Full of meatballs, fresh vegetables, and loads of flavor, this rich and thick Meatball Stew cooks up beautifully on the stovetop or slow cooker. Serve with cornbread for the perfect hearty dinner your family will love! Try this healthy meatball stew recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef, pork or chicken for meatballs
- 1/2 onion chopped finely (or grated using a cheese grater) for meatballs
- 1/2 onion sliced for stew
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt (for meatballs)
- 1 egg
- 4 large carrots sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 2 russet potatoes (about 2 pounds) or sub new potatoes
- 3 stalks celery, washed and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (for broth)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tablespoon Better Than Bouillon-Beef (or 3 beef bouillon cubes)
- 1 8-ounce can of tomato soup
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup half and half or whole milk (optional for a richer stew)
Time-Saving Tips:
- Use Frozen meatballs instead of making your own.
- Substitute a can Cream of Mushroom soup or store-bought gravy for the flour/cream/thyme ingredients.
- Swap frozen mixed vegetables for the chopped vegetables.
- Use whole baby new potatoes instead of chopped russets to save prep time.
Stovetop Directions:
- First, combine meat, grated/chopped onion, garlic, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Divide mixture in half and form each half into 6-8 meatballs. Set aside.
- Next, in a heavy stockpot over medium heat, sauté the sliced onion, celery and carrots in a Tablespoon of oil until they begin to brown.
- Then add the water, bouillon, tomato soup, thyme, bay leaf, and salt and allow the broth to come to a boil. Gently add the meatballs and cook for 10 minutes.
- Then add the potatoes and cook additional 10 minutes.
- Remove 1/4 cup of the broth from the pot and place in a jelly jar or small bowl. Add the butter and flour to the jar and shake until well combined, or whisk it in the bowl. Then stir the mixture into the stew. *Add cream at this time if desired.
- Lastly, cook the stew for 20-30 minutes, allowing the stew to bubble, until slightly thickened. Longer cooking times will yield a richer flavor and thicker broth.
Slow-Cooker Directions:
- First, turn Slow-Cooker onto high heat. Melt butter and stir in flour to combine.
- Next, add sliced onion, carrots, potatoes, celery to slow-cooker.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine meat, grated/chopped onion, garlic, egg, salt, and pepper. Divide mixture in half and form each half into 6-8 meatballs. Set aside.
- Next, add water, bouillon, tomato soup, thyme, and bay leaf to slow-cooker. Gently add meatballs. They should be mostly submerged in the liquid. If not, add more liquid (water or broth).
- *Add cream if desired.
- Finally, cook on low heat for 8 hours or on high heat for 4 hours.
Old Fashioned Meatball Stew
Meatballs, known as kofta in Arabic, have a Persian origin. They are widely used in many different cuisines, including Turkish, Albanian, Greek, and Indian. The least tender portions of beef that become juicy and tender with slow moist heat are perfect for stewing. The stewing method breaks down connective tissues so they become moist, flavorful and tender .
A hearty, traditional meatball stew is a wonderful way to stay warm on a chilly winter evening. After a long day of tobogganing, skating, or snowboarding, come home to this feast. No concerns if you don’t have a slow cooker! Simply cook the stew on the stove top. You can make this versatile stew with pork, beef, turkey, or chicken meatballs. Match the broth or bouillon to the meat for the best flavor for a filling stew, bursting with flavor.
Delicious Meatballs Stew
Combine meatballs, diced potatoes, and carrots to make a flavorful sauce and cook until tender and savory. This hearty meatball stew is not only incredibly tasty but also packed with protein and nutrients from the meatballs and variety of vegetables.
If you are looking for a variation, we also love our mouth-watering Italian meatball recipe, which works beautifully in this stew. We like to add a cup of chopped spinach and Italian seasonings to the broth for added flavor.
Why We Love this Meatball Stew?
Sometimes it seems like our Winter is never-ending. When you have two feet of snow on the ground or hit records for low temperatures, you can cook up a good hearty soup or stew to warm you up. Thank goodness for warm – stick to your bones – comfort food!
I have made plenty of stews during my many years in the kitchen. I had never thought to add Meatballs… this was definitely a delicious, new adventure!
The Best Meatball Stew Is with Fresh Vegetables!
Fresh vegetables definitely make all the difference. You can’t beat the flavors from “real” food! Along with a batch of Homemade Meatballs, this stew was a favorite with our family! They said that this is the best Meatball Stew recipe they’d ever had.
Recipe adapted from Simple Shortcut Recipes Cookbook from Gooseberry Patch
Why You’ll love the Recipe?
- It makes a nutritious one-pot meal and there are many variations to please picky eaters.
- It can be thrown in a crock pot for an easy no-fuss dinner.
Health Benefits
Ground beef, used for the vast majority of the meatballs, offers several vital nutrients that are beneficial for body systems and brain development. In addition to protein, meat supplies vitamins, iron, and other minerals the body needs.
With that being said, here are the health advantages of eating meatballs.
Body growth
Meatballs contain protein, which supports the structure of the human body. Proteins have a significant role in the development of the skin, muscles, lungs, and heart in living things like humans.
Beef Provides L-Carnitine
Beef contains L-carnitine, a crucial substance for supporting health. L-Carnitine facilitates the movement of fat into cells for burning.
How to Store Leftovers?
Store: Refrigerate any leftover stew in an airtight glass or ceramic container. The tomato juice may stain plastic storage containers. The stew can last for up to 3 to 4 days. Reheat the stew on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Freeze: Thaw the stew in the fridge overnight, and reheat gently. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. The recipe with new potatoes holds up better when frozen.
