Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs With Gnocchi

5 from 3 votes

Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs With Gnocchi

Cozy up with Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi. Creamy, flavourful, and balanced for an easy weeknight dinner!

Prep Time20

Cook Time3

Total Time3 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: high protein, meal prep, slow cooker

Servings:

Ingredients

For the chicken meatballs:

1 lb ground chicken
1 egg
¼ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (original can also be used)
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes (stored in oil), finely chopped
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

For the tuscan chicken gnocchi:

1 yellow onion, diced
1.5 cups low sodium chicken broth
6 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoon tomato paste
½ cup sundried tomatoes (stored in oil), julienned
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup half and half cream
1 cup frozen spinach (or 3 cups of fresh spinach) * if using frozen, you do not need to thaw it first
500 g ready to cook gnocchi
zest of ½ lemon
½ cup parmesan cheese
fresh basil, for serving
lemon juice, for serving

Instructions

Make the meatballs by combining the ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, sundried tomatoes, paprika, Italian seasoning blend, salt an black pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until fully combined. Divide the mixture into 16 equal sized balls.
On a hot skillet over medium-high heat (or crockpot if your crockpot has a sautee function) add olive oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and sear each side- about 2 minutes per side (it is ok if they are not fully cooked, we just want to brown the outsides).
To make the crockpot meal: add the seared meatballs to the crockpot along with the onion, chicken broth, garlic, and tomato paste. Cover and place on high for 2.5 hours.
After 2.5 hours, stir in sundried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, cream, spinach, gnocchi, lemon zest and parmesan cheese. Cover and place on high for 30 minutes.
To serve- top with additional parmesan cheese, lemon juice and fresh basil.

Notes

Make the meatballs ahead or use pre-cooked, frozen meatballs if desired! If you are using frozen meatballs you can add them directly into the crockpot and skip any searing!

For a thicker sauce- mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of cold water, whisk and slowly stir this into the sauce until fully combined.

*I have included an estimation of the nutrition information for this recipe below (toppings not included). However, always remember a recipe is so much more than just nutritional content and these numbers do not need to dictate your food choices. Please don't forget that both your body and soul need nourishment! The owner of this website is not liable for this estimation.

Nutrition

Did you know....rating and sharing recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favourite food bloggers? If you make this recipe, I would love if you clicked the stars below to leave a rating and/or sharing a photo on social media by tagging @nourishedbynic or using the hashtag #nourishedbynic!