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A classic comfort food just got easier! Let your Crock Pot do the work for this easy Slow Cooker Meatball Stroganoff, which only requires about 10 minutes of prep! It’s the perfect weeknight dinner recipe!
Beef Stroganoff has been a favorite cool-weather dinner for as long as I can remember. My mom served it to us when we were kids, and now I’m feeding it to my own family — with a shortcut!
Thanks to help from frozen meatballs, you don’t even have to brown the beef before tossing it into your Crock Pot. Served over fluffy egg noodles to soak up the creamy sauce, this Slow Cooker Meatball Stroganoff with sour cream is a comfort food dinner that the whole family will love!
How to Make Meatball Stroganoff:
Let’s start with the sauce for your Meatball Stroganoff! You’ll need condensed cream of mushroom soup, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and pepper.
Whisk those ingredients together in a bowl until smooth, and then set aside.
Next up: the veggies! I buy pre-sliced mushrooms for a shortcut, but you’ll need to slice an onion as well.
Place the mushrooms and onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add a bag of frozen fully-cooked meatballs on top (there’s no need to thaw the meatballs first)! Frozen Meatball Stroganoff is so easy, right?!
Pour the sauce over top, cover the Crock Pot, and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
Just before serving, stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream.
It blends perfectly into the sauce, adding the perfect touch of “tang,” while truly making this dish taste like an authentic beef stroganoff recipe!
Stroganoff meatballs in the Crock Pot are an easy way to get dinner on the table for your family — without the stress of standing over a hot stove all evening!
COOK’S TIPS AND RECIPE VARIATIONS — SLOW COOKER MEATBALL STROGANOFF:
- You can use any brand and variety of plain frozen meatballs that your family enjoys — bite-size meatballs, turkey meatballs, “homestyle” meatballs, beef meatballs, etc. I do NOT recommend buying “Italian” frozen meatballs, because they contain herbs and spices that don’t pair as well with this dish.
- I use Campbell’s Healthy Request condensed soup to keep the dish lighter.
- You can substitute with light sour cream; however, I prefer the thickness, texture, and creaminess that you get from the regular sour cream.
- Parsley adds the perfect bright, flavorful garnish on top — don’t skip it!
What to serve with Meatball Stroganoff for Dinner:
- Serve the meatballs over cooked egg noodles for a classic meal.
- Instead of pasta, serve the Meatball Stroganoff over rice, over Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or paired with Buttered Dilly New Potatoes.
- Add a touch of green on the side with a side of frozen French-cut green beans (steamed in the microwave and tossed with butter and salt).
- For a fancier side, a Green Bean Casserole with Bacon is a delicious companion to the meatballs and creamy sauce.
- You can never go wrong with Garlic Roasted Broccoli!
You might also like these recipes with frozen meatballs:
- Dump-and-Bake Beef Stroganoff Casserole
- Slow Cooker Chinese Meatballs with Peppers and Onions
- 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs
- Weeknight Meatball and Tortellini Soup
Slow Cooker Meatball Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) cream of mushroom soup, NOT diluted
- ¼ cup beef broth
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced or grated garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 16 ounces sliced white mushrooms
- 1 large (or 2 small) onions, sliced
- 24 ounces frozen fully-cooked meatballs (you do NOT need to thaw them)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 12 ounces medium egg noodles, cooked and drained
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- Whisk together the soup, broth, Worcestershire, garlic and black pepper in a medium bowl.
- Place the mushrooms and onions into a 6-quart slow cooker. Top with the meatballs. Pour the soup mixture over the beef.
- Cover and cook on LOW for about 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
- Stir the sour cream into the slow cooker.
- Serve the meatballs and sauce with the noodles. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in September, 2015. It was updated in December, 2018.
I absolutely love using my crock pot, especially on lazy weekends. It’s so nice to just let it work its magic! This meatball stroganoff looks delicious, Blair! Beef stroganoff is one of my favorites, so I love your unique twist!
Thanks, Gayle! Love that Crock Pot!
mine too! let’s have a crock pot party. i am part german so this is fitting! YES!
Yess!! Crock Pot Party!! 🙂
My mom always used to make beef stroganoff growing up. I love that you can make this super easy version in a crockpot!
Exactly, Chrissa! Just like your post today — Mom’s recipes are always best! 🙂
Next time I think our taste bud would prefer half the onion, double the mushrooms, and an extra can of cream of mushroom.
I use to make something similar to this for hubs. He loves stroganoff. It’s been a while so I might have to add this to this weeks meal plan. Plus you made it in a slow cooker. How can I say no to that!
