Good morning. I’m making Italian sauce with ramen and meatballs for dinner tonight. I’m using tomatoes from the garden that I froze away as they ripened. If you don’t have fresh or frozen tomatoes, you can use a can of tomato puree.
You can easily double the recipe for a larger slow cooker. I’m using enough tomatoes to fill a large Ziploc bag.
Preparing the Tomato Base
The first thing you’ll do is start to cook down the tomatoes if they’re fresh (or frozen). I put them in whole, but you can cut them up. You can keep the skins and seeds in the sauce if you like. They add freshness and lots of nutrients to the dish.
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If you prefer a smoother sauce, you’ll need a metal strainer with small holes and a tool to push the juice and flesh through the strainer. Or, you can thaw the frozen tomatoes and slip the peel off and scoop out the centers before putting them in the pot. I like them whole.
If you’re using puree, it’s 1 can for a small slow cooker and 2 to 3 for larger ones. You’ll rinse out each can with a full can of water and add that to the pot.
Next, add the tomato paste. For fresh tomatoes, I use a 16 oz can for a small pot. For puree, I use an 8 oz can per can of puree. You can adjust to your desired thickness and how long you want to cook the sauce. The longer you cook, the less paste you need. Rinse each can of paste twice with a full can of water and add that to the sauce.
Adding Spices and Flavor
Next, add the spices to a small saucepan or mini ramen cooker. Add about 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil to the pot. Once it’s warmed up, add:
- chopped onion (about 3 to 4 spoonfuls or a medium onion’s worth)
- chopped garlic (about 1 tablespoon’s worth or 2 cloves)
- a small palmful of salt (about 2 to 3 teaspoons’ worth)
- a larger palmful of sugar (about 1 to 2 tablespoons’ worth)
- a large palmful of dried Italian herb mix (enough to cover the top of the slow cooker pot)
- and either 1 smoked dried chipotle pepper or a couple of teaspoons of dried pepper flakes.
I prefer chipotle peppers if I have them. They add a nice smokiness to the sauce. You don’t have to use the peppers at all if you don’t like it spicy.
Let the whole thing cook for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the onions and garlic are just turning light brown. Don’t overcook them. When it smells wonderful, add it to the slow cooker.
You can let this cook for a few hours now with an occasional stir and an occasional taste, adjusting the flavor to your liking.
Making the Meatballs
If you’re looking for a marinara sauce, you can just leave it as is. To make what some Italian grandmas call a gravy, you need to add meat.
You can add meatballs and sausage separately if you like. I don’t really like the texture of sausage when it’s fully cooked in the sauce. It’s a little tough. I prefer making my meatballs with half chopped meat and half ground Italian sausage. I use a half pound each for a small slow cooker. You can scale up for a larger pot.
Combine the meats well, add 1 egg per pound of meat, about a palmful of breadcrumbs, dried whole milk powder, and Parmesan per pound of meat. You can adjust this to taste and your preferred texture. Use more breadcrumbs if you want the meal to go farther and fewer if you want the meatballs to retain a meaty texture.
You can use liquid milk instead of dry. I’ve found that getting the amount of milk wrong can mess up your meatballs, so I just use milk powder and add a bit of water if they seem too dry. The Parmesan can be left out entirely. I’d add some salt if you don’t use it, though. You just need enough to give it that umami taste, but not so much that it becomes cheesy.
Use your hands to combine the mixture well and form firm meatballs. This step is important. You don’t want the meatballs to fall apart in the sauce. I like mine a little larger than a golf ball. I get about 9 out of a pound of meat.
You can put the meatballs directly into the sauce if it’s good and hot. This will affect the texture of the meatballs but will give the best flavor.
Alternatively, you can cook them in a frying pan with a little butter or bacon fat. Keep a close eye on them and cook about 3 to 4 minutes per side. You’ll have 3 sides cooked when you’re done.
The cheat that I use is to cook them in the air fryer. I cook them at about 400 for about 10 minutes. Make sure to turn them about halfway.
Once the meatballs are cooked, you can add them to the sauce. If there’s not enough room for all, just add a few. If you started early, you can have those for lunch to see how it’s coming and adjust to taste.
Add the rest of the meatballs as room allows and keep cooking all day. Stir occasionally. You may need to skim off some fat if it comes to the top or just stir it back in if you like it.
Cooking the Ramen and Serving
You can, of course, make pasta to go with your sauce. I use ramen. That way I don’t need to boil a pot of water and keep an eye on how it’s cooking. I just fill up the electric kettle, heat it to a boil, pour it over the ramen in a bowl, let it sit until it’s cooked through but not soft, drain off the water, and plate it.
Now, you just plate it up and mangia.
If you’re cooking for 1 or 2 and have sauce left, you can turn down the heat and let it keep cooking, or you can cool it down, portion it out into containers or Ziploc bags, and freeze it away for future use. I love making meals from leftover sauce. I’ll be sure to share some of those with you.
Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Italian Sauce and Meatballs Over Ramen
Ingredients
Method
- Set the slow cooker to high. Add the fresh or frozen tomatoes whole to the pot.
- If using tomato puree instead, add 1 can to the pot, then rinse the can with a full can of water and add that to the pot.
- Add the tomato paste (16 oz for fresh tomatoes, 8 oz for puree). Rinse each can of paste twice with a full can of water and add that to the sauce.
- In a small saucepan, warm the butter or olive oil. Add the chopped onion, chopped garlic, salt, sugar, dried Italian herb mix, and smoked dried chipotle pepper (or dried pepper flakes).
- Cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the onions and garlic are just turning light brown. Add to the slow cooker.
- Let the sauce cook for a few hours, stirring occasionally.
- Combine the chopped meat, ground Italian sausage, egg, breadcrumbs, dried whole milk powder, and Parmesan.
- Add a bit of water if the mixture seems too dry. Mix well with your hands and form firm meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball.
- Cook the meatballs using your preferred method: drop them directly into the hot sauce, pan-fry in a little butter or bacon fat for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or air fry at 400°F for about 10 minutes (turning halfway).
- Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and keep cooking all day. Stir occasionally and skim off any fat if desired.
- To serve, boil water in an electric kettle and pour it over the ramen in a bowl. Let it sit until cooked through but not soft. Drain the water and plate the ramen topped with the sauce and meatballs.