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Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo. Turning a meatball and pasta dinner into an easy slow cooker meal. We’re using white wine, creamy Dijon mustard, garlic, herbs, parmesan cheese, and orzo. Then adding in some vibrant spinach and sun-dried tomatoes for veggies, flavor, and a pop of color. This slow-cooked chicken meatball dinner is a delicious meal to come home to at the end of the day. And the best part? It’s the easiest, cozy fall-winter dinner to prepare. Directions for the Instant Pot and stove-top are provided!
I know I’ve said something like this before. But when a recipe I’m not sure about works out so well, I get incredibly excited! When I had this idea, at first I didn’t want to make it. I was honestly scared it would end disastrously. But after some pushing from mom, I decided to just go for it.
I kept asking her about the recipe, “should I make this”? I think I asked her 3 days in a row until she finally said, “Tieghan, MAKE THE MEATBALLS”! Finally, I listened and I sent her a text a few hours later to thank her for the encouragement. The recipe turned out better than I’d imagined and more importantly, it was so delicious.
Here are all the easy details
To be honest, I may only want to make meatballs in the crockpot from now on. This was so easy and almost mess-free.
Start with the meatballs. I make mine using ground chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and parmesan cheese. Just mix everything together and roll it into meatballs. Then place them in the crockpot with a little olive oil to prevent any sticking.
Next, pour over white wine, add an onion, and a whole head of garlic. 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.
When the meatballs are cooked, pull them out along with the garlic, then set them aside on a baking sheet.
Add the orzo to all the yummy broth in the crockpot. Now simply cover and cook a few minutes longer, until the orzo is al dente.
Meanwhile, I love to add butter to the meatballs and garlic and toss on some rosemary. 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, garlic, and rosemary. I then chop up the garlic and rosemary 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.
When the orzo is finished, stir in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, then add the cream and parmesan, stirring until the orzo becomes very creamy.
Serve the garlic butter meatballs over the orzo, then drizzle any butter left on the pan over top.
So simple and quick with barely any clean-up and minimal hands-on time too.
What I love most about this recipe is the fact that it’s a complete all-in-one dinner. You have your protein, your carbs, and even your vegetables. You can serve this up on busy weeknights, but it’s equally great for those upcoming holiday dinners with friends and family.
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 Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy 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!
Crockpot Garlic Butter Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Orzo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 878 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 turkey
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 head garlic, top trimmed off to reveal the cloves
- 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 cups dry orzo pasta
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or canned full fat coconut milk
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan to a bowl. Season with salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs). Add olive oil and place the meatballs in the bowl of your crockpot. 2. Pour over the wine and 1/2 cup water. Add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.2. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the meatballs and garlic from the slow cooker and place on a baking sheet.3. Crank the heat on the slow cooker to high. Stir in the orzo, and 1 cup water. Cover and cook 20-30 minutes, or until the orzo is al dente. If the orzo needs more liquid, add additional water. Stir in the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, cream, and 1/2 cup parmesan.4. Arrange the butter and the rosemary around the meatballs and garlic, then broil 1-3 minutes, until crisp. Peel away the garlic skin, then chop and mix with the butter and rosemary on the sheet pan. Toss the meatballs in the butter. 5. Serve the meatballs over the orzo.
Instant Pot
- 1. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan to a bowl. Season with salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs).2. Set the instant pot to sauté. Add olive oil, then add the meatballs to the instant pot and sear until browned, about 5 minutes, Pour in the wine and 1/2 cup water. Add 1 chopped onion. Cook 5 minutes, then add the butter, garlic and rosemary. Let the butter butter, another 2-3 minutes. 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. Stir in the orzo and 1 cup water. Cook 6-8 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. Stir in the spinach, tomatoes, cream, and parmesan.4. Serve the meatballs over the orzo.
Stove-Top
- 1. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, dijon, and 1/2 cup parmesan to a bowl. Season with salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs).2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, then add the meatballs and sear until browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1 chopped onion. Cook 5 minutes, then add the butter, garlic and rosemary. Let the butter butter, another 2-3 minutes. 3. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour in the wine. Stir in the orzo and 1 1/2 cups water. Cook, stirring often, another 6-8 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. Stir in the spinach, tomatoes, cream, and 1/2 cup parmesan.4. Serve the chicken over the orzo. Enjoy!
Wow so yummy! Wasn’t sure what to do with the quartered onion so I chopped super fine and added to the Orzo while cooking. I also added the meatballs melted butter chopped garlic back to the cropcpot to soak up the sauce. It was delicious!
