Next Post
Brown Sugar Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo. Turning a meatball and pasta dinner into an easy slow cooker meal. We’re using white wine, creamy Dijon mustard, garlic, herbs, parmesan cheese, and orzo. Then adding in some vibrant spinach and sun-dried tomatoes for veggies, flavor, and a pop of color. This slow-cooked chicken meatball dinner is a delicious meal to come home to at the end of the day. And the best part? It’s the easiest, cozy fall-winter dinner to prepare. Directions for the Instant Pot and stove-top are provided!
I know I’ve said something like this before. But when a recipe I’m not sure about works out so well, I get incredibly excited! When I had this idea, at first I didn’t want to make it. I was honestly scared it would end disastrously. But after some pushing from mom, I decided to just go for it.
I kept asking her about the recipe, “should I make this”? I think I asked her 3 days in a row until she finally said, “Tieghan, MAKE THE MEATBALLS”! Finally, I listened and I sent her a text a few hours later to thank her for the encouragement. The recipe turned out better than I’d imagined and more importantly, it was so delicious.
Here are all the easy details
To be honest, I may only want to make meatball recipes in the crockpot from now on. This was so easy and almost mess-free.
Start with the meatball mixture. I make mine using ground chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and parmesan cheese. Just mix everything together in a large bowl and roll it into meatballs. Then place them in the crock-pot with a little olive oil to prevent any sticking.
Next, pour over white wine, add an onion, and a whole head of garlic. Cover and slow cook. Since these are meatballs, they can cook quickly on high for a couple of hours or cook them low and slow all day. Either is great and the meatballs are never dry. The wine will add moisture to them.
When the meatballs are cooked, pull them out along with the garlic cloves, then set them aside on a baking sheet.
Add the orzo to all the yummy broth in the crockpot. Now simply cover and cook a few minutes longer, until the orzo is al dente.
Meanwhile, I love to add butter to the meatballs and garlic and toss on some rosemary. Then place the sheet pan under the broiler for a couple of minutes to crisp them up.
What happens is that the butter browns around the meatballs, garlic, and rosemary. I then chop up the garlic and rosemary and toss them back onto the pan with butter. Then toss the meatballs with the garlicky butter to finish. This step is optional, but I think it really adds flavor.
When the orzo is finished, stir in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, then add the cream and parmesan, stirring until the orzo becomes very creamy.
Serve the garlic butter meatballs over the orzo, then drizzle any butter left on the pan over top.
So simple and quick with barely any clean-up and minimal hands-on time too.
What I love most about this recipe is the fact that it’s a complete all-in-one dinner. You have your protein, your carbs, and even your vegetables. You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great for those upcoming holiday dinners with friends and family.
Looking for other slow cooker meals? Here are a few ideas:
Creamy White Bean Noodle Soup with Rosemary Bacon.
Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
Slow Cooker Saucy Sunday Bolognese Pasta
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bolognese
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 878 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, pork, or turkey
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 head garlic, top trimmed off to reveal the cloves
- 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 cups dry orzo pasta
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or canned full fat coconut milk
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan to a bowl. Season with salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs). Add olive oil and place the meatballs in the bowl of your crockpot. 2. Pour over the wine and 1/2 cup water. Add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the meatballs and garlic from the slow cooker and place on a baking sheet.3. Crank the heat on the slow cooker to high. Stir in the orzo, and 1 cup water. Cover and cook 20-30 minutes, or until the orzo is al dente. If the orzo needs more liquid, add additional water. Stir in the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, cream, and 1/2 cup parmesan.4. Arrange the butter and the rosemary around the meatballs and garlic, then broil 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Peel away the garlic skin, then chop and mix with the butter and rosemary on the sheet pan. Toss the meatballs in the butter. 5. Serve the meatballs over the orzo.
Instant Pot
- 1. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan to a bowl. Season with salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs).2. Set the instant pot to sauté. Add olive oil, then add the meatballs to the instant pot and sear until browned, about 5 minutes, Pour in the wine and 1/2 cup water. Add 1 chopped onion. Cook 5 minutes, then add the butter, garlic and rosemary. Let the butter butter, another 2-3 minutes. Cover and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.3. Once done cooking, release the steam. Set the Instant pot to sauté. Remove the garlic. Stir in the orzo and 1 cup water. Cook 6-8 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. Stir in the spinach, tomatoes, cream, and parmesan.4. Serve the meatballs over the orzo.
Stove-Top
- 1. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan to a bowl. Season with salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs).2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then add the meatballs and sear until browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1 chopped onion. Cook 5 minutes, then add the butter, garlic and rosemary. Let the butter butter, another 2-3 minutes. 3. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour in the wine. Stir in the orzo and 1 1/2 cups water. Cook, stirring often, another 6-8 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. Stir in the spinach, tomatoes, cream, and 1/2 cup parmesan.4. Serve the chicken over the orzo. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on October 10, 2022
I am needing low fat dinner options. Do you have a recommendationt to sub the butter to make this low fat? Also don’t have any recipe recommendations for low fat meals? Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
You could try using olive oil in place of the butter. So sorry, I do not label my recipes as “low fat” or not. I am sure I have plenty of them located here:
https://fett-weg.today/category/recipes/diet-specific/healthy-ish/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope this helps! xT
For the stovetop method, are the meatballs supposed to stay in the skillet the whole time while we add everything else? Or at which point do we remove and set them aside before serving over the orzo?
