With the first taste of these Slow Cooker Moroccan Meatballs you’ll discover light, juicy meatballs infused with a spice bomb of cumin, coriander, sweet paprika, cinnamon, ginger, garlic and onion that will melt in your mouth and leave you wanting more.
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Recipe Highlights
- Tender juicy meatballs in tomato sauce
- Gentle warming spices. Not too spicy!
- Easy set and forget dinner under 500 calories
- Great for making ahead as part of your meal prep
- Perfect for the whole family
These meatballs pair perfectly with this Air Fryer Garlic Bread, or my 3 ingredient Flatbread made on the stovetop.
Do Slow Cooker Moroccan Meatballs Have to Be Pre-Cooked?
Super simple to make in your Slow Cooker, or Multi Cooker, there is no pre cooking of the meatballs required.
This low calorie slow cooker recipe males 18 delicious tender low calorie moroccan meatballs. Just the right amount for 4 or 5 people, depending on how hungry they are!
Making dinners under 500 calories is my specialty, with many of my most popular being low calorie chicken recipes, low calorie meal prepping recipes and low calorie slow cooker recipes.
Want to make these moroccan meatballs in tomato sauce on the stovetop or in the oven? Check out the instructions in the recipe notes below.
Which Cut of Meat Is Best for Slow Cooker Beef Meatballs?
I tend to buy the leanest beef mince I can find and I still end up with super juicy meatballs, not tough, or dry like you sometimes get if you cook them for too long in the oven or on the stovetop.
This recipe for moroccan meatballs slow cooker is so versatile, you could easily substitute any other type of ground meat, like lamb, chicken or even turkey.
Love meatballs? You might like to try my Chicken Meatballs with Peanut Satay Sauce. You can have it on the table in 30 minutes. Or these Butter Chicken Meatballs - they are soft, tender and juicy and covered in thick creamy sauce!
One of my favourite things about moroccan meatballs in tomato sauce is that its set and forget. Once you put your slow cooker on in the morning (usually a Sunday for me), it will do its thing and you won;t have to worry about the 4pm dinner dileama when your Husband says "What's for Dinner?"
Do the Corriander Meatballs Hold Together?
Absolutely these meatballs hold together thanks to the egg used to bind the ingredients together. There’s no falling apart, even when you get them out of the slow cooker and serve them up, they hold their shape.
Typically you might find meatballs struggling to hold their shaped during cooking, if there is no binding ingredient. Or they go as hard as rocks and end up tasting like dry rubber. Not this moroccan meatballs slow cooker recipe. You'll get perfect meatballs, every time no matter what type of ground meat you're using.
This recipe for Slow Cooker Moroccan Meatballs is unlike any I have ever made before. Being that the meatballs are slow cooked over 6 hours, in a lightly spiced aromatic tomato base the flavour is locked in and the meatballs stay nice and juicy. That’s the secret. You’ve got to have a great sauce to lock in that flavour and juiciness. Just like with this Slow Cooker Paperdelle Lamb Ragu.
What To Serve With these delicious Meatballs
There are a number if options that work really well. Obviously meatballs and cous cous is the one that most people would think of. (Pearl cous cous is a favourite of mine). However, if you're looking for something different, here are some other ideas. Instead of the 2 cups of cous cous you could try the same quantity of:
- Mashed sweet potato/white potato
- Brown Rice
- Cooked quinoa
- Spaghetti or other type of pasta
- Zucchini noodles if you have a spiralizer
TIP: This meatballs and cous cous recipe freezes really well and is a great one to make on the weekend so you have healthy dinners on tap mid week. I like to store my freezer meals in see through containers and I write what it is and when I made it on the container. (I use masking tape for this, and before putting into the microwave it, I rip it off)
Or, if you make a batch of meatballs on Sunday (or even a double batch), they'll last 4 nights in the fridge (Sun through Wed), and each day why not have a different side with them: sweet potato, spaghetti, rice, or even a crunchy garden salad.
More Freezer Friendly Recipes:
- Authentic Made From Scratch Clean Eating Butter Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
- Savoury Mince Curry (one of my favourites)
- Pressure Cooker Lamb Stew
- Easy Moroccan Shepherds Pie
- and this yummy Shepherds Pie Lasagne
Slow Cooker Moroccan Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 500 grams beef mince - ground beef
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs - wholemeal or panko
- 1 medium egg
- 1 tablespoon coriander (fresh and finely chopped) - cilantro
For the Sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small brown onion (diced)
- 2 tablespoons crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups tomato passata/puree
- ½ cup beef stock/broth
- 2 tablespoons monkfruit sweetener
To Serve
- 2 cups pearl cous cous
Instructions
- Prepare Meatball Mixture: In a large mixing bowl, add ¼ cup breadcrumbs, 500 grams beef mince, 1 medium egg, half of 1 small brown onion (diced), half of 2 tablespoons crushed garlic, 1 tablespoon coriander (fresh and finely chopped), and all the spices: 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 2 teaspoons sweet paprika, 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.Using a large spoon, mix all ingredients so they come together.
- Roll Meatballs: Make 18 meatballs from the mixture and as they are rolled, place them in the base of the slow cooker.
- Pre Cook sauce in a separate pot on the stove: Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and the remaining onion and garlic and cook until the onion turns translucent. Add 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 3 cups tomato passata/puree, 2 tablespoons monkfruit sweetener and ½ cup beef stock/broth. Stir to combine and cook or a minute or two until its *just* starting to get hot. (don't let it boil)
- Add Sauce to Slow Cooker: Pour the sauce over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
- Cook: Cook on low for 6 hours.
- Serve: Divide into 4 portions and serve 2 cups pearl cous cous equally divided. Drizzle with a teaspoon of low fat greek yoghurt.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
Chris says
Delicious recipe. Used frozen meatballs as a time saver. Served on rice... delicious. Saved leftovers until the weekend. Served on rice with nan. Even better the 2nd time around. A few days in the fridge helped the flavors blend together even more. In the future I will try to make these ahead of time.
Peta says
This dish is amazing: flavoursome and rich and absolutely delicious! Cannot fault it in anyway. I left out the coriander as I don't like it; but added finely chopped pickled jalopenos to both the meatballs and and the sauce for a nice spicy kick. Serve with roasted vegetable coated in Morrocan seasoning and mixed through the couscous (zucchini, caulliflower and carrots) and served with a generous dollop of natural greek yoghurt. A huge hit all round, and will be cooking it again on a regular basis.
Peta says
I cannot express just how delicious this recipe was! so so flavoursome and beautifully rich. I left out the coriander as I don't like it, and I add finely chopped pickled jalepenos to both the meatballs and the sauce for a bit of a kick. We served it with roast vegetables coated with Moroccan Seasoning (zucchini, cauliflower, carrot) mixed in with couscous; and topped with a generous amount of natural greek yoghurt. It was a huge hit with everyone, and I will definitely be cooking it again on a regular basis!
Danah says
I’m on a low carb diet, can I skip the honey? Or use monk fruit sugar?
Kim says
Yep you can definitely use monkfruit sugar in the same quantity.
abbie says
hi, is it 8 hours or 6 hours in slow cooker
Kim says
Its 6 hours in the slow cooker. Sorry about the mix up. Recipe has been updated.