Yes, make it Jen! My husband loves to have the leftover meatballs on a hoagie for lunch, too! 🙂
Yes i do the same thing with my home made bread made the same time when my wife comes home she says she can smell it all miles away, i dont believe miles , maybe down the street.
I absolutely LOVED the beef stroganoff my mom made growing up, but it’s completely slipped my mind to make for myself, for the past few years…and that needs to change now!! You’ve got me craving it again! And I love how fast and easy your version is to whip up, too! Yum!
I think all moms made stroganoff when we were growing up…such a classic, right?! 🙂 You’ll love how easy this version is!
I love this for a weeknight dinner! pinning to save for later!
Thanks so much, Sara!
Do you prefer to thaw the meatballs first or just toss them in frozen?
Either is fine, Lisa! If you use them frozen, you just might have to add some time to the cooking (an extra hour or so). 🙂
Can you make this recipe on the 8 hour setting on a crockpot and not ruin it?
Hi, Will! I’m not sure, since I’ve never tried that. I would worry that the meatballs would get dry, since they’re already cooked when you put them in the pot. Does your slow cooker have a “warm” setting? That might be the best option if you need to start it 8 hours ahead of time. My Crock Pot just automatically switches to the “warm” setting when it’s done cooking, so if I set the pot for 4 hours on low it will just keep the food warm for the rest of the time until I turn it off later.
Can I use meatballs that have not been cooked yet? raw pre made?
Hi, Wendy! Yes, I think that would work fine! If the meatballs are made with a fatty ground meat, you will have more fat in the slow cooker at the end (that’s the only problem that I can imagine). Let me know if you give it a try! 🙂
Any suggestions for what to substitute for the cream of mushroom soup? I have two finicky children who do not like the mushroom flavor. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi, Kathy! You can use a different “cream of…” soup such as cream of chicken or cream of celery. It will change the overall taste slightly, but it won’t be bad…and if it makes your kids happy, I say go for it! 🙂
Would I be able to make this recipe by adding the noodles in the crockpot dry? Maybe adding a bit more liquid? And if so, how much more liquid would be needed? I leave early for work and would want just a no-fuss, one pot meal to leave warm and ready for my husband to eat as I don’t return until late.
Hi, Kelly! I honestly have no idea. Yes, I’m sure that you could have your husband stir in the noodles during the final part of the cooking and they can finish right along with the rest of the dish. I’ve never actually tried it that way, though — so I’m not sure about how long the noodles would take or how much more liquid you would need to add. I’m sorry that I can’t be more helpful in that regard.
You have to be careful adding raw pasta. To me , since it’s cooking in the sauce, naturally the sauce is a little chalky to me. Why not not pre cook pasta night before to release a bunch if starch add precooked to crock . I think I would try this
Hi, I have a bag of bite size 64 count meatballs, thats all the store had , how many would i use from the bag for this recipe? Thanks
Hi, Loretta! It depends on how large the meatballs are. What is the total weight of your bag? Once you have the total weight, then you can estimate 24 ounces. For instance, if you have a 48 ounce bag, you’ll need to use half of the meatballs in the bag. Of course, if you have a food scale, that’s always the easiest way to determine or measure the exact amount. In this case, it’s not necessary thought! Hope that helps!
Hi Blair, it is a 32 ounce bag with approx. 64 count meatballs bite size …should i still use half the bag??
Okay! So if the 32 ounce bag contains 64 meatballs, that means that each of your meatballs is 0.5 ounces. You’ll need 48 of your meatballs to equal the 24 ounces called for in this recipe. Enjoy!
Thank you !! :0)
Thank you Blair for your help i really appreciate the reply to my question :0)
I just made this tonight. I was excited to try it, but the Worcestershire sauce was extremely overpowering. I even checked the recipe thinking I made a mistake and put too much in. I would start with a little, maybe a teaspoon or two and gradually add to taste. I added a ton of other spices trying to mask the flavor. Overall, my family was disappointed in this dish.
My husband introduced me to hamburger stroganoff 45 years ago. He used basically the same ingredients only a pound of raw chopped beef instead of meatballs. Noodles were cooked separately and while they were cooking the chopped beef was browning in a skillet with onions and spices. Excess fat was poured off and a can of cream of mushroom soup and 8 oz of sour cream was stirred into the skillet. It was ready in about 15 to 20 minutes. It served 2 of us for 2 nights. Tasted just as great the second day. To store leftovers the noodles are kept separately from the rest so as not to absorb all the sauce.
Yes, that’s a great meal, too! Thanks, Ann! 🙂