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These Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo are made with Italian spices, peppers, and parmesan. They come together easily and are warm and saucy with just the right amount of spice – so flavorful. Add bread and a simple side salad for a delicious hearty meal. Perfect as a simple family dinner yet equally great for holiday entertaining. This is such an easy, cozy, hearty dinner to prepare. Directions for the crockpot are provided too!
You know my oldest brother Creighton must be home when I start making meatballs. These might just be one of his favorite meals. When I sent him the videos, he almost lost it with excitement. I might have made his Christmas with these meatballs!
We all know that when my family comes for the holidays I love to cook for them. It’s fun to cook with a single person in mind. Most of the time it’s Creighton, Malachi, or Red. Or a lot of times, my cousin Abby. But I will take a request from anyone. It’s always so much fun to make a dish I hope they’re really going to LOVE.
With this being the final week before Christmas (just 5 more days), my focus is on family-style recipes, a Christmas morning classic, appetizers, and drinks. Hoping these are all just what you all need!
Meatballs to start, because we all know I have a soft spot for Creighton.
Here are the details
First things first, when I filmed the video for these, I made the recipe on the stove. The stove top is great, but I do think I prefer cooking these in the crockpot. I gave directions for both, so do what works best for you.
Start with the meatballs. I make mine using ground chicken, ground Italian chicken sausage, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, a poblano pepper, and an egg. Just mix everything together and roll it into meatballs. Then place them in a large braiser with sides and sear them lightly.
Next, pour over a couple of jars of marinara sauce and toss in a can of diced tomatoes. Add whole garlic cloves and basil, cover, and simmer. You can cook these quickly or if you have time, low and slow.
If you’re using the crockpot, they can cook quickly on high for a couple of hours or cook them low and slow all day. Either is great.
When the meatballs are cooked, pull the garlic cloves out. Then cook the garlic with butter and fresh sage or rosemary. It is during this time that I cook the orzo too.
If you’re using the crockpot, you will broil the meats with the garlic and butter. It’s simple to do.
Finish this up
Serve the orzo tossed or drizzled with the garlic butter, then add the sauce and meatballs. And I also like to finish with a drizzle more of butter, parmesan, and fresh basil.
Then, since it’s the holidays, I made garlic bread for dipping in the extra sauce. Plus, my favorite winter salad. ‘Twas absolute perfection.
You can serve this up one night during these next two busy weeks. But of course, it’s great to serve all winter long. It’s a hit with everyone.
Looking for other family meals? Here are a few ideas:
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo
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 these Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with 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!
Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 490 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, pork, or beef
- 3/4 pound spicy Italian chicken sausage (see note)
- 1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning (see note)
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 poblano pepper, chopped
- 1 egg
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 4-6 large cloves garlic
- 6 cups marinara sauce
- 1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 6 sprigs fresh sage or rosemary
- 1 pound orzo pasta, cooked
Instructions
Stove Top
- 1. Add the chicken, sausage, Italian seasoning, parmesan, poblano pepper, and egg to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (around 22 meatballs).2. Heat a large braiser with sides over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then add the meatballs and lightly sear, about 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Let the butter brown around the meatballs, another 2 minutes.3. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour in the marinara sauce, tomatoes, and add 3/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and basil. Reduce the heat to low. Partially cover and simmer 20 minutes, until cooked through, or up to 3-4 hours, stirring every hour. 4. Remove the garlic cloves from the meatballs. Add both the butter, sage, and garlic to a skillet set over medium heat. Mash the garlic into the butter, allowing the butter to brown and some of the garlic to get crispy.5. Before serving, cook the orzo. Toss the orzo in the garlic butter. 6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the orzo. Top with parmesan and basil.
Crockpot
- 1. Add the chicken, sausage, Italian seasoning, parmesan, poblano pepper, and egg to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (around 22 meatballs). Place the meatballs in the bowl of your crockpot.2. Pour in the marinara sauce, tomatoes, and add 3/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the garlic, and basil. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.3. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the meatballs and garlic from the crockpot and place on a baking sheet.4. Arrange the butter and the sage around the meatballs and garlic, then broil 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Add the meatballs back to the sauce. 5. Before serving, cook the orzo. Chop the garlic and mix with the butter and sage on the sheet pan, then mix with the orzo. 6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the orzo. Top with parmesan and basil.
Notes
Italian Seasoning: Mix 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 2 teaspoons each – garlic and onion powder, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dried sage. Add chili flakes, if desired. Store in a sealed container.
Can I use ground beef and regular Italian sausage for this? My supermarket didn’t have chicken sausage
Hi Mel,
Totally, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
How did you calculate your calories?!?! Using ground chicken it’s 893 calories per serving for 6 servings!
Absolutely delicious. Cooked on stove top and used dried herbs. Will make again
Thank you so so much Val! xT
It looked like you dropped in a Parmesan rind in the video but I don’t see it in ingredients.
Where do you purchase spicy chicken sausage?
Whole foods! xT
A classic sunday recipe don’t skip the brown butter it’s sooo delish
Hi Alexia,
Happy Monday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great week! xT
FANTASTIC! I used ground pork and spicy Italian meat sausage for the meatballs and Rao’s Marinara for the sauce base and served on linguine with Caesar salad and garlic bread! Everyone LOVED them! Keeper!!
Hi Steph,
Happy Sunday!!🏖️🌤️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
I decided to be adventurous and try this recipe with ground chicken and turkey sausage. I feed 6 adults and they all loved the flavors. I had one who doesn’t like orzo but enjoyed the way you pepped it up. I’ll be making this again. thank you.
Hey Jennifer,
Happy Friday!! I’m thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for making it and your comment!😎🍑 xx
Hi again! I’ll be asking this on every recipe I use lol. How many cups is in a serving. Thanks I’m advance !
Hi Kayla,
It’s going to be about 4 meatballs and I would say about 1/2 cup of orzo, sorry I don’t have the exact measurements:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Loved this recipe! The rosemary and garlic in the orzo really made this unique compared to a simpler meatball/orzo recipe. We made 2 batches of meatballs: one with ground chicken and sausage and another with ground vegan “beef” and they were both really good. We also used Sofrito seasoning in place of italian because we ran out and it was great. Definitely plan to keep this one for cold nights!
Hey Madison,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad it was delish! Have a great weekend:) xx
This was a good recipe. I give it 4 stars because I was expecting something a little more special. And for me, it tasted like a normal spaghetti and meatballs. But it had good flavor and such. I used the crockpot method and it worked great.
Hey Ruth,
Happy Easter!! 🐰🐣🌈 Thank you very much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your comment, I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT