Mississippi Meatballs in the Crockpot
Last night for dinner, I made these Mississippi Meatballs in the Crockpot. They are pretty easy to throw together and only take a couple hours in the crockpot. When they are finished cooking, the juice left in the crockpot makes a very rich and flavorful gravy. If you have heard of Mississippi Pot Roast, it is the same concept. If you haven’t, a quick Google search will bring up plenty of recipes for it! The recipes are almost all the same and consist of a pack of au jus gravy, ranch dressing seasoning, pepperoncini peppers and butter. (I did not use butter because there was plenty of fat from the meatballs.) I used homemade meatballs, but frozen ones would be absolutely fine to use and would save time and money! Serve these over a big pile of mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles and you’ll be full and happy! And if you love crockpot recipes, check these out while you are here!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Soup
Cheesy Ground Beef and Potatoes
How To Make Mississippi Meatballs in the Crockpot
This is just a summary. The full recipe is down below. Mix together ground beef with eggs, parmesan cheese, seasoned bread crumbs, diced onions, and minced garlic.
Once you have the meat mixed, weigh it out into 2 oz portions. Or you could use a cookie scoop. You just want to make sure they are relatively uniform in size. Then roll them into balls. A great tip is to wet your hands with water so the meat doesn’t stick to you while you are shaping them. You should get roughly 18 meatballs.
This step is optional but I like to brown them in a skillet before putting them in the crockpot. This adds flavor and helps to keep them from falling apart. You do not need to cook them fully, just try to brown them evenly on all sides. When done, place them in the crockpot.
Mix together one packet of au jus gravy mix, 1/2 packet of Ranch seasoning, 2 tbsp of LOW SODIUM beef broth and 1/4 cup of pepperoncini juice. Pour over the meatballs and add a few of the peppers in there as well.
Lastly
Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 3-4. When it is done, remove the meatballs and peppers. Mix together some cornstarch and water (known as a cornstarch slurry). Mix that into the juice left in the crockpot along with some heavy cream and stir until thickened. Put the meatballs back in and stir into the gravy.
These are great served over mashed potatoes or rice with a vegetable on the side. They would also be great served on white bread as an open-faced sandwich!
If you do make this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating! I love hearing from you and it helps so much! Thank you!
Mississippi Meatballs in the crockpot
Ingredients
Homemade Meatballs
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Shredded Parmesan
- 1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 Cup Diced Onions
- 5-6 Garlic Cloves, minced
If not making homemade meatballs, use a 32 oz bag of frozen ones!
- 1 oz Packet of Au Jus Seasoning Mix or Brown Gravy Mix
- 1/2 oz Ranch Seasoning Mix
- 2 Cups LOW SODIUM beef broth if you don't have this, use water or it will end up way too salty
- 1/4 Cup Pepperoncini Juice, plus a few of the peppers
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter, optional
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Cold water
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream or milk
Instructions
- If you are making the meatballs, mix the ground beef, eggs, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, onions and garlic together.
- Use a scale to weight out 2 oz portions or whatever size you want them. Or you can use a cookie scoop too. Roll into balls. *Tip – Wet your hands with water while shaping them and the mixture won't stick to your hands.
- In a skillet over medium heat, brown them on all sides. Do not worry about cooking them through, you just want some good color on them.
- Transfer them to the crockpot.
- Mix together the au jus, ranch, beef broth or water, and pepperoncini juice. Pour over the meatballs. Place a few of the peppers on top. If using butter, place small pieces of it all over the top as well. (I don't recommend using butter if making the meatballs homemade, as they will produce a lot of fat on their own. I do recommend using it for the store bought ones.)
- Cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 3-4 hours. If using frozen meatballs, you can cut this time down somewhat.
- When they are finished, remove the peppers and meatballs from the crockpot. Mix together the cornstarch and water and mix that into the juice left in the crockpot along with the heavy cream. Stir until a thick gravy forms.
- Place the meatballs back in there and cover them with the gravy. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or rolls and enjoy!
Thank you! everyone in the house really enjoyed this only thing I did was use egg noodles instead of mashed potatoes as my little love’s noodles but not a fan of potatoes except fried lol but I am sure the potatoes with it would be awesome to
I am sure the egg noodles were delicious as well! Thank you for your thoughtful review!
I’ve made this a few times since March and my family LOVES it!!!!!!!!!! March through May we were making it twice a week. Our Walmart has a try of homemade meatballs so we didn’t have to make by scratch or use frozen.
Recently went shopping and was gathering the ingredients for this and few other meals and found the meatballs my family had been using were out of stock. So questions…When using frozen can you dump them straight into the crock pot frozen and does it add to the cooking time ?
I was wondering if using frozen do we need to brown them in the skillet first ? Or just toss right in the crock pot ?
We are making these for dinner tonight! Can’t wait! In the recipe you write 2 cups of beef broth, but in the written part of your story, with pictures, you write 2TBS. In case you ever go back and edit/update!
I hope you enjoyed them! And thank you for pointing that out, I will get that corrected asap! 🙂
This is a staple recipe in our household and I always keep the ingredients on hand for when the mood strikes. We absolutely love it!
That makes me so happy to hear, Nicole!
Love this recipe! I make it for my parents who are seniors and they love it too. I make my meatballs from scratch, never been a big fan of the texture of frozen meatballs and serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes (I switch it up). I love how it has a Swedish meatball vibe with the added cream. Making it tonight!
Wendy, I am so glad that you and your parents all enjoy the recipe! Thank you so much!
Can I get a recipe for the green beans though?!? ?
Made this tonight and it was so good! Thank you!!
I am glad you enjoyed it Dana! Thank you for the review!
This is not only a good recipe, but details a good strategy for making any type of meat in a crockpot, and then turn the juice into a gravy to make something that can be served with rice or potatoes. Thanks for the ideas! I have made it the way you suggested, and the pepperoncini juice adds a nice flavor.
Pretty easy and very tender. Flavors were great and sauce was plentiful, which is important in our house. I’ll definitely make this again, maybe even for a crowd.