Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi
These slow cooker Tuscan chicken meatballs bring bold Italian flavors to your table with juicy chicken meatballs, sun-dried tomatoes, creamy sauce, and gnocchi—perfect for a healthy, hearty meal.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds ground chicken
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs, room temperature, beaten
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
- 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 package (16 ounces) potato gnocchi
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, bread crumbs, eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, garlic, dried basil, salt, onion powder, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Mix until just combined.
- Form the mixture into 1-1/2-inch meatballs. This should yield approximately 20 meatballs.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides, 1-2 minutes each. They don’t need to cook through, as they’ll finish cooking in the slow cooker.
- Transfer the meatballs to your slow cooker. Add 2 cups chicken broth and heavy cream, stirring gently to combine. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours.
- In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch with the remaining 2 tablespoons of chicken broth.
- Stir the cornstarch mixture and gnocchi into the slow cooker. Cook for an additional 30-60 minutes, until the gnocchi is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Just before serving, stir in fresh spinach and an extra 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Serve warm and enjoy!