Crock Pot Meatballs and Tortellini
Crock Pot Meatballs and Tortellini is a creamy, family favorite, one-pot dinner with tender meatballs, cheese tortellini, and a rich broth!
A HEARTY & FILLING RECIPE
Crock Pot Meatballs and Tortellini is pure comfort food. It’s rich, creamy, hearty, and unbelievably easy- totally my type of family dinner! This recipe uses easy to find ingredients, comes together fast, and tastes like something you’d get from a favorite Italian restaurant. It’s a simple one that the kids can help you with too!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I do believe you could use frozen tortellini. You’ll just need to cook it a bit longer, maybe an hour or so.
This filling dish goes great with some Garlic Bread, crusty bread, or Dinner Rolls. Don’t forget a nice, big green salad with your favorite dressing or some steamed vegetables.
For an added veggie kick, add a few handfuls of fresh spinach at the same time as the tortellini and let it wilt.
You can’t add the tortellini along with everything else and cook for several hours as the tortellini will absorb too much liquid and get mushy.
You can cover and refrigerate this for 2-3 days and reheat to eat again. I don’t recommend freezing this.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- frozen Italian style meatballs– Since your meatballs are already cooked, you are just trying to heat them through before adding the tortellini. So, you can cook the meatballs for longer and it won’t hurt anything. I suppose you could use Homemade Meatballs but make sure to cook them first, at least mostly cooked so they don’t release any extra grease as it’s cooking.
- chicken broth – you can use low or no sodium broth if you’re concerned about salt content. You can always use low or sodium broth now and then add salt to taste later.
- can of cream of chicken soup – again, you can use low or no sodium options if you’re concerned about sodium. Also, you can use some Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup.
- garlic – I love fresh garlic but if you need to make this fast you can use the jarred garlic.
- onion powder, Italian seasoning, garlic powder – simple seasonings for this one that most folks have on hand but please feel to use your judgement with any other seasonings you’d like to try.
- crushed red pepper – don’t like any spice at all? Just leave it out.
- chopped sundried tomatoes– this is optional. If you don’t care for the tomatoes, just omit them.
- refrigerated cheese tortellini– or you could use a comparable family pack. Additionally, you could use smaller ravioli in place of the tortellini.
- heavy cream– if stuck in a pinch, half and half is really the only other option I would suggest trying. I would not suggest using milk because it’s just too thin and not creamy or rich enough.
- shredded mozzarella cheese – I will add cheese to just about everything if you let me but if cheese isn’t your thing, just leave it out.
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT MEATBALLS AND TORTELLINI:
Add the frozen meatballs evenly across the bottom of the crockpot. Pour in four cups of chicken broth.
Add in the can of cream of chicken soup and stir to mix. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Add in the fresh garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Stir to combine.
Add the sundried tomatoes and stir. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Once the meatballs are cooked through and fully heated, add in the refrigerated tortellini and heavy cream. Stir to combine.
Replace the lid and cook for an additional 15-30 minutes or until the tortellini is fully heated through. If desired, you can add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and let that melt before garnishing with basil and parmesan and serving.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Crock Pot Meatballs and Tortellini
Ingredients
- 24 ounce bag of frozen Italian style meatballs (or comparable size)
- 4 cups chicken broth (can use low or no sodium, see notes below)
- 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (can use low or no sodium)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped sundried tomatoes (optional)
- 28 ounce bag refrigerated cheese tortellini (or comparable family pack)
- 1 cup heavy cream
For topping (optional)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- fresh chopped basil
- fresh grated parmesan
Instructions
- Add 24 ounce bag of frozen Italian style meatballs into the bottom of a 5-6 quart crock pot.
- Pour in 4 cups chicken broth.
- Add in 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup and stir to mix.
- Add in 2 cloves garlic, minced, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper.
- Add 1/3 cup chopped sundried tomatoes. Stir to combine. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
- Once meatballs are done cooking, add in 28 ounce bag refrigerated cheese tortellini and 1 cup heavy cream Stir to combine.
- Replace the lid and cook for an additional 15-30 minutes or until the tortellini is fully heated through.
- If desired, you can add 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and let that melt before garnishing and serving with fresh chopped basil and fresh grated parmesan.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- NOTE: If you are at all concerned this might be too salty for your tastes, I suggest you use low or no sodium options where possible. You can always add salt in to your taste but you can’t take it out once it is in there.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Delicious. Added to the favorites list.
This turned out really good! Followed recipe exactly