Uncooked meatballs should be arranged in a single layer, not touching, on a baking sheet. After 20 to 30 minutes of freezing, until they are solid, place them in a freezer-safe bag. They can be frozen for up to two months, so be sure to write the “cook by” date on the bag. To prepare, defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then prepare according to the recipe.
*Pro-Tip for Leftovers- Freeze individual portions of leftover stews and soups in jelly jars. It’s easy to pull out a serving and defrost for a quick dinner or lunch.
Final Thoughts
It may be an ‘old-fashioned’ recipe but it will certainly taste great. Discover the richness of this meatball recipe by making it yourself. It is easy to do and you’ll find yourself loving this dish.
34 Comments
This turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’m going to try this today but where’s the recipe for the cornbread?
Hi Judy, we just used a box of Jiffy cornbread this time.
~Liz
This is my go-to recipe for beef stew. I double the sauce and use stew meat instead of meatballs. I usually toss in other frozen veggies too! The taste is shockingly amazing!!
Hi~ I’m definitely going to try this recipe! It looks so good!
Just a few questions:
1, By “combine and cook meatballs”- you mean to combine the ingredients to make the meatballs mentioned in your “Homemade Meatballs” recipe, right?
2. Do we really need to cook the meatballs thoroughly when making them? Since they are gonna be cooked again here either on stovetop or slow cooker, maybe we could just quickly brown them in the skillet and skip the oven, and instead we just transfer them into the stew with the rest of the veggies.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Jessy, yes to combine and cook the meatballs. You can certainly just brown them since you are cooking in the slow cooker. The original recipe called for frozen meatballs, but we made our own. That’s why we cooked them all the way through before putting them in the slow cooker.
Happy Cooking!
~Liz
Do you know how well this would freeze? I’m worried about the potatoes. I’ve frozen soups with potatoes in before and after reheating it the potatoes have an odd taste to them…
Hi Leann, Sorry we haven’t frozen the stew so I’m not really sure.
~Liz
How much time should be added for frozen meatballs? 2 hours?
Hi Carol, you can just add the frozen meatballs like you would fresh, they will cook while the vegetables are cooking.
Happy Cooking!
~Liz
Thanks for posting this recipe…I know it is summer now, but I will be crock potting this tomorrow! I am using frozen peas/carrots and frozen diced home fries for the potatoes. Also will be making my meatballs…sounded too yummy to wait.
Liz, Can you omit the onion soup in this recipe? ,
This turned out great. Bought frozen meatballs and dumped it all in the crock pot. Cooked on high 4 hours and it was perfect. Thanks for the recipe.
Glad you liked it Terrie, thanks for stopping by.
-Doug
Hi there! This was amazing times a million!!!!! So so easy to prepare. I made mine in the crock pot. This wonderful recipe you were nice enough to share with me will be (is now) something my family and I will be eating years to come!! Thank you again!!!!
So glad you and your family liked it Mellie! Thanks for stopping by and letting us know!
Happy Cooking!
~Liz
Easy to make and smelled amazing! I had frozen meatballs and didn’t add any cooking time and it was fine
Just tossed this recipe into my crockpot for dinner tonite and it smells really good even before its heated up! Can’t wait for dinner tonite! Thank you for sharing! I’m always looking for cheap, easy recipes to add to my crockpot Arsenal!
Awesome! I hope you like it as much as we do!
~Liz
Instead of beef bouillon cubes, could I substitute beef broth? If so, how much?
Hi Mallori, I have not made it that way. However, the bouillon cube to broth ratio is 1 cup. So I think you could try that. I would add just 1 cup though and see how it looks. It may be too thin if you add 2 cups.
~Liz
This was a big hit, made my own meat balls and served it with jalapeno cornbread also found on pinterest. Thanks for sharing
Sounds delicious Ginger! So glad you like the Meatball Stew!
~Liz
4 – 5 hours on low…NOT nearly long enough!!! just checked it, potatoes are still hard as rocks. Should be 4 – 5 hours on HIGH! I new that didn’t sound right.
Hi there, thanks for your feedback. Our slow cooker probably cooks at a different rate than yours. It didn’t take that long for our Meatball Stew.
~Liz
This was really good, I used turkey meatballs since red meat is not allowed in my house, used cream of mushroom soup instead of tomato, increased the amount of H2O a little and turkey gravy with chicken bullion! Tuned out Awesome!
Seriously phenomenal recipe!!! Instead of “meatball stew” I make beef stew and double the ingredients for the sauce! I am extremely picky and ALWAYS add extra ingredients to create the taste I desire…I literally don’t do a thing different! Friends have tried this and are in complete awe!! Love it and will be throwing everything into a Crock-Pot this evening to throw it on in the AM for our supper tomorrow!
How did this turn out with stew meat instead of meatballs? Sounds like it would be good.
Absolutely delicious!! Will be making again and again.. Should be noted that normally don’t life stews but I just couldn’t get enough of this! I used frozen meatballs and turned the crockpot of low for 8 hours.
Thank you for the recipe. I have home made meatballs in my freezer. I’m making this in my crockpot tomorrow.
Can you use jar brown gravy? (Small size?) I dont really like the can gravy.
Hello Dawn,
Yes, of course, you can the jar brown gravy! I used the canned gravy because I am more familiar with it, but the jar of brown gravy should be as good as any.