Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi Recipe
Cozy up with these Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi—a warm and comforting meal that’s a breeze to make! Flavorful chicken meatballs (can be made ahead and frozen for convenience) simmer in a light, creamy sauce with carrots, onions, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. Paired with store-bought gnocchi, this set-and-forget dinner is perfect for busy family nights!
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 16 ounces Lean Ground Chicken ground turkey is good too
- 2 teaspoons Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Fresh or Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Egg, large
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Gnocchi and Sauce
- ½ cup Carrots diced
- ½ cup Onion diced or 1 small onion
- ½ cup chopped Sun dried tomatoes
- 3 teaspoon garlic minced (3 cloves)
- 5 cups Chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Fresh or Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
- 5 ounces Fresh baby spinach leaves (½ cup frozen)
- 14-16 ounces Fresh or Frozen Gnocchi
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- ¾ cup Milk
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
- Peel and dice the carrots and onions. Mince the garlic.
- For the meatball mixture, in the large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients: the ground chicken, garlic, parsley, egg, oregano, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Mix to fully combine all ingredients.
- Then form meatballs by scooping a tablespoon of the mixture and rolling it in your hands. Place them on a sheet pan until they are all done. You will get about 20 meatballs. At this point, you can move on to the cooking step or place the pan in the freezer to flash-freeze them. Then transfer to a freezer bag or container once frozen.
Cook
- Preheat the large frying pan or skillet Medium high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil to the pan and then the meatballs in a single layer. Cook on each side just to brown, you don't need to cook through. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- To the meatballs in the slow cooker pot, add the carrots, onions, garlic, broth, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Cook in the slow cooker on High for 2-3 hours, depending on your schedule.
- Mix the cornstarch into the cold milk until dissolved to make the slurry thickener. After the slow cooking 2-3 hour cooking time is done, whisk in slurry, add the gnocchi and stir gently so that the gnocchi separate and do not all clump together as they cook. Cook on High for 30 minutes more.
- For the final step, add the baby spinach and stir until just wilted. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve and Enjoy!!
