Meatball Stroganoff in a crockpot

The other day I realized that I had all the ingredients for Beef Stroganoff, including the beef cubes.  Except that particular day I was feeling a little lazy and I didn't want to thaw the beef, and then take my chances with the beef being more cooked and chewy than I like.  So, I decided to make it with frozen meatballs instead.  There are quite a few recipes online and this is a grouping of a couple different ones plus a couple things of my own.  It was a great meal to have with company on a Sunday evening (cause once the crockpot was on, I could take my Sunday afternoon nap).  My boys asked for seconds, they thought it was quite good. 

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by: Jen


 Ingredients:
1 bag frozen meatballs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can beef broth (or use a beef bouillon cube and enough water as called for to make about 2 cups if you didn't have beef broth like me)
1/2 (or whole depending on your taste) onion, finely diced
1 can mushrooms (or 1/2 cup chopped fresh ones)
1-2 tsp garlic powder (depends on your taste_
2 Tbsp A1 sauce
dash(es) of paprika, salt, and pepper to taste
1 c sour cream
1 pkg egg noodles (or boiled potatoes, or cooked rice)

(Like how I crossed out chicken and wrote beef on the can of broth?  I don't want to confuse any readers!)

 Directions:
IF your meatballs are NOT precooked, (like mine) then cook them in the oven according to directions.  (I suppose you could place uncooked ones in the crockpot, but I don't know how long that would take to cook because you can't really brown beef in a crockpot).


IF your meatballs are already precooked, then just add them frozen to your crockpot.


Meanwhile, add the soup, broth, mushrooms (if canned), A1 sauce, and spices to your crockpot.  Mix well.  Turn heat on low.

 Add cooked meatballs. (unless they're already in there because they're precooked)

 Mix it all together well.


IF your meatballs are frozen and precooked, then cook everything on LOW for 8-10 hours (or high for 4-6) until meatballs are all heated through. 

IF your meatballs were cooked in the oven and are therefore already warm, then cook everything on LOW for 3 hours to get all the flavorings well blended.

 3 hours later (after your nap) or 8 or so hours later after you get home from work, then add 1 c sour cream.  Mix in well and your sauce will lighten in color.  Replace the lid and let it continue to cook on low for about 20 minutes. (or until noodles are done)

 Meanwhile boil your water and cook your noodles.

 When the noodles are done, then add to your sauce and mix well so the noodles are covered.  You can skip this step and just let people spoon the sauce over their noodles (potatoes or rice) as they wish.

 Serve with a good green salad and sit back knowing how little work you had to do, but bask in the glory of all the compliments of a job well done.

*Note:  yes, I doubled everything in this recipe to serve with company of 4 extra adults.  If you double it and you use precooked frozen meatballs, then use a bigger (6 qt) crockpot, or even microwave your meatballs for about 5 minutes before putting them in the slow cooker. I'm not sure how much longer it would need to cook with twice the meatballs.