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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.
I hate to leave such a negative review but this recipe turned out terrible. If you’re on the fence about whether or not you should try it I would just go ahead and pass. I followed the recipe perfectly and the meatballs were super dry and flavorless. I stood in the kitchen for 45 minutes chopping up fresh sage, thyme, onion, carrots, mushrooms, and even opened a bottle of good Cabernet. I freshly grated the Parmesan and used high quality bacon. Of course if you melt plugra butter and fresh garlic over anything it will make it taste better… even that didn’t work. This was bad. Lol. Could it have been my crockpot? Possibly. But I use it a lot and it is just fine with other recipes.
Hi Amanda! I’m really sorry that this didn’t turn out for you! Thank you for letting me know, I appreciate the feedback
Why do you not need panko bread crumbs or egg in these meatballs?
Hi! The parmesan acts as a binder in the meatballs! xT
You’re recipes never disappoint Tiegan. The is a nice warm hearty meal that we will definitely be making over and over again.
Only alterations I did was add some flour slurry to thicken the sauce a bit and added some panko breadcrumbs and olive to the meatball mix for some fat and something for the fat to hold on too.
Thanks again for the delicious recipes! 😊
Thank you so so much Brandi! xT
This was so good! All the flavors came together perfectly. The only change I made was thickening the broth. Will have again!
Hi Joanne,
Happy Friday!!🇺🇸🫐🍒 Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out and your comment, I love to hear that it was a winner! xx
Incredible over grits! Love love love.
Hey Olivia,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for giving it a go! xT
We almost always have good luck with Tieghan’s recipes but sadly this one didn’t work for us. We used the crockpot version. The meatballs turned out very dry and the outer layers of the onion just got kind of hard. The mushrooms were tasty, as was the broth — just not enough to offset the other bits.
Hey Ann,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
I somehow forgot my mushrooms today and had to make due without. However, the sauce was still so delicious. And now I need to make it again to see how much better it is with mushrooms. I used ground chicken and adjusted to make 2# of meat. This is a definite keeper. Thank you for a wonderful yet fairly easy recipe.
Hi Christine,
Happy Monday!!🌞 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
This recipe turned out delicious!! Really nice for a Saturday to set it and forget it, and prep time isn’t that bad either. I ended up emulsifying the veggie and liquid mixture in the crockpot for a different texture and wow, did it turn out great. Mashed Potatoes are a must for this 10/10 recipe! Thanks, HBH fam, you all are the best and I love watching you on the Gram!
Hey Gillian,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Really rich and tasty dinner, especially if you want to impress people! Lots of deep flavors. I made this on the stovetop and baked my meatballs for 15-20 mins and added them into the sauce for 20-30 minutes. It took me about 2 hours with all the prep and making mashed potatoes. I also referred to Teighan’s other “30 min coq au vin” recipe. I think using chicken thighs or pieces would make this dish more “fancy”. But the meatballs are fun and flavorful and it’s a great combo with the sauce. Would make again!
Hey Julia,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was delish!! xx
Could you do beef?
Hey Sydney,
Totally, beef would work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
I ran out of time to make it in the slow cooker. I decided for flavor and color, I would skip the pressure cooker and make it on the stove. Excellent! Served with your Make Ahead Creamy Herb, Mashed Potatoes, and crusty bread, it was the perfect dish on a cold night for our weekly, multi-generational family of 8, game night.
Hey Kym,
Happy Monday!!💐 Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx
YUM! Such a lovely Sunday crock pot meal. I used maybe 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes in the meatballs and that was perfect for me. Love love love the garlic butter over the meatballs, I used half of the garlic in my butter and the other half in my mashed potatoes. A fun twist on one of my favorite dishes!
Hey Kaley,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was tasty and thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
I made this using the stove top instructions and it turned out amazing! Great recipe and I will definitely be making it again
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!😃 Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, I am so glad it turned out well for you! xx