Marry Me Meatballs are easy to make with frozen meatballs and gnocchi drenched with creamy sun-dried tomato sauce.
If you like this recipe, check out my Marry Me Chicken Soup next!
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Any recipe with the “Marry Me” title in it usually has a creamy sauce, most always flavored with sun-dried tomatoes and sometimes spinach. It’s often thought of as a “tiktok make” dish. It was a viral trend at one time. And a flavor combination worthy of repeated making in your kitchen. Whether the promise of a marriage proposal is true or not.
My own recipe for Crock Pot Frozen Meatballs has gone “viral” in its own right. That recipe is for a Swedish meatball type sauce. So I decided to revisit it and try it out in this new recipe which includes gnocchi. It’s an easy weeknight dinner made in your slow cooker. Perfect for the approaching fall season.
More meatball recipe links
Ingredients for marry me meatballs
- Frozen Meatballs – Use one 16-oz package of your favorite style of frozen meatballs. I like beef or Italian style meatballs with this sauce. But chicken meatballs or turkey meatballs would also be great choices.
- Gnocchi – One package of potato gnocchi is stirred in with about 30 minutes left of cooking time in the Crock-Pot
- Sun Dried Tomatoes – A 7-ounce jar of oil packed sundried tomatoes provides big flavor for this sauce. A little of the sun-dried tomato oil is used to help thicken the sauce and the rest is drained away.
- Frozen Spinach – No need to thaw the spinach before adding it to your slow cooker.
- Chicken Broth – Use the best quality chicken stock you can find. Use less than four cups if you’d like your meatballs enveloped in a thicker sauce.
- Flour – Combined with the oil to make a microwave roux – my own unique way of thickening my slow-cooked sauces.
- Tomato Paste – Another punch of vibrant tomato flavor added to this rich and creamy sauce.
- Worcestershire Sauce – I love the umami flavor that Worcestershire adds to a dish.
- Seasonings – I use a combination of minced garlic, dried Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.
- Sour Cream – Stirred in toward the end with the gnocchi for a luscious creamy sauce. You could use heavy cream instead.
- Variations – Play around with your seasoning blend. Use fresh herbs instead of dried. You could add onion powder or fresh chopped onions. Add some white wine. Stir in some Parmesan cheese when you add the gnocchi and sour cream.
Instructions
Drain and reserve the sun dried tomato oil. Combine three tablespoons each of the oil and flour in a microwave safe measuring cup. Microwave in one-minute bursts, stirring after each time. Then whisk in the chicken broth, minced garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Microwave one more minute and whisk again so you have a sauce that is well combined.
Dump the frozen meatballs, spinach and drained sun dried tomatoes into the slow cooker. Pour over the prepared sauce. Cover and cook on high power for 4 hours. In the final 30 minutes, stir in the gnocchi and sour cream. Cover and allow to cook until tender. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.
Serving suggestions
Definitely you want to serve garlic bread with this meal, to soak up all the delicious sauce. Either homemade or frozen is fine. Here’s some of my recipes for a complete meal –
Storage directions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Or freeze the leftovers for up to one month.
Kitchen tools
- I test all of my slow cooker recipes in a 6-quart Crock-Pot
- This is my favorite set of glass measuring cups for making sauces like this in the microwave
- Magnetic measuring spoon set that I use in my kitchen
Marry Me Meatballs
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 12 oz frozen meatballs
- 10 oz frozen spinach chopped
- 7 oz sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil drained
- 3 tbsp sun dried tomato oil
- 3 tbsp Wondra flour
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 12 oz gnocchi
- 1/2 c sour cream
Instructions
- Drain the oil from the tomatoes and reserve 3 tablespoons. Discard the rest. Dump the frozen meatballs, drained sun dried tomatoes and frozen spinach into the insert of a 6-quart Crock-Pot.
- In a microwave-safe 8-cup glass measuring cup, combine the three tablespoons of sun dried tomato oil and the flour. Microwave for one minute. Use a fork or small whisk to stir util smooth. Microwave in two more one minute bursts, stirring each time, until the mixture is well combined and bubbly.
- Add the chicken broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Whisk well.
- Microwave for one more minute and whisk one final time. Pour the mixture over the meatballs and spinach. Cover and cook on HIGH power for 4 hours.
- With 30 minutes remaining, stir in the gnocchi and sour cream. Be sure and separate the gnocchi if they have stuck together in the package.
- Keep cooking on high for the remaining 30 minutes, until the gnocchi is cooked through. Serve dishes of the meatballs, gnocchi and sauce topped with Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
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