Slow Cooker Beef Meatball Stroganoff

Introduction

Meatballs are one of those things that are worth making in a bigger batch when you have the time. They’re easy to portion, freeze well and can be turned into completely different dinners depending on the sauce or sides you serve with them.

This Slow Cooker Beef Meatball Stroganoff is one way I like to use them. The beef meatballs cook slowly with mushrooms, onions, stock, Worcestershire sauce and a few simple seasonings before sour cream and cream are stirred through at the end to make that lovely creamy stroganoff sauce.

Rather than serving this version with pasta, I’ve served it over mashed potatoes. The mash is perfect for soaking up plenty of that creamy mushroom gravy, and it makes this a really comforting family dinner without needing anything particularly fancy.

Watch the Video

In today’s video, I started with 3kg of beef mince and turned it into a large batch of meatballs. Some went into this Beef Meatball Stroganoff for dinner, while the rest were cooked and put into the freezer ready to use in future meals.

Because I was working with 3kg of mince rather than the 1kg used in this recipe, you’ll notice that I use larger and slightly different quantities of some ingredients in the video.

If you’re simply wanting to make Beef Meatball Stroganoff for dinner rather than batch prepping meatballs for future meals, follow the 1kg recipe in the recipe card below.

The video is a good example of how I like to make the most of having a large amount of mince out at once — make tonight’s dinner while also putting something away that will save time another day.

Watch the video here: I Started With 3kg of Mince… Then Shopped My Freezer and Pantry

Other Recipes You May Like

If you enjoy easy family dinners and recipes that work well for batch cooking, you might also like:

• Slow Cooker Beef Rissoles in Gravy
• Slow Cooker Magic: 3 Flavour-Packed Recipes
• Slow Cooker Comfort Pork Chops
• Slow Cooker Curried Sausages
• Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Bake

Ingredients for Beef Meatball Stroganoff

You’ll need:

• 1kg beef mince (pork, venison or chicken works well too)
• 400g mushrooms, sliced
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 cups water or beef stock
• 2 beef stock cubes, if using water instead of stock
• 2 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp mushroom salt or plain salt
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tsp paprika
• Pinch of dried thyme
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup cream
• Fresh parsley, to garnish
• Optional extra 1/2 cup frozen spinach

To Thicken

• Corn flour mixed with water, as needed
• 2-4 Tbs of each

How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Meatball Stroganoff

Roll the beef mince into evenly sized meatballs.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs until golden on the outside. They don’t need to be cooked all the way through at this stage. Once browned, transfer them to your slow cooker.

Pour about ½ cup of the stock or water into the frying pan to deglaze it, scraping up all those browned bits from the bottom. Pour this liquid over the meatballs in the slow cooker.

Add the mushrooms, onions and remaining ingredients except the sour cream, cream and corn flour slurry.

Cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 2–3 hours, until the beef meatballs are cooked through.

Towards the end of the cooking time, prepare your mashed potatoes.

Stir the sour cream and cream through the stroganoff. If adding the spinach add this now as well.

Mix a little corn flour with cold water to make a slurry, then gradually stir it into the slow cooker until the sauce reaches the consistency you like.

Spoon the Beef Meatball Stroganoff generously over the mashed potatoes and finish with some fresh parsley before serving.

What to Serve with Beef Meatball Stroganoff

Mashed potatoes are my choice for this version because they work so well with the creamy mushroom sauce.

You really don’t need much else, but if you want to add some vegetables alongside it, try steamed green beans, peas, broccoli, buttered cabbage or simple roasted vegetables.

A green vegetable also helps balance out what is otherwise quite a rich and filling dinner.

Stacey’s Kitchen Tips

• Brown the meatballs first. This adds extra flavour and helps the meatballs hold together while they’re cooking in the slow cooker.
• Don’t worry about cooking them through in the frying pan. You’re only looking for colour on the outside. They’ll finish cooking in the slow cooker.
• Deglaze the pan. Don’t leave all those browned bits behind — adding a little stock or water to the frying pan gets that flavour into your sauce.
• Wait before adding the dairy. Stir the sour cream and cream through towards the end rather than adding them at the beginning.
• Thicken gradually. Add your corn flour slurry a little at a time. The sauce will also continue to thicken slightly as it cools.
• Make extra meatballs while you’re at it. If you’re batch prepping like I did in the video, cook the extras and freeze them separately so they can be used for different dinners later.

Variations & Substitutions

• Pork meatballs: Use pork mince instead of beef to make the original version of this recipe.
• Chicken meatballs: Chicken mince can also be used if that’s what you have.
• Crème fraiche: Swap the sour cream for crème fraiche if you prefer.
• Wholegrain mustard: Add a spoonful for a little extra depth in the stroganoff sauce.
• Pasta or rice: While I’ve served this version with mashed potatoes, you can serve the stroganoff over cooked pasta or rice instead.
• Extra mushrooms: If your family loves mushrooms, there’s no reason you can’t add a few more.

Storage, Freezer & Make-Ahead Notes

Refrigerating: Allow leftover Beef Meatball Stroganoff to cool before transferring it to an airtight container. Store it in the fridge and reheat thoroughly before serving.

Freezing the Meatballs: If you’re batch prepping, the extra cooked beef meatballs can be cooled and frozen separately. Once frozen, you’ve got a really useful base for future dinners without committing them all to the same sauce.

Freezing the Stroganoff: You can freeze the finished stroganoff, although sauces containing sour cream can sometimes change slightly in texture after freezing and reheating. Reheat gently and give the sauce a good stir. You could always make up the stroganoff and freeze then add the dairy after reheating.

Make Ahead: The meatballs can be rolled and browned ahead of time and kept refrigerated until you’re ready to add them to the slow cooker. Alternatively, do what I did in the video and make a much larger batch, using some immediately and freezing the rest.

Final Thoughts

This dinner is a good example of how batch cooking doesn’t have to mean eating the same meal several times.

In the video, I started with 3kg of beef mince because I wanted to take advantage of the time I was already spending making meatballs. Some became this creamy stroganoff for dinner, while the rest went into the freezer ready to become completely different meals later.

But you certainly don’t need 3kg of mince to make the recipe. If tonight’s dinner is all you’re after, the 1kg version in the recipe card gives you the same comforting Beef Meatball Stroganoff without turning it into a big batch-prep session.

Serve it over a generous helping of mashed potatoes, spoon plenty of that creamy mushroom sauce over the top and you’ve got a good, hearty family dinner.

Stacey