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 haven’t made the recipe (yet), however, I am wondering about the fate of the onions. In the narrative of the recipe for the crockpot, you said to add the quartered onions (in the video the skin is still on). Later in the narrative, you indicated that you removed the garlic and the meatballs (not the onions) and added them with the butter and rosemary on a baking sheet to broil. The video shows the onions on that sheet as well. Do the onions just get tossed at the end as I don’t see any other instructions regarding the onions. Please clarify. Thank you exclamation point.
Hey Mark,
Sorry for any confusion. Yes, I just quarter the onions and toss them in. You can serve them once cooked or just toss them, either way they add great flavor to the dish while cooking. I hope this helps!
Not worth making. Not very flavorful.
Hi Darby,
Very sorry to hear this, thanks for trying the recipe and sharing your feedback.
Have a nice weekend!
I just made this! Wonderful recipe, tons of flavor. I did the crock pot method. The only things I did differently… I used vegetable stock instead of water, and I used a gluten free pasta instead of orzo. I plan to put this into my regular rotation and maybe change up some of the veggies and seasonings. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Hi Amy,
Fantastic! Thanks for making this recipe, I’m so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday!
I made it exactly as written for the slow cooker with turkey, except I used chicken broth as I had no white wine. It turned out lovely and tasty and no extra fluid needed. The orzo was actually done in 15 minutes. I broiled for minutes. I’m not particularly fond of the lean turkey/chicken myself but I’m sure my company will enjoy it!
Hey Jeannette,
Awesome! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your comment!
Have a great weekend!
Could I skip the sun dried tomatoes?
Hi Christina,
Sure, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
This was super yummy! Had to make a few adjustments but all around it was great! Made the stove top version btw.
Adjustments I made for anyone that needs them:
-2 pounds of ground turkey so I adjusted ingredients for the meatballs
-diced the onion
-only did like 3 tablespoons of butter and about a tablespoon of minced garlic
-didn’t have wine so I used beef broth and did the normal amount asked
-we are a GF household so I didn’t do any orzo (served over rice) so I didn’t add extra water for fear of it being too much liquid
-also did a little over 1/4 cup of coconut cream instead of 1/2 cup
-added a tiny bit of GF flour at the end to soak up some extra liquid to make it like a gravy texture to put over our rice
Hey Brooke,
Fantastic! So kind of you to try this recipe and leave feedback, I’m glad it was a hit!
I love this recipe. I did the stove top version and used ground beef instead of ground chicken because that’s all I had on hand. I also just had to add a little bit more water to the orzo once it cooked off and also used water instead of wine. It tasted so good when it was done that I didn’t add milk! So yummy love it thank you!!
Hi Arielle,
Happy Monday! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks a lot for making it and your comment!
My ground chicken was too lean. It didn’t have any flavor and they were dry. My slow cooker may be hotter than most. Next time I will use chicken thighs. The orzo was delicious.
Hi Denise,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear about the chicken. Let me know if you make again!
Didn’t love this. I think there is some things missing in the directions, so I had to read and re-read a few times to figure it out. I didn’t love how the broth tasted, which could have been the wine I used. I just found it to be too overpowering, probably would have been better with chicken stock added instead of water. Also, the orzo took a lot longer to cook than the recipe states, which could just be the difference between crockpots. Loved the concept but just didn’t turn out how I had imagined. We did have it as leftovers the next day and it was pretty tasty though.
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it!
Food was delicious and a repeat but Stovetop instructions needed some adjusting.
Full disclosure I made a few updates to the recipe based on ingredients on hand and the method.
*I used ground turkey instead of ground chicken
*I chopped the onion, not a quartered onion
*I used 4 cloves of garlic chopped not a half head cut in half
*My white wine was gone (whoops drank it all) so used beef stock which is what I had on hand
*Needed to add another 2.5C of water and 25 minutes to cook the orzo
*I added mushrooms during the last step because I had some and thought they would be a good addition with flavor and texture and they were
*Added another 1/2 C of cream
*Because so much more water had to be added to cook the orzo I added a TBSP of Chicken Better Than Bouillon to add more flavor
*Topped with more Parmesan
Overall it was very flavorful and good, just needed some on the fly adjusting.
Hey Crissey,
Happy Monday! I’m thrilled to hear this recipe turned out well for you!
Thanks for making it and your comment:)
Thanks for sharing all of your helpful notes!
Made the stovetop version! I did half beef and half Italian sausage for the meatballs. It turned out amazing + only one pot for cooking!
Hey Kelly,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, I am so glad to hear it was a hit!
Instagram makes this recipe look delicious, flawless & easy….however, the directions are so unclear and the ingredient list doesn’t go along with the recipe ? Also, wanted to do the slow cooker version, not realizing my slow cooker needed a broiler option—which I didn’t know existed on slow cookers…since that is the point of a slow cooker. Directions say to remove the meatballs & garlic…but not the onions (which ingredient list says to quarter), so when it was time to stir in the orzo, I had quarter size pieces of onion all in the way. In another section of the recipe for stove top directions, it says to add the chopped onion…so why does ingredient list say to quarter? Followed the slow cooker method to a T and it is not pretty… Just a very awkward recipe & directions if a recipe can be considered awkward… very disappointed & sad 🙁
I had the same problem. This recipe is all over the place— did not turn out well. Plus only having chicken and 2 other ingredients as the meatballs was not possible. I ended up having to add panko just to even form them into balls.
Same… the stovetop instructions need some work – had the same issue with the quartered onions and also it never said to take the meatballs out so I had kept them in the whole time along with the orzo… the ingredients sound delish! But the instructions need some work on clarity.
First time a recipe has been a bit of a bummer for me. First I wasn’t sure how to brown all of the meatballs in the size of an Insta pot so I had to work in batches which took a lot longer. I was confused about the onion, first it a quarter and then it said chopped. It never states that you should take the meatballs out when you add the orzo but it appears that you should based on further instructions. The recipe seem to lack flavor at least for me and the meatballs were kind of falling apart, perhaps they weren’t browned enough in the original process? It was also a bit soupy I had to cook it down and add Parmesan cheese and as a result the orzo was no longer al dente.
Hi there,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. The recipe changes slightly based on the cooking method that is used, so it’s important to just follow those specific instructions. Again, so sorry!
Could I use coconut milk instead of cream (husband is lactose intolerant)?
Hi Eve,
Sure, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
I made this using the cooktop method and the meatballs fell apart. I’m wondering if there should be an egg or breadcrumbs or something to bind them together?
Hi Sally,
So sorry to hear this! You could add an egg if you wanted, I just didn’t find it necessary. I hope this helps for next time!
Hello! I’m going to do the Instant Pot version but these instructions are confusing to me:
Add 1 chopped onion. (Quartered? Diced? How fine a chop?)
Let the butter butter (?)
Set the Instant pot to sauté. Remove the garlic. (what about the onion? I guess this will depend on your answer above).
Thanks!
Hey Lisa,
So sorry for any confusion here! You are going to dice the onion, let the butter melt, and then you will leave the onion in the pot. I hope this makes more sense!