Hey Sonia,
For the stove top method, I did not remove the meatballs:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I thought this recipe was good, but I just made the meatballs. Served on top of mashed potatoes with a thin layer of sour cream and a side broccoli. Delicious!
Hi Ellen,
Wonderful!! Love to hear this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it and your feedback! Happy Holidays! XxT
Hi, would you please know if you could freeze this? Thank you
🙂
Hi Sarah,
You could freeze the meatballs, but I wouldn’t recommend freezing the orzo. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Could you substitute rice for the orzo?
Hi Stacy,
Sure, that will work for you, you may need to adjust the liquid and add more cook time. Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
I had planned on making this in the crockpot but got a late start so followed the stove top instructions instead. Based on previous comments I guess I’m glad I did. It turned out great. The meatballs were not dry and the whole dish had lots of flavor. Be sure to stir the orzo frequently as the instructions say so that it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. My whole family cleared their plates and my son went back for seconds.
Hey Tracy,
Happy Monday! I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish and appreciate you making it! Have a wonderful week! xxT
Worst HBH recipe I’ve ever tried. Luckily I saw the comments so was able to salvage some flavor by adding to it. The instant pot instructions make it seem fast but in reality it took about an hour to actively cook. Would be better as a cast iron recipe. Wanted to love this but it needs some help.
I didn’t have any success with this recipe. The meatballs were very dry and had no flavour, and the orzo didn’t have any flavour either. I ended up throwing the rest away. Didn’t work for me.
Hi Laura,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it didn’t workout for you! xx
Huge hit w the family!!! I added an egg and some breadcrumbs to the meatballs and wow!! So juicy and delicious. Has a strong white wine taste so I’ll probably lessen it next time but such a great recipe!! Thank you!
Hey Meagan,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed by your family. I appreciate you giving it a try and your feedback! Have the best day! XxT
I’m not sure why there are so many negative comments. I followed this recipe to a tee in the crock pot and it’s absolutely delicious!
Hey Christin,
Happy Fall Sunday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx
I haven’t had great success with HBH crockpot recipes that aren’t soup… part of me wonders if my cheap walmart slowcooker just doesn’t heat up as consistently as a more expensive one??? I did cook the orzo in the slow cooker and it took about 40 min to get al dente, I had to start stirring it every 5 min, because the orzo around the outside of the slowcooker was cooking faster than the orzo in the middle. that seemed to help.
I used ground pork instead of ground chicken and the meatballs weren’t dry at all (higher fat content in the pork)
Just some friendly feedback. My family raves every time I make a HBH recipe. As a busy momma, when I meal plan a slowcooker recipe, I’m looking for a simple recipe where I throw all the ingredients in and 4-8 hours later its done! this recipe was not that… It had great flavor… just took too long to cook and was more complicated than I suspected when I was googling slow cooker recipes!
Hi Briana,
Thanks for your kind message and sharing your feedback! I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had some issues with the crockpot recipes. I do think it is worth the investment in a nice slow cooker:) Maybe a good Black Friday purchase this year!! Here’s my fave:
https://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?id=900703822&pid=uid3696-43323264-41&aid=45496900&utm_content=productwidget%3A63598b1f870c5535efb66d84&utm_medium=referral
I hope this helps! I appreciate you making so many recipes! xx
I am usually obsessed with HBH recipes and they usually never fail me, but this wasn’t it. I did the crockpot version and the meatballs were dry and just lackluster. The orzo cooked fine inside my crockpot but it just wasn’t as easy as other crock pot meals and it didn’t have the boom flavor HBH usually provides. I wouldn’t make it again and would search for something else in HBH that will give you much more happiness.
This recipe is an atrocity, and I usually don’t leave reviews about anything but its the comments here the helped me somewhat salvage this recipe. while waiting for the meatballs to cook i read the reviews and decided to completely throw away the directions and do things my way. I couldnt salvage the meatballs, they lacked flavor. I would have used onion and breadcrumb in the meatballs and browned them before putting them in the crockpot. Broiling them after the fact is just not going to give you that maillard reaction. whatever you do, do not cook the orzo in the crockpot. Save the liquid, and cook it on the stovetop. Discard the onions. you dont want soggy onions floating in your meal. My intention isnt to dig into this creator, I just hope these comments help some people so they dont end up ruining dinner, wasting time and money.
I didn’t read the comments until after I put the meatballs in the crockpot 🙁
I echo what others said… meatballs were dry (I even cut down the cooking time) and lacked flavor. The orzo took forever to cook and I ended up with mush. One commenter said she ended up throwing the whole meal out… I thought about doing this but we were too hungry after waiting so long for the orzo lol! This recipe was definitely a miss. I feel like you should remove from website so others don’t have this same issue!!!
or at least fix all the confusing typos please