How long do meatballs in sauce need to be heated in a crock pot?
I'm participating in a pot luck lunch this week. I'm bringing fully cooked meatballs, served in pasta sauce. My plan is to make the meatballs (around 30 - 40) the night before, cook them fully in the oven, and refrigerate them overnight in the crock pot without the sauce.
My question, to have everything properly heated before lunch time, how early should I start the crock pot? I don't want to start too early and turn everything to mush, but I also don't want to serve cold meatballs.
Best Answer
They're meatballs. It's a crockpot. Why bother refrigerating them or cooking them in the oven? Just brown them in the oven under broil and then set the crockpot on low and cook them overnight in the sauce. They'll be perfectly done, perfectly safe, and delicious in the morning. A few extra hours won't hurt them at all and then you won't have to worry about time, temperature and food safety.
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How long do you heat meatballs in Crock-Pot?
Put Them Together Sauce in the slow cooker, meatballs nestled inside \u2014 all that's left is to put the cover on and walk away. Cook the meatballs on low for four to six hours. It's OK to cook them for longer, but they start to toughen up a bit and become chewier.Can you warm up meatballs in a Crock-Pot?
Whether you are making meatballs to serve as hors d'oeuvres or as part of a meal, you can keep them warm in a Crock-Pot or any slow cooker. If you serve meatballs in a sauce, you can also use the slow cooker to heat the meatballs, which will add flavor to the sauce.How long does it take to warm meatballs in sauce?
The best way to reheat meatballs WITH sauce. Combine the meatballs and sauce in a pan and cook over low heat until the meatballs are warmed through. The timing is dependent on how many meatballs you're heating. If it's just a few, it should take about 10 minutes, with more meatballs adding more cook time.How long does it take to heat up pasta sauce in a Crock-Pot?
How long to heat spaghetti sauce in the Crock Pot? Cover and cook the spaghetti sauce on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Serve over your favorite cooked pasta, garnish with Parmesan and basil, and dig in!How to Make Slow Cooker Meatballs Recipe
More answers regarding how long do meatballs in sauce need to be heated in a crock pot?
Answer 2
The speed that the crock pot will heat up the food will depend on your crock pot and the size of the meatballs.
If you know how long it takes for something like pasta sauce by itself to heat up, I'd suggest starting your crock pot with that much time plus a bit (less for smaller meatballs, more for larger ones). Will there be a microwave? If so, you can heat some of the pasta sauce a bit before putting it in with the meatballs, giving you a head start.
Answer 3
If you're actually putting the crock in the refrigerator as well as the meatballs, it would take at least a couple of hours to heat the crock, and then heat the meatballs through along with whatever sauce you're going to add.
Is the sauce also going to be starting from a refrigerator temperature? If so, that will take even more time, depending on the size of the crock and amount of sauce.
Answer 4
If you have some reason not to take Carey's answer (eg, making the meatballs earlier than the night before), I'd suggest a second alternative -- reheat the meatballs in a low oven.
- Heat the crock w/ the sauce in it.
- Put the meatballs on a sheet pan, and heat in the oven. (maybe 300°F/150°C), if you're concerned w/ overcooking or can't monitor them as much, cut it back to 200 to 250°F (100 to 125°C))
- Combine when the meatballs are up to temp.
I also wouldn't refrigerate the crock, as it's a significant thermal mass (will take some time to heat on something as low powered as a slow cooker)
Answer 5
Thank you to everyone for your great advice. I ended up using a combination of everyone's answers.
I prepared the meatballs the night before and cooked them in the oven as per usual. I stored them overnight in the fridge in a large ice cream tub, rather than refrigerating the crock. (Thanks for that tip Joe and MargeGunderson.)
In the morning, I combined everything in the crock pot and brought it to work. I started the crock pot on low at 8am. Everything was already cooked, so no need to worry there. The meatballs were heated through by noon. (Thanks everyone for the tip on starting early. Thanks nico for the assurance on "mush".)
Now, time for lunch!
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