{"id":25540,"date":"2019-01-07T12:58:26","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T17:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slimmingeats.com\/blog\/?p=25540"},"modified":"2023-09-06T08:16:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T13:16:56","slug":"slow-cooker-chicken-meatball-pasta-bake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slimmingeats.com\/blog\/slow-cooker-chicken-meatball-pasta-bake","title":{"rendered":"Slow Cooker Chicken Meatball Pasta Bake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Slow Cooker Chicken Meatball Pasta Bake - a delicious recipe for easy tender chicken meatballs, combined with penne pasta and topped with ricotta and parmesan cheese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are not many that don't enjoy a good ole pasta bake. Generally, family friendly, meaning that it is a dish you can make that you know the whole family will approve of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With some extra lean chicken mince (ground chicken) that needed to be used up and knowing that I had lots of things to get on with around the house, I figured a meatballs pasta dish I could throw in the slow cooker would be a perfect meal for dinner time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally when making a pasta bake, I stick to cheddar and mozzarella for the cheesy topping, but spotting a tub of ricotta in my fridge and know how much we all love my Stuffed Ricotta and Spinach Pasta Shells<\/a><\/strong>. I figured the ricotta spooned on top for a Slow Cooker Chicken Meatball Pasta Bake would be amazing!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Don't worry if you can't get extra lean ground chicken, turkey mince or even extra lean ground beef will work perfectly too in this recipe. I will definitely be making this again with homemade beef meatballs, but sometimes you just have to go with what you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I add breadcrumbs to my meatballs. You may be tempted to try and skip those but trust me, they really help to keep the meatballs nice and tender. Extra Lean mince can be a little dry on its own otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sauce for this Slow Cooker Chicken Meatball Pasta Bakes, comes with lots of hidden veg too. I add some finely grated carrot and zucchini into the sauce, the kids don't even notice it is in there and combine with the tomatoes, it makes for a delicious sauce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I prefer to cook the pasta out of the slow cooker before adding to this, I am not keen on the texture of how the pasta goes when in the slow cooker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not got a slow cooker and wonder which ones are best? There are many great slow cookers out there. But I recommend choosing ones like this Andrew James Slow Cooker<\/a><\/strong> that has a delayed start time and an inner pot that can be removed and placed on the hob or in the oven, that way if you need to do any browning you don't need to use a separate pan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey if you want a slow cooker that has all the bells n whistles. Go for an Instant Pot<\/a>,<\/strong> which is not actually a slow cooker, it's a multi-function pressure cooker, but with a slow cooker option on it too, it can do pretty much everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Want some other delicious Slow Cooker recipes? Check out these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n