couple pinches of sea salt
cracked black pepper to taste.
Cover meatballs with tomato sauce and cook all day on low. These were even better the next day for lunch!!
Print 
PDF
About Sarah
Hey Sarah,
I added this one to AllRecipes.com for you. Check it out: http://allrecipes.com/PersonalRecipe/62207049/Marvelous-MeatBalls/Detail.aspx
I need to edit it with some more specifics on the ingredients, like how much of the celery, carrots, etc… If you have some more specific quantities, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll update it when I make it.
Looks awesome. I never thought of putting Almond Meal into meatballs. Will definitely give this recipe a try. I also like to add a grated Zucchini to the mix, sneak in the veg
Will be giving this a try Monday! Thanks……
Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes. My wife and I are a few weeks into our Paleo transition and have gone 100% since the New year. I made your meatballs last night and the whole family loved them! And you are right, they are better the next day. Thank you again.
Alan
Cooked this thru Wedneday night and had them yesterday, we loved them! Thanks again!
Chris
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs187.snc3/19440_265839126159_571646159_3816371_458812_n.jpg
I think you have the site I have been looking for! Going to make these meatballs today for sure! Your recipes look great and very do-able. Keep up the great work.
Just made these for the SuperBowl yesterday. They were phenomenal! I browned them first because I didn’t have time to cook them all day, but they had a good 4-5 hours in the crock pot afterwards; I used about three times as many tomatoes too. Thanks for the recipe!
These will be great on my Zucc-getti (Mandolin julienned zucchini,sautéed) or Spaghetti Squash. I miss Italian food; recipes like this make me forget…
We’ve been low-carbing(Atkin’s style) it at our house for about four months. I’ve found that I feel awesome without the grains, legumes, and sugar, and am now transitioning to a paleo/primal diet (not a whole lot different from the beginning stages of Atkins). This has become a go-to meal in our home, one that is enjoyed by both kids and low-carbing grown-ups!
Thank you!
Awesome Jody!! : )
What’s “cook all day” in a crock pot?
Would that be 6 hours or so?
Hi Matt,
Yes, depending on your crock pot, I would cook on low for 6-8 hours. : )
I made the meatballs and they are delicious! I am new to your website and in the last few weeks have made at least 3-4 different receipes and everything has been easy to make and very flavorful. Can you really lose weight with food that taste so good?
Hi Lynne! You sure can lose weight with food that tastes great – one thing I love about eating paleo and why it’s now a lifestyle for me and not a “diet”! Good luck and keep me posted on how things go for you!
I made these last night and they were de-licious!! We had to stop ourselves from eating more than our fair share since I had planned the leftovers for lunch today. The hubs and I have gone Paleo since October 1st when we hit the “reset” button to get healthier and after a not-so-good Thanksgiving, we’ve been craving meat and veggies like none other! Thanks again Sarah for a wonderful recipe I’m sure to make again and again.
These. Are. Amazing. I was a little skeptical but really needed a few new recipes in my Paleo lineup. So, put em’ together and came home to them tonight. Really really tasty. Thank you so much! I love the blog and have a feeling I’ll be making a lot of your recipes for my CrossFit family and I
Just in case anyone wants to know how to bake these….I did mine on 400 for 25 minutes in a muffin tin. Half of the recipe made 12 meatballs, so you’d probably need two tins for a full recipe. Hope this helps!
I just tried these out last night and they are awesome!
Recipe looks tasty and easy. I was going to use a pound of grass-fed beef heart that I would grind up in the food processor. I would add that to a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground pork. Also, if I cook in oven would you think cook at 275 degrees for 4 hours would be too long? Maybe 250 for 3-4 hours. What do you think?
Thanks for a great and informative site!
Steven
Or could even do 350 for 1 hour to speed things up but I think maybe 250 for 3-4 hours would be less likely to dry them out. : )
I have these in the crock pot right now and can hardly stand how good they smell every time I walk into the kitchen! I’m sure they’ll be tasting good too!
if you were going to cook these in the oven what would the time and temperature be?
I didn’t have the sausage so I omitted it and used grass fed beef for all of it.. and they totally fell apart. I’m guessing the sausage might have helped?
I was so glad to see this. I made these for a Karate picnic we were suppose to go to for my son. I got home and had more of “sloppy joe” looking thing in my crock pot when I got home. We did not go to the function because we did not have a dish to pass. I am going to try again tonight with the sausage.
