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My Crockpot Coq au Vin Meatballs are ideal for chilly fall and winter nights. Perfect for when you’re wanting a fancy slow-braised chicken, but need something simple and easy to throw together. Made easily with herb-seasoned parmesan chicken meatballs cooked in wine with vegetables, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs. This dish is warm, flavorful, hearty but healthy, and so delicious. Serve over mashed potatoes with bread on the side. Great for simple family dinners or holiday entertaining.
And like clockwork, we’re just a week away from Thanksgiving and I am really leaning into easy, cozy, crockpot dinners. With the holiday season kicking into full gear this week, things feel busier than ever. I’m sure we can all relate.
I think it’s important to remember that even though we have the big holiday dinner around the corner, we still have to eat on the days leading up to Thanksgiving too!
Personally, I LOVE this time just before Thanksgiving. Usually, my family is all slowly trickling in to stay for the extra long weekend. I’m cooking like crazy, and yet it’s all somehow a relaxing, comforting, and exciting time.
Busy, but it’s always so nice to cook for the whole family again, it’s fun!
When everyone is here, I love to create dinners with certain brothers or cousins in mind. Last year around this time, I finally made white chicken chili for my cousin Abby. And the year before that, spicy butter chicken for my brother Creighton.
And this year, I turned to my brother Brendan for some inspiration. I first made coq au vin way, way back in 2014. He loved this more traditional dish and said it was SO DELICIOUS.
It’s a classic french dish consisting of chicken braised in red wine with vegetables. I wanted to turn it into a meatball dish that could easily be cooked in the crockpot. It took a few rounds of testing, but I finally got the recipe just right!
Details
Mix up the meatballs first. Ground chicken with parmesan, sage, thyme, onion, garlic, and chili flakes. Then roll the mix into balls and add them to the crockpot. If you don’t love the idea of doing this in the crockpot, you can use the instant pot or stove top variations I give.
From here, pretty much everything goes into the crockpot all at once. Add the red wine, broth, and tomato paste. Then lots of carrots (my favorite addition) and mushrooms. Then a whole onion, a head of garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.
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.
BUT, here’s what I will say about this recipe, the wine does turn the meatballs a funny color. It’s not the prettiest. However, the drizzle of garlic butter and a sprinkling of fresh parsley just before serving will fix them right up. They end up looking delish.
Just be aware, you will have purple-ish colored meatballs.
When the meatballs are cooked, pull them out along with the garlic, then set them aside on a baking sheet. Add butter and garlic around the meatballs 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 and garlic. I then chop up the garlic 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 and a nice color to the dish.
My favorite way to serve these meatballs is over mashed potatoes. Spooning the sauce over the creamy mashed potatoes and topping with the meatballs leaves you with a cozy dinner that’s effortless to make.
And one that everyone really loves! My only other suggestion is to add a side of crusty bread for dipping. I already know it’s going to be a go-to recipe this winter.
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 Coq au Vin Meatballs, 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 Coq au Vin Meatballs
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 415 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 turkey or chicken
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- chili flakes
- kosher salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
- 2 slices thick-cut bacon, halved
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 head garlic, top trimmed off to reveal the cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. Add the chicken, 3/4 cup parmesan, sage, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, chili flakes, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Mix to combine. Roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 16-18 meatballs). 2. Pour over the wine and broth. Add the tomato paste, carrots, mushrooms, and bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the onion, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme around the meatballs. 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 slow cooker and place onto a baking sheet. Remove and discard the bacon and bay leaves. Crank the heat on the slow cooker to high. Let cook, uncovered, 10-30 minutes. 4. Sprinkle the meatballs with 1/4 cup parmesan. Arrange the butter around the meatballs and garlic, then broil 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Peel away the garlic skin, then chop the garlic and mix with the butter on the sheet pan. Toss the meatballs in the butter.5. Serve the meatballs in the sauce with parsley and parmesan.
Instant Pot
- 1. Add the chicken, 3/4 cup parmesan, sage, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, chili flakes, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Mix to combine. Roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 16-18 meatballs). 2. Set the instant pot to sauté. Add olive oil, then add the meatballs and bacon to the instant pot and sear until browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1 chopped onion. Cook 5 minutes, then add the butter and garlic. Let the butter brown, another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the wine and broth. Add the tomato paste, carrots, mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaves. 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, chop, and stir into the sauce. Remove and discard the bay leaves.4. Serve the meatballs in the sauce with parsley and parmesan.
