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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!

Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for other family meals? Here are a few ideas:

Crockpot Coq au Vin Meatballs

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

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
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

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.
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Saucy Braised Garlic Butter Meatballs with Orzo | halfbakedharvest.com

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Family fave! I baked the meatballs for about 15 minutes to make them less likely to break up in the pan. (Ground chicken is so soft.) after the 15 min, I seared like you said. So good. Thank you for this recipe!

    1. Hey Michelle,
      Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx

  2. 5 stars
    This was AMAZING. I used a combination of ground chicken, ground beef and hot Italian pork sausage, and the result was phenomenal. Served with a kale salad this was the perfect dinner for a cold, rainy Sunday!

    1. Hey Hannah,
      Happy Monday!!☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx

  3. Do they need to be in one layer in the crockpot? I cooked them for 3 hours on high and the ones that were not on the bottom of the pot were still raw.

    1. Hi there,
      Hmmm, that seems odd. Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? They do not need to be in 1 layer. Let me know how I can help! xT

  4. 5 stars
    This was delicious! I substituted bottled jalapenos for the poblano because that was the best I could find. This recipe did take a little time to make but so worth it! At the end of the meal the big question was “Wow, that was so good; when are we having this again?’ Will definitely be adding this recipe to the monthly rotation.

    1. Hey Jan,
      Happy Sunday!!❄️ I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it out and sharing your feedback! xx

  5. This recipe was DELICIOUS! My 8 year old devoured a bowl of orzo and meatballs. This is definitely going into the dinner rotation! Thanks for a great recipe!

    1. Hey Amy,
      Happy Sunday!!❄️ I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it out and sharing your feedback! xx

  6. 5 stars
    This was crazy good! A little bit of work but company worthy! You could do most ahead too. I did the orzo way ahead and it was perfect. I would cut back on the butter at the end next time (not the garlic!) Just for health reasons. Delish!

  7. 5 stars
    Loved this! Fairly simple to make using ingredients I usually have on hand…smells amazing…tastes delicious. What’s not to love?

    Happy New Year Tieghan! Here’s to another year of great recipes!

    1. Hey JoAnn,
      Happy New Year!🎆🎈 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! xx

  8. 5 stars
    We are eating this now and oh my goodness it’s so good! I only had mild sausage on hand so I added some red chili flakes to the meatball mixture. And did half butter and half olive oils for the garlic butter.

    1. Hey Katie,
      I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy New Year! 🎊🎈

  9. I don’t see the note about: 3/4 pound spicy Italian chicken sausage (see note). I’d like to know what the note says as I want to make this for dinner. If it’s a link, it doesn’t open for me. Thanks!

    1. Hi Denise,
      You can view the note below, it shows the seasoning mix if you want to make your own spicy Italian chicken sausage:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT

      1. Hi.
        I was looking for this note as well. I can only see a note for the italian seasoning – any hint as to where the other note is? It’s not something I’d be able to get in a Danish supermarket, so I’ll have to make it myself and want to get it right.
        Thanks for great dinner inspiration – “your” food gets great reviews in my house 😊. Br Helene

        1. Hey Helen,
          If you can’t find spicy Italian chicken sausage at your local grocery store, you can just buy plain sausage and add the Italian seasoning mix that I share in the notes:) I hope this helps! xT

  10. If you’re cooking these on the stovetop snd want to cook for the 3-4 hr time frame stirring every 20 min do you lower the temp or keep uncovered?

    1. Hey Livia,
      Yes, go ahead and follow the instructions in step 3, reduce the heat to low, partially cover and stir every hour. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT

    1. Hi Fatimah,
      It depends on the size of jars that you purchase, which is why I gave the measurements in cups:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT

    1. Hey Amy,
      So sorry, I don’t have the instructions for the instant pot with this recipe, I never tested it. Let me know if you give this dish a try, I hope you love it! xT

    2. You have a see note next to the spicy chicken sausage. I was curious if you could sub this for something else if I want to avoid spice.

    1. Hi Alexis,
      You are making the garlic butter in step 4 and then adding to the dish in step 5. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx

  11. 5 stars
    This was so good! My family loved it. The poblano chili was a nice touch.
    Thank you again for another delicious dinner —our family sends their thanks!!!!

    1. Hey Juleen,
      Happy Friday!!☃️ I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT