These juicy Crockpot French Onion Meatballs are so easy to make and are exploding with flavor. Made with just 5 simple ingredients, they are everything you love about French onion soup but in meatball form!
Table of Contents
- Easy Crockpot French Onion Meatballs
- Why You’ll Love These Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs
- What You’ll Need
- How to Make French Onion Meatballs
- Tips, Tricks, and Variations
- Serving Suggestions
- How to Store and Reheat Leftover French Onion Meatballs
- Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
- More Easy Crockpot Dinners
- Get the Recipe
Easy Crockpot French Onion Meatballs
We love French onion soup, and we love meatballs. Why not mix the two together? We decided to give it a shot and the final result is incredible. The meatballs take on a rich, cozy, and beefy onion flavor with lots of caramelized onions and gooey shredded gruyère cheese in just a few hours.
This is a classic crockpot dump and go recipe that tastes like you put in hours and hours in the kitchen…but really it was all the crockpot. Serve them as an appetizer, over noodles, with mashed potatoes, rice, or roasted veggies. We like to drizzle the leftover broth over the rice, noodles or mashed potatoes and place the cheesy meatballs right on top. You won’t believe how quickly they disappear off everyones’ plates!
Why You’ll Love These Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs
These crockpot meatballs have quickly become one of our favorite easy weeknight dinners. Here’s why we know you’ll love them:
- So easy. Recipes really don’t get any easier than this. These French onion meatballs only have 5 ingredients, and all you have to do is add the ingredients together and turn on your slow cooker. It’s really that simple!
- Budget Friendly. This easy dinner recipe only uses 5 simple ingredients that are inexpensive and you can almost always have on hand. You can easily feed a crowd without spending a lot with these meatballs.
- Mess-free. I love using my slow cooker because of how easy it makes cooking. But I also love it because of how clean it makes cooking. This entire recipe comes together in your crockpot … you don’t need to dirty a single other pot, pan, plate, or mixing bowl! It’s so great cooking dinner knowing that your kitchen will stay spotless.
- Versatile. These French onion meatballs can be used in a bunch of different ways. You can serve them with toothpicks for a fun party appetizer or server them on top of pasta, mashed potatoes, rice, or you can even put them inside a sandwich. They also store well in the fridge, so you can use them a few different ways over the course of a few days. The options are limitless!
What You’ll Need
Here are all of the ingredients that you’ll need to make juicy French onion meatballs. Make sure to scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page to see the exact amounts for each of the ingredients.
- Frozen Meatballs: I like to use beef meatballs, but you can use Italian meatballs, chicken meatballs or turkey meatballs.
- Onion: A yellow onion is best for this recipe, but a white or red onion will work too.
- Lipton Onion Soup Packet: You can use another brand if you prefer, but I think Lipton is best.
- French Onion Soup: We use a can of Campbell’s French Onion Soup, but you can use any brand you have on hand. You can also use leftover french onion soup if you happen to have some on hand!
- Gruyère Cheese: You’ll need shredded cheese for this recipe. If you do not have gruyère cheese, you can also use Swiss, fontina or even mozzarella.
How to Make French Onion Meatballs
Here’s how to make these slow cooker meatballs. They couldn’t be easier!
- Add the meatballs. Place your frozen meatballs in the bottom of your crockpot.
- Season. Add the onion soup packet, French onion soup, and fresh onion to the slow cooker, and gently stir to combine.
- Cook. Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
- Add cheese. When the meatballs are done, add the gruyère cheese on top. Put the lid back on the crockpot, and let the meatballs cook until the cheese is melted, then serve. You can also add the cheese on top of the meatballs after serving if you prefer.
Tips, Tricks, and Variations
This is a super easy recipe, but here are a few of our tips and tricks to make sure your meatballs turn out perfectly:
- Make it ahead of time. I use the keep warm setting on my crockpot all the time, and it’s great for this recipe. You can make these meatballs a few hours before you intend to serve them, and then turn the slow cooker to the keep warm setting when they’re done cooking until you are ready. They are also able to stay on warm for hours for a party.
- Grate your own cheese. This recipe is delicious if you use pre-shredded gruyere cheese. But cheese is always better when you grate it fresh yourself. For best results, buy a block of gruyere and grate it at home.
- Use different cheeses. If you don’t have gruyere at home, or if you want a more affordable cheese option, that’s fine. Swiss, fontina and mozzarella cheese will all work great for this recipe. You could even use provolone.
- Thicken the gravy. The gravy in these French onion meatballs is absolutely irresistible. If you want to make the gravy thicker, just whisk to combine 2 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of corn starch, and stir it into the crockpot about 20 minutes before you are ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to serve these crockpot French onion meatballs is on top of pasta, our favorite Best Mashed Potatoes, or your favorite rice (we love this easy Parmesan Garlic Rice). We also love to enjoy these with some vegetable side dishes, such as Roasted Broccoli, Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts or Roasted Green Beans. Or if you want to double down on the French Onion flavor, these French Onion Sautéed Mushrooms would also go great with these meatballs!
How to Store and Reheat Leftover French Onion Meatballs
Meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the microwave on 80% power in 30-second increments until warmed, or on the stove over medium heat until warmed throughout.
Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
This is a great meal to freeze and save for later as long as you freeze them before adding cheese on top. Make sure the meatballs are completely cool and then place them in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw or defrost completely before reheating.
More Easy Crockpot Dinners
If you want more easy, mess-free, and delicious meals, then check out some of my other favorite crockpot recipes.
- Crockpot Beef Tips
- Crockpot Ranch Chicken
- Crockpot Salsa Chicken
- Crockpot Chili
- Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
- Crockpot Sloppy Joes
- Crockpot Cabbage and Sausage
Crockpot French Onion Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bag frozen meatballs, 26 oz
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 1 packet Lipton onion soup mix, 1 oz
- 1 can French onion soup, 10.5 oz
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Put the frozen meatballs in the crockpot.
- Add the onion, the French onion soup, and the onion soup mix on top of the meatballs. Stir lightly, and cover with the crockpot lid.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
- When you're ready to serve the meatballs, add the gruyere cheese on top. Put the lid back on the crockpot, and let the cheese melt. Or you can add the cheese when serving.
