Hey French Onion soup fans… this French Onion Meatball Pasta Slow Cooker Recipe is calling your name. Juicy meatballs simmered in a flavorful onion broth are tossed with linguine and melted cheese for a crave-worthy meal. This one-pot slow cooker dinner is pure comfort food.
Recipe at a glance (TL;DR)
- Prep time: 5 min
- Cook time: 6 hours on low
- Main Ingredients: Frozen meatballs, fresh linguine
- Servings: 6
- Why it qualifies as lazy: Minimal prep, no cutting (assuming you buy pre-cut onions)
Jump to:
Why you'll love French onion meatballs and pasta
This easy recipe is rich, flavorful, and feels like you worked on it all day. But in reality it is:
- Easy, hands-free cooking ~ Just add the meatballs and sauce ingredients to your slow cooker and let it do the work.
- Incredible restaurant-esque flavor at home ~ All the classic, rich flavors of French onion magically transformed into a hearty, cheesy meatball dinner
- One-pot wonder ~ Everything comes together in one slow cooker. Easy prep, easy serving, easy cleanup!
- Al dente pasta ~ The pasta is added at the end, so it stays the perfect texture.
- Perfect for busy nights ~ Let this dish cook all day, then finish it up right before you are ready to serve.
📝Ingredient shopping list
Protein
- Frozen meatballs ~ I use turkey, but beef, chicken, or pork would all work
Dairy
- Butter
- Mozzarella cheese ~ Shredded
- Gruyere cheese ~ shredded
Frozen
- Onion ~ chopped. You can also choose to chop it fresh
Pantry Items
- French onion soup mix
- Water
- Beef broth ~ low sodium works well
- Soy Sauce ~ I always choose low-sodium
- Garlic ~ minced
- Black pepper ~ ground
- Sugar ~ or granulated substitute. I use a monk fruit allulose blend
Pasta
- Linguine ~ fresh from the refridgerator section or frozen
Preparing your slow cooker
- Lightly coat your slow cooker with a non-stick spray, oil, or butter before cooking
- Avocado oil and olive oil are both great choices for this recipe
- Use a slow cooker liner for the easiest cleanup (always an optional step)
Step-by-step photos
Place all sauce ingredients into a greased slow cooker.
Place meatballs into the sauce and toss to coat. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
15 - 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, stir in your fresh pasta. Cover and cook until the pasta is al dente.
Stir mozzarella cheese into the meatballs and top with gruyere. Allow all to melt and serve promptly.
Serving ideas
These delicious French onion meatballs are great served:
- Alongside a crusty heel of sourdough bread
- Next to a crisp, cool garden salad
- With Slow Cooker Maple Vanilla Carrots
- Besides Air Fryer Sweet Baby Peppers
Variations & Substitutions
- Try this dish with different types of meatballs. Beef, chicken, Italian style, plant-based, or homemade air-fried are all great.
- Swap linguine with fettuccine, penne, tagliatelle, or farfalle for a different feel.
- Switch out soy sauce for Worcestershire sauce for a slightly different but rich flavor
- Replace gruyere with Swiss or provolone to vary the flavor profile.
- Add some no-cut veggies. Mushrooms are a fantastic option and can be added at the same time as the meatballs. More delicate vegetables like pre-cut peppers or baby spinach leaves can be added along with the pasta.
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How to store and reheat leftovers
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I do not recommend freezing this dish. The pasta will not hold up well, and the texture will be off.
- If you do freeze, allow leftovers to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then gently reheat in the microwave.
- Pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sits, so it will likely thicken in the fridge. Add a splash of water or beef broth when reheating to loosen it up.
Expert tips for the best French onion meatballs
- This recipe has the potential to be salty. For this reason, I suggest using low-sodium beef broth.
- If you feel your dish needs more sauce, an additional onion soup packet and another half cup of water can be added.
- To control pasta texture, keep an eye on it the first time you make this dish. Once the pasta becomes al dente, serve immediately. It will get mushy if you allow it to continue to cook.
- Be sure your frozen meatballs are fully cooked.
- In the market for a new crockpot? I love mine!
- Easy dinner idea: Use a slow-cooker liner when making this dish. You will have almost zero clean-up to deal with.
- Don't forget to turn on and PLUG IN your slow cooker!!
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FAQ
Keep pasta from getting mushy by it adding it shortly before serving and keeping an eye on it. Stir once to break apart any longer noodles and serve as soon as it reaches al dente.
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker French Onion Meatball Pasta
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Print Pin Rate SaveAll nutrition information shown here is automatically generated and should be considered an estimate. If you follow a specific diet, please calculate your own values to ensure accuracy.
Ingredients
- 24 oz frozen meatballs I use turkey
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- 1 cup water
- 2 cup beef broth
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 9 oz fresh linguine
- 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- To a greased slow cooker, add 1 packet onion soup mix, 1 cup water, 2 cup beef broth, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon sugar
- Stir to combine
- Add 24 oz frozen meatballs and toss to coat
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours
- 15 minutes or so before serving, add 9 oz fresh linguine. Cover and cook checking every 5 minutes to confirm that pasta is cooking through and stirring if pasta needs to be broken apart.
- When pasta is cooked al dente, stir in 1 cup mozzarella cheese and top with 1 cup gruyere cheese. Cover just long enough for cheese to melt.
- Serve and enjoy!
Final Step
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Notes
- You can use homemade or store-bought meatballs for this dish
- If you hate cutting onions as much as I do, you can use fresh or frozen onions that are already chopped.
- Pull apart the pasta a bit before adding it to your slow cooker so it doesn't cook in one big clump.
- If you would rather use dried pasta, I suggest cooking it stovetop first to avoid it becoming overly mushy.
- This is not an overly saucy meal. To make more sauce, add a second cup of water and a second packet of onion soup mix.
Nutrition
All nutrition information shown here is automatically generated and should be considered an estimate. If you follow a specific diet, please calculate your own values to ensure accuracy.
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