Stove
- 1. Add the chicken, 3/4 cup parmesan, sage, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, chili flakes, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Mix to combine. Roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 16-18 meatballs). 2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then add the meatballs and bacon and sear until browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1 chopped onion. Cook 5 minutes, then add the butter and garlic. Let the butter brown, another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the wine and broth. Add the the tomato paste and 2 cloves chopped garlic, the carrots, mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves.4. Serve the meatballs in the sauce with parsley and parmesan.
Another HBH win! Used a combination of turkey and chicken for the meatballs. The sauce was so flavorful.
Yay!! Love to hear this, Brenda! Thanks so much for making this dish and your comment! Have a great Sunday! xT
Made this evening via crockpot and it came out amazing.
Always a successful dinner when making your recipes.
Thank you!
Hi Kim,
So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! Xx
Could it work to blitz down the bacon and add it to the meatballs?
Hi Sarah! I haven’t ever tried that before so I can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
Made this tonight and it was incredible!
Thanks so much Jennifer! xT
Amazing! I’ll have to send you the picture! Super tasty sauce.
Thanks so much! Yes, send me a pic on Instagram! Would love to see how they turned out! xT
This was terrible. We followed the directions for the crockpot recipe and the meatballs were very dry while the carrots were still hard. The flavors never came together and overall disappointing.
Hi Rachel! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out! Is there anything I can do to help? xT
I suggest adding an egg and breadcrumbs to the meatballs and browning them before slow cooking. Just a tip!
Thanks so much for this feedback Emily! xT
That was so so so tasty!!!! I’m glad it tasted as good as it looked on your pictures! Absolutely go to recipe for the future, thank you!
Hey Amelie! Thank you so much for trying the recipe out! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! 🙂 xT
This one was a fail for us. We followed the directions and the vegetables were not cooked, hard a rocks. Garlic was not cooked either. Meatballs were tough. I think it has potential though!
Oh no I’m so sorry about that Julia! Thank you for letting me know! xT
Made this dish and it was really good. Used the slow cooker but made some adjustments. I didn’t feel completely comfortable putting raw meatballs inside so I browned them first. I felt like the meatballs become a little tough without any breadcrumbs in it but the overall taste of the dish was amazing.
Hi there! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the recipe! Thanks for giving it a try! xT
At what point are the meatballs supposed to be soft? Mine are tough as rocks.. and I used mostly dark meat ground turkey. I did everything to a T
I’m sorry but this is an awful recipe. The meatballs were completely dry and tough and the carrots were like rocks. I am an experienced, avid cook and I should’ve known that without the egg and breadcrumbs generally used in meatballs, these would come out the way they did. Also, throwing all the ingredients into a crock pot raw is another reason the flavor was off.
I made this for my boys, and they loved it! Great recipe.
Hi Leslie! Thank you so so much! Sooo glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂 xT
This was delicious! I did make some changes because I used what was on hand. I used ground beef instead of chicken and didn’t have wine so used all chicken stock with a SMALL splash of red wine vinegar. I served over mashed potatoes and with a side of homemade bread.
My husband and two boys 3 and 1 loved this! This is definitely added to my list of winter meals. Can’t wait to make it with the wine. I poured the remaining garlic butter on the bread.
Hi Kristin,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for your feedback and sharing what worked well for you! Happy Thanksgiving! xT
for the Crock Pot- after mixing the meatballs, the directions are confusing
Hi Pamela,
Sorry you are finding the directions confusing, is there something specific that I can clarify for you? xx
Normally I love HBH recipes…. But this is a no go. I followed the crockpot directions to a T. I’m an experience home cook with minimal kitchen fails. This was a fail.
There is no way this is done in 4 hours on low. I did 4 hours on high and still not cooked through.ended up taking veggies out to a baking dish in a hot oven. Broth and veggies were tasty, meatballs were tough and bland. Butter and parm in the broiler burned in under a minute. Ruined my sheet pan, set off my smoke alarm and put my dog into shiver mode😂 a lot of effort, quality (expensive) ingredients for a meh meal. I won’t be making this again.
Hi Gigi! I’m so sorry these meatballs didn’t turn out for you! Thank you for letting me know, and I’m so sorry about all the trouble you went to because of this recipe!
I made this for around $8 and you ALWAYS have to keep an eye on anything under the broiler.
I agree with Gigi. The meatballs in the crockpot were not good. They got dry and had very little flavor. The broth/sauce was delicious so I’m giving it 3 stars. I think if I did try it again I’d definitely do it in the stove instead of the crockpot and add some breadcrumbs, egg and milk to the meatballs to give them a better texture and hopefully more moisture