Herbie Creative Recipes

Rustic Slow Cooker Roasted Tomato Cream Chicken Meatballs

Name: Rustic Slow Cooker Roasted Tomato Cream Chicken Meatballs: Slow Cooker Chicken Meatballs in Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 20 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 package chicken meatballs (any brand; packaged pre-cooked or raw/fresh/homemade); 5 to 6 whole fresh tomatoes; 1 (14.5 oz) can Hunt's Fire Roasted Garlic Diced Tomatoes; 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped; 1 orange bell pepper, roughly chopped; 10 to 12 cloves garlic; 4 green onions, chopped; 5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme; 2 tbsp butter; 1 tbsp sugar (or 2 tsp honey); 2 tsp kosher salt; 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper; ½ tsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp dried oregano; ¼ tsp white pepper (optional); ⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg; ¼ tsp MSG (optional, but recommended); 2 tbsp sun dried tomato pesto; 2 tbsp basil pesto; ½ cup heavy whipping cream; ¼ cup shaved Parmesan, stirred into the sauce; Additional shaved Parmesan for serving

Slow Cooker Chicken Meatballs in Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce

Packaged chicken meatballs in blended roasted tomato cream sauce with dual pestos, cream, Parmesan, smoked paprika, and nutmeg.

Mains Slow Cooker Italian 4 to 6 servings Prep 20 min Cook 4 hrs Total 4 hrs 20 min

5.0 (1 review)

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Ingredients

1 package chicken meatballs (any brand; packaged pre-cooked or raw/fresh/homemade)
5 to 6 whole fresh tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can Hunt's Fire Roasted Garlic Diced Tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 orange bell pepper, roughly chopped
10 to 12 cloves garlic
4 green onions, chopped
5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar (or 2 tsp honey)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp white pepper (optional)
⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp MSG (optional, but recommended)
2 tbsp sun dried tomato pesto
2 tbsp basil pesto
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup shaved Parmesan, stirred into the sauce
Additional shaved Parmesan for serving

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp butter, then whole tomatoes, peppers, garlic, green onions, and thyme. Cook 10-15 minutes, turning tomatoes until skins blister and peppers caramelize. Transfer everything to the crockpot.
Add fire-roasted tomatoes, sugar, salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, oregano, optional white pepper, and optional MSG. Stir gently and nestle the chicken meatballs into the vegetables.

Prep
Cook on LOW 6-7 hours or HIGH 3½-4 hours. If the meatballs were not pre-cooked, cook until a meatball reaches 165°F (74°C) in the center and is no longer pink inside before moving on to blending.
Remove meatballs and thyme stems. Blend remaining contents until smooth and return sauce to the crockpot.

Cooking
Stir in sun-dried tomato pesto, basil pesto, heavy cream, Parmesan, and nutmeg. Return meatballs. Cook on LOW another 15-20 minutes.
Taste and adjust with more salt, sugar or honey, or butter if desired. Serve over ravioli or pasta with extra Parmesan and optional hot honey drizzle.

Notes

Any brand of packaged chicken meatballs works (such as Amylu). No specific brand is required.
Pre-cooked packaged meatballs: add them as written and heat them through in the sauce during the slow cook.
Raw, fresh, or homemade chicken meatballs are fine in the slow cooker too. Cook until fully done: 165°F (74°C) in the center. Without a thermometer, cut one open; the center should not be pink and juices should run clear. Plan on the full LOW 6-7 hours or HIGH 3½-4 hours before the cream finish when starting from raw.

Reviews

5.0

1 review

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1 star 0

Anonymous 2026-08-11

Tomato cream and meatballs. Sunday dinner energy.