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Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi features savory chicken meatballs and tender gnocchi in a rich, creamy sauce that’s loaded with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Big on flavor, and perfect on a chilly night!
These Tuscan meatballs start with ground chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach and they get tossed in the slow cooker with gnocchi and a cream sauce.
Chicken Meatballs + Gnocchi + Creamy Goodness
This is one of those recipes that just brings alllll the cozy vibes. Hearty and creamy and packed with big flavors.
Plus, hello, it’s a slow cooker recipe and I’m not sure if anything can really top a slow cooker recipe on a busy day or a chilly night.
This slow cooker Tuscan chicken meatballs with gnocchi hits all the right notes for a crockpot recipe. All of the flavors meld together perfectly in the crockpot, the sauce is simple but packed with flavor thanks to the sun-dried tomatoes and parm, and the gnocchi cooks up perfectly tender.
This is a hearty meal that’s perfect for weeknight dinners. If you like the idea of a slow cooker pasta recipe check out our crockpot lasagna or this crockpot Mississippi beef and noodles!
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- Flavor: Sun-dried tomatoes are one of my favorite flavor bombs and we added them to both the meatballs and the sauce. Of course, there’s also garlic and parm to round things out!
- Meatballs: Tender, saucy meatballs? Say less. These are made with ground chicken to keep them a bit lighter, but of course we balance that out with the creamy sauce. 😉
Ingredient Notes:
For the meatballs:
Ground Chicken – You’ll need a pound of lean ground chicken to prepare the Tuscan chicken meatballs. You could also use turkey here instead if you prefer turkey meatballs!
Egg & Panko – To bind the meatball ingredients together you’ll mix in some egg and Panko breadcrumbs with the meat. It’ll help the meatballs hold their shape and keep everything from falling apart in the slow cooker.
Baby Spinach – Some chopped baby spinach is a great way to add a nutritious and flavorful boost to the meatballs.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes – We also love the flavor of sun-dried tomatoes and use it both in the meatballs and in the sauce. Mince them up for use in the meatballs.
Garlic – Minced garlic is another simple ingredient to add flavor.
Italian Seasoning – We use this seasoning blend in loads of Italian-inspired recipes. It’s just a mix of dried herbs, like basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.
For the sauce:
Chicken Broth – This makes up the base of the sauce and will add lots of great savory flavor so I’d recommend using a good quality chicken broth.
Heavy Cream – It’ll add a rich, creamy texture and flavor to the sauce and help thicken it up a bit.
Baby Spinach – This doesn’t add a lot in the way of flavor, but it does add a nutrition boost and is a great way to get green veg in the kiddos.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes – These add big flavor to the creamy sauce.
Parmesan – This will help thicken the sauce up and add additional flavor.
Gnocchi – We’re starting with dried shelf-stable gnocchi for this recipe.The pasta only goes in for the last 20 minutes so it won’t get overcooked.
Seasoning – Just a bit of garlic and onion powder and some salt to taste.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Crockpot Recommendation!
In the market for a new slow cooker? We love this 7 quart Crockpot. It’s simple to use, cooks evenly, and is very budget friendly. Plus, it has a 4 1/2 star rating with over 5,000 reviews on Amazon!
Step by Step:
Add all the meatball ingredients except olive oil to a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Roll ’em out and brown them in a hot skillet with the oil. No need to cook them through!
Add the meatballs, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic & onion powder to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
Turn the slow cooker to high. Add the cream, Parmesan, and gnocchi. Whisk the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and stir into the slow cooker. Cover and cook.
Stir in the spinach and let it cook for a few minutes to wilt. Taste, season as needed, and then dig in!
Helpful Tip!
Storage:
You can keep any leftovers stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave when ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions:
Our slow cooker Tuscan chicken meatballs with gnocchi is just begging for some bread to go along with it. Our best ever garlic bread, this garlic bread in the air fryer, or even some beer bread would be a great option for soaking up that glorious sauce. Dunk and devour, friends.
A green salad on the side is always welcome as well! We’re really digging our Greek dressing lately, but an Italian dressing would go well too.
Recipe FAQs:
It’s both! Gnocchi is considered a pasta, or really a dumpling. Gnocchi is made with a combination of potatoes and flour.
Be sure to brown your meatballs on the stove before adding them to the slow cooker so they don’t fall apart. This step adds flavor as well as helps them hold their shape perfectly during cooking.
Egg and breadcrumbs make a great binder for these chicken meatballs. We love Panko so that’s what we’re using. The Parmesan also helps a bit while also adding flavor.
More Crockpot Favorites!
- Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
- Crockpot Ribs
- Slow Cooker Cube Steak
- Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
- Crockpot Cabbage Soup
Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup fresh baby spinach chopped
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes minced
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce:
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes drained and patted dry, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 6 ounces dried gnocchi
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach chopped
- Salt to taste
Instructions
To make the meatballs:
- Add everything but the olive oil to a mixing bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon or use your hands to combine the mixture.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop into 18 balls. Roll with your hands.
- Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and drizzle with the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs, working batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, and cook for a couple of minutes on each side just to brown the outsides of the meatballs. Do not worry about cooking the chicken through as these will finish in the slow cooker.
- Transfer the browned meatballs to the slow cooker.
For the sauce:
- Pour the chicken broth, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic powder, and onion powder over the meatballs and cover the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 3 hours and then turn the slow cooker to high.
- Add the cream, Parmesan, and gnocchi to the slow cooker. Whisk together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water until smooth. Add to the slow cooker and stir gently to combine. Make sure the gnocchi is mostly submerged in the liquid.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 20 minutes or until the gnocchi is tender.
- Add the spinach to the slow cooker, stir to combine the spinach in the sauce and cover the slow cooker for 2 minutes to wilt the spinach.
- Taste and season with salt before serving.
CC says
I first found this recipe on The Foreign Fork site but I like the little changes you made to it that makes it a little simpler to make.
Margie says
Can you make this stovetop?
Karly Campbell says
Hi Margie! I haven’t tried this one on the stove top, but we do have a similar recipe here: https://www.bunsinmyoven.com/creamy-tuscan-chicken-and-gnocchi/ It’s chunks of chicken rather than meatballs, but you could probably just bake the meatballs and then add them in to the sauce on the stove! 🙂