I’m new to paleo eating-is almond meal the same as almond flour? Thanks!
Yes, it’s the same thing! : )
I LOVE THESE! I made a half batch this weekend (it is just me) to freeze in preparation for an extended convelescence. I am going to have to make another batch because I ate two of the six made and a friend ate two more. I had accidently picked up italian turkey sausage and even without the fat of the pork sausage, the meatballs did stay together- but were probably more “crumbly” than they would have been using the pork.
Excellent recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Yesterday was my first day of paleo and decided to give this recipe a go. I was soo glad I did! The meatballs were a hit with my wife and little boy.
I cooked half a batch of them in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 min. They cooked well, but where a tiny bit dry, probably due to the intense heat. Not that it mattered, because the sauce more then made up for it. Next time I’ll try them at 350 for 50min to an hour.
I also didn’t use almond flour since I didn’t have any. What purpose does it serve in this recipe?
YUM! Loved this recipe. I made them following the directions in your book. I have a problem with drying out grass-fed beef, but in the crockpot they were perfect. Thanks!!!
So glad you liked them!
Does anyone know about how many meatballs this makes? I’m going to make them for an office party!
If you do them in the oven, does it help to cover them in foil?
Yes, they will cook faster if covered!
so, i was really excited to try these tonight after smelling their aroma in the house for six hours. I ended up with an amazing tasting meat sauce with the only meatballs that maintained their round shape being the top layer in the crock pot. Any advice on improving the consistency so that I end up with a bowl of meatballs rather than a meat sauce? It really does taste delicious.
I’m not sure what went wrong! I have made this a million times and they have never fallen apart. Did you make sure you packed the meatballs nice and firm when you made them? That’s the only thing I can think!
WOW! just made these & they are fabulous
I ended up making smaller balls and my kids couldn’t get enough of them. Is the almond meal what helps to keep them “firm”? I skipped this ingredient and browned them a little first – don’t know if that changed anything. Either way – THANKS for the great recipe!
How many meatballs are in a serving?? LOVE LOVE LOVE your recipes!!!
Can’t WAIT to try these. My crossfit coach just put them on her list of the Ultimate Paleo Super Bowl Party Menu ideas. http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/melissa_guitron/the-ultimate-paleo-super-bowl-party-menu. YUM!
These meatballs were fantastic!! I added pureed carrot and turnip (I had them on hand and wanted to use them up) , my kids actually loved them! I have tried to make healthy meatballs in the past and the kids wouldn’t eat them. This get a 5 & 2 year old thumbs up!
So glad the kiddos liked them! : )
Made these for dinner tonight. They tasted great – even my 2-year-old wolfed his down happily. However, they were stacked in 3 layers in the slow cooker, and while the top layer kept their shape, the lower layers either fused together, or disintegrated so that the sauce turned into a meaty bolognaise-type sauce. Might try a half-mixture next time, so the pot isn’t quite so full. But definitely a keeper! Thanks!
I made a modified version of these a few weeks back. I used up the rest of my oats (maybe 2/3 of a cup) because the mixture was too wet. I also chopped up a bag of broccoli slaw since I didn’t have carrots or celery. Surprisingly, the batch lasted several days in the house. My kids loved them. I have another batch (minus the oats) in the crockpot right now and my oldest can’t wait to eat them tonight.
Made a batch of these on Monday morning to have for dinner on Monday night. They cooked for 8 hours in the slow cooker and were so good! I had huge jar of fresh salsa that I needed to use, so I put that in the slow cooker too to make the sauce more spicy. Been having these for lunch every day and they are great!
Nearly all of the meatballs stayed intact except one or two which ended up making more of a “meat sauce”. I was thinking about browning them in a pan before adding them to the slow cooker next time.
Thanks Sarah! I’m going through your cookbook, page by page. All the recipes sound amazing.
HEy Sarah, I’m new to the crockpot. for the sauce, do I mix all the ingredients seperately and cook it first or do i throw in all of the sauce ingredients into the crockpot with out mixing them all together first?
Sarah, could I prepare the meatballs, freeze them prior to cooking, and throw them in the crock pot later in the week?
Yes, I think that would work just fine!
Can anyone provide specifics on quantities of ingredients such as the vegetables and seasonings?? I made them and they were good but just thinking the seasoning could have been a little better.
I made these yesterday from your cookbook for the first time. Great flavors and texture!