Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi

This easy recipe for slow cooker Tuscan chicken meatballs with gnocchi is a cozy dinner recipe perfect for both company AND busy weeknights.

👥 6 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 3h 50m⏳ Prep: 20 min🔥 Cook: 3h 30m👤 Dorothy Bigelow📖 dashfordinner

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🥘 Ingredients

Check off ingredients as you prepare them:

🍳 Cookware

●oven
●baking sheet
●bowl
●slow cooker

📝 Preparation Steps

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (this is for precooking the meatballs; disregard if using frozen meatballs)

Prepare the meatballs. In a large bowl, gently combine all of the meatball ingredients just until mixed. Avoid overworking the mixture, which can cause it to become tough. Roll into 1 ½ inch meatballs (I like to use a medium cookie scoop to portion the meatball mixture) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly brush the tops with olive oil.

olive oil (for brushing)1 tablespoon

Bake the meatballs. Place the baking sheet of meatballs in the preheated oven and bake for ⏱️ 13-16 minutes, or until they are lightly golden, crisp on the outside, and cooked most of the way through (they will continue to cook in the slow cooker, so it’s okay if they aren’t up to temperature yet).

Assemble the slow cooker sauce. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, garlic, salt, pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes to the slow cooker. Stir well, then add the meatballs, nestling them under the sauce.

ground chicken1 pound½ cups chicken broth1cream (or milk)2 tablespoonsheavy cream1 cupgarlic (minced)2 cloves-3 cloves garlic (minced)2salt1 teaspoon½ teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)

Cook on LOW for ⏱️ 2-3 hours.

Add the gnocchi. After the meatballs have cooked in the sauce for a few hours, it’s time to add the gnocchi. Gently turn to coat it in the sauce, keeping it submerged.

Cover and cook on LOW for another ⏱️ 30-40 minutes, or until the gnocchi is tender.

Add the spinach. Once the gnocchi is tender, fold in the baby spinach and Parmesan cheese. Cover again and cook for another ⏱️ 5-10 minutes, or just until the spinach is wilted and the sauce is silky.

Finish and serve. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper (if needed) and add any extra ingredients according to your taste (Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.). Serve hot with extra Parmesan and freshly cracked pepper.

salt1 teaspoon½ teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)

Nutrition Facts

calories

511 kcal

fat Content

29 g

serving Size

1 serving

fiber Content

3 g

sugar Content

5 g

sodium Content

1354 mg

protein Content

24 g

trans Fat Content

0.1 g

cholesterol Content

151 mg

carbohydrate Content

41 g

saturated Fat Content

14 g

unsaturated Fat Content

12 g

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