Hi Carol,
Happy Wednesday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was tasty! xx
Does this really take 3 TABLESPOONS of Italian seasoning, or should it be 3 TEASPOONS? The flavor was much too strong and I didn’t even use the fill amount. I made the crockpot version and it was so good! Loved the orzo. I too was wondering if the onion gets discarded once the meatballs are done.
It sounds like the crockpot version is the best way to prepare this dish!
Hey Lindsay,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for giving this dish a try and your comment, I love to hear it was a hit! 3 tablespoons is correct, but you can always adjust to your liking! xT 😊
this was SO GOOD! my husband ate every last orzo off the plate. i ran out white wine so i used chicken broth to make up for the rest- still fantastic. which cookbook is this in? i’d love to buy this one!
Hey Becca,
Fantastic!!🌻 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! This recipe is only on the blog:) xT
Made this in the instant pot and while it’s delicious, the meatballs had no integrity and were completely destroyed in the process of stirring in spinach etc at the end. Sauté mode for the orzo led to a lot of sticking. Feels like there’s a step missing about removing the meatballs at some point and then adding them back in?
Hey Jess,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear about your meatballs, you do not need to remove them for the instant pot method, but you can do that next time! xx
I made this in my instant pot. Super easy. I did need to add a little extra water to finish cooking orzo. But any meal that I can get my husband, 3yr old, and 17month old to all eat is a win for me!
Hey Jessica,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for giving this dish a try and your comment, I love to hear it was a hit! 😊
I was really looking forward to this but it was really bland and overcooked. As many reviewers noted, more liquid was definitely needed. We used the insta pot version and the sauté mode was just too strong. Everything was sticking to the pot. The pictures look beautiful, so maybe this just isn’t an insta pot meal.
Hey there,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback. So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed, let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
After the meatballs are browned (via stove top), do you take them out or do you leave them in and continue cooking them w the butter wine orzo etc?
I wanted to know this too! Wonder if you pop them back in at end.
You can keep them in the pot, no need to remove them:)
Hey Michele,
You are going to leave the meatballs in:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
This is undoubtedly delicious but crock pot cooking should be fairly one step. I wouldn’t bother dirtying the crock pot. You could brown the meatballs in a large skillet, add the orzo and liquid, cover and perhaps get a similar result without all the pans. Just an idea. The seasonings look great.
Thanks for sharing your feedback! Let me know if you give this recipe a try:) xx
Very delicious. Somehow the grocery store was out of orzo, so I used orichette and added fresh tomatoes. Did the crock pot version and it was easy with minimal chopping/cleaning! I ended up putting the onions in to broil and chopped with the garlic. Will definitely make again!
Hi Kelley,
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
Is there a Parmesan rind in the crockpot ?
Hey Dan,
If you happen to have a parmesan rind, you could totally add one here! Let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Needed ~3 cups of water for the orzo over the stove. Next time I will make with 1 cup of orzo instead of 2. Drizzled my bowl with lemon juice and sprinkled with more Parm upon serving. Pretty dang good. Using 2 cups orzo makes A LOT.
Hey Shawna,
Thanks so much for giving this dish a try, so glad to hear it was enjoyed!! Sorry about the water! xx
Agreed! I needed way more water and would do 1.5 c or 1 c orzo next time.
Another excellent recipe from you. Thank you again. This was so easy and almost effortless; there’s also a lot of room to add or leave stuff out. My husband said it was like a modified chicken Alfredo.
Thanks so much Naomi!! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
I made this tonight in the crockpot.
We liked it!
I broiled the meatballs as the recipe called for , but left them in 8 minutes ( checking frequently).
I left the onions in quarters.
Delicious recipe!
Hi Monica,
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
Instead of using a sprig of rosemary, how much dry rosemary would you recommend adding?
Hey Michelle,
I would just use 1 teaspoon of rosemary. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this dish! xx
Hi Thanks for sharing. How much butter for the stovetop version ?
Hi there,
You’re going to use 6 tablespoons of butter. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
I made this tonight and it was a hit! The meatballs smelled heavenly while they were cooking and tossing them in the garlic/rosemary butter just made them that much morescrumptious! It was my first time making orzo and I was worried I would screw it up. I might have but it was delicious! Thanks for the incredible recipe!
Hi Emily,
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
I’m in the process of making this in my crock pot, but the recipe never says what to do with the quartered onion once the meatballs are cooked? Does it get chopped up and left in the crock pot to be mixed with the orzo?
Onion is in step 2 of slow cooker instructions.
I am in the middle of the crockpot version as well. It said to quarter the onions. I am going to take out the onion now as I just started, chop it, and then put it back in.
I hope you love the recipe Debra!!
Hey Susan,
Totally, up to you! Once the dish has finished cooking, the onions will have infused the dish, but if you want the extra onion flavor you can chop them to add to each serving! I hope you love this recipe! xx