Slow Cooker Turkey and Pork Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

This slow cooker turkey and pork sausage meatballs recipe with spicy tomato sauce. Is my UK version of a recipe from the Adventures in Slow Cooking cook book. These light and easy to make meatballs are stuffed with mozzarella. And slow cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. This is an easy family meal to make, that you can serve with crusty bread, pasta or creamy polenta.

For more slow cooker UK turkey recipe ideas. See my list of posts included below.

Slow Cooker Turkey and Pork Sausage Meatballs Recipe

Based on a family meal idea from Adventures in Slow Cooking book by Sarah DiGregorio. (*Available from Amazon UK).

This is the first recipe that I’ve tried from this book, which is the latest addition to my growing slow cooker recipe book library!

I’ve halved the recipe to work for my slow cooker size. (See my Morphy Richards Accents Sear and Stew 3.5 L Slow Cooker Review.) So my version makes enough for 4 to 5 portions.

Further tweaks to the original slow cooker recipe are detailed in the recipe notes below.

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 5)

• 40 g bread.
• 80 ml plain yoghurt or buttermilk.
• 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes. I used one with garlic and chilli included.
• Chopped garlic and chilli, to taste (optional).
• Salt and pepper.
• ½ tsp sugar, optional.
• 250 g turkey mince. I used turkey thigh mince.
• 250 g good quality meaty pork sausages (about 4), with the casings removed.
• ½ tsp dried red chilli flakes or to taste.
• 1 tb ready-made green pesto.
• 100 g fresh mozzarella, cut into 10 equal pieces. Or use 10 mini Bocconcini mozzarella balls.

Method (Total Cooking Time: 4 hours)

1. Tear up the bread and add it to the yoghurt/buttermilk in a small bowl. Set aside and leave to soak.
2. In a medium bowl make the tomato sauce by mixing the tin tomatoes with the fresh chilli and garlic, if using. Swish out the tomato tin with about 3 tablespoons of water, add to the bowl. And season with salt (I used ¼ tsp of fine sea salt), freshly ground black pepper and sugar, if using. Spread about a quarter of this tomato sauce mix into the slow cooker pot.
3. For the meatballs, add to a large bowl turkey mince, sausagemeat, pesto, salt (I used ¼ tsp of fine sea salt), pepper and chili flakes, if using.
4. Squish the bread/yoghurt mixture to make a smooth mush, by hand. Add this to the meatball mixture. And mix everything lightly, until fully combined.
5. Dampen your hands with water, to help shape the meatballs, as this mixture will be very sticky! Split the meatball mix into 10 equal amounts. Shape each portion into flat disc, in your palm. Place a piece of mozzarella in the centre. And bring up meat mixture around it. Pinch the edges together and roll into a ball, making sure the cheese is completely encased. Place the shaped meatball into the slow cooker pot.
6. Repeat until you have 10 meatballs placed in one layer in the pot. Pour over the rest of the tomato sauce mixture, on and around the meatballs.
7. Cover the slow cooker with the lid. Cook on Low for 4 hours, until cooked through. You can check this by inserting a metal skewer into the centre of a meatball, it should be hot in the middle.
8. Serve up the meatballs and tomato sauce into bowls. With polenta, crusty bread or pasta.

Recipe Notes

1. The main tweaks to this slow cooker meatball recipe include replacing the egg and spinach, with green pesto.
2. I also made the meatballs, half the size as the original recipe. So that they fit snugly into one layer in my slow cooker.
3. As the meatballs are cooked in the sauce. It is better to use good quality, meaty sausages. Otherwise the resulting sauce will be too oily/fatty.
4. Turkey breast mince could also be used. But turkey thigh mince has more flavour and will also result in a more moist meatball.
5. Don’t overmix or overhandle the meatball mixture. Otherwise the end result will be tough. Light mixing or handling will make a tender, softer meatball!
6. I always add a little sugar to tomato sauces, to counter the tartness of tinned tomatoes.

More Slow Cooker Turkey Recipes

For more slow cooker turkey recipes. You might like:
Slow Cooker Turkey Leg and Lentil Curry UK Recipe.
Easy Slow Cooker Moroccan Turkey Tagine Stew.
Slow Cooker Turkey Fricassee Morphy Richards Recipe Review.

See also my latest Slow Cooker Turkey UK Recipes. For more ideas to cook turkey in your slow cooker.

I made the easy cheesy polenta in the slow cooker. Which goes perfectly with these slow cooker turkey and pork sausage meatballs. For details, see my Easy Basic Slow Cooker Polenta UK Recipe. This is also based on a recipe from Adventures in Slow Cooking book.

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