Meatballs are so absolutely wonderful, beefy, round and unassuming.
 All ingredients combined prior to cooking. |
| Fresh and lovely |
So what’s better than cheese you can add beef and veggies to for a savory, sumptuous crock pot dish? Really, this is such a wonderful dinner because you can prep everything in advance and then go for broke on those busy week nights.
You can even make your meatballs ahead of time, freeze and start cooking the morning you have the hankering for a comfort dish that’s both low carb and super healthy. Here, the meatballs are fresh and they held together tremendously well in the dish, even after 6 hours!
Of course, if you want to bring the sexy, be sure to sprinkle the soup with bacon bits just to say POW, or add to the soup for extra, meaty, chewy goodness.
Finally, the meatballs are tender and juicy, and they hold together wonderfully, even after cooking. It’s fun to have all of those textures and flavors together in a bowl of soup. But enough about me and mah soup.Let’s get to it.
Crockpot Cheesy Meatball Soup
Meatballs
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup LC-Breading mix (can sub with ground flax seed meal)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
For the stock
2 cups organic beef broth (or stock)
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped fine
1 chopped celery stalk
1/2 cup chopped purple onion
5 large mushrooms, chopped
5 strips bacon (optional or for garnish)
1. Meatballs: mix ingredients together thoroughly.
2. Shape into medium size meatballs.
3. Place uncooked meatballs and all other ingredients (stock recipe), except cheese sauce, in 4 quart crock pot.
4. Stir gently.
5. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.
Cheese Sauce:
4 Tbsp water
4 Tbsp heavy white cream
4 Tbsp butter
8 slices American cheese
6. Preparecheese sauce by placing all ingredients in a microwave safe dish.
7. Microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.
8. Add cheese sauce to the soup, stirring gently until blended.
Makes about 6 servings, or a little over 6 cups of soup.
Nutritional Information per serving: Calories: 419, Carbohydrates: 5.7 g, Fiber: 2 g, Net Carbohydrates: 3.7 g, Protein: 27 g, Fat: 32 g
Wow! This is really good. Just made it on the stove stop. I realized this morning my crockpot is still AWOL (loaned it out) so I cooked my meatballs in the oven this morning and just threw together the rest of the ingrediants. I used flax meal in the meatballs which I really like. My Grandma used to make a french onion soup with cheddar in it instead of swiss and the broth of this soup tastes a lot like it. This is a keeper!
So is the last ingredient for the actual meatballs listed as pepper and then the following ingredients listed as essentials for the broth that the meatballs are to be cooked in?
You are correct! I fixed this and added back the image that was accidentally pulled with one that shows all ingredients in the crock pot.
This soup sounds great!! Do you use packaged American cheese for your cheese sauce or can I use the sliced American from the deli counter???
You could absolutely use Deli-sliced cheese, too. I use the un-wrapped Deli Deluxe Cheese from Kraft: https://www.kraftbrands.com/delideluxe/
Great !! Thanks Jamie !! Can’t wait to try this when the weather cools off.
Could you cook this on high
You might curdle the cream if you did. It’s better to keep it on low or take it to the stove top to prevent curdling.
Made my “quick” version of this tonight on the stove – YUMMY! I didn’t have all the veggies…crumbled hamburger and cooked with onion and celery. Added broth and brought to a boil and cooked about 15 minutes. Added butter, cream, 2 slices of cheese, and some cream cheese – stirred til melted.
Margaret– that sounds fantastic!
Do you add the cream sauce to the crockpot or do you wait until the rest has cooked in the crock pot and then add the sauce?
I added the cream sauce to the crock pot. I didn’t have curdling and my hat as kept consistent. I have heard that adding cream later is a better idea due to high, prolonged heat causing potential issues.
Would you happen to have the nutritional breakdown for this?
Done! I just ran the numbers for you and put them in the recipe. Sorry for the wait!
I am trying to get some crock pot freezer meals together for when my sister has her baby. Do you think I could freeze this before it gets cooked all together?
Can you substitute Chia seeds for the Flax in any of the recipes?
I would think so, absolutely! You may want to grind or process the seeds or they stay crunchy.
Just an fyi… almond flour works well in place of the flax. (I’m not a huge fan of flax’s taste or texture).
I was being lazy and didn’t want to make meatballs. So I threw the ground beef in the pot instead of making it into a meatball. I also threw Italian seasoned bacon chunks into the pot as well and used young gouda cheese for the sauce. My husband has officially claimed the left overs for his lunch tomorrow. 😉 It was pretty darned tasty.
Sounds yummy!
So, I just came across this…looks yummy and is currently in the crock pot. Did you all add the cheese sauce at the very end or in the beginning? Not sure which one to do…
Hi there! I’m from Canada and I don’t think we have sliced American cheese up here (We just have those processed wrapped slices and I don’t think that’s what you mean?) Do you think using regular sharp cheddar would work?
Absolutely!
I made it with sharp cheddar and it was delicious 🙂 Thanks!
Made for my family and was a real hit. The only thing was that it seemed very greasy, didn’t look as smooth as your picture above once cheese sauce was added. Wondering if you did any kind of grease mop, or is it just my looks preference?
I usually will “grease mop” anything I eat, it is purely personal choice
OK….I’m new here….how to “grease mop”???