This simple slow cooker recipe for honey garlic meatballs is perfect for anyone looking for an easy appetizer or a comforting homemade meal!
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs
One of my favorite meatball recipes is these honey garlic meatballs in the slow cooker. They’re easy to prepare, irresistibly delicious and a fantastic way to spruce up your dinner routine.
With rich flavors from the honey, garlic, and soy sauce, these meatballs are the perfect choice for both crowd-pleasing appetizers and main dishes.
Why This Recipe Works
- Effortless Cooking: Utilizing a crockpot for this recipe means minimal effort and maximum flavor. Mix the ingredients, set timer, and let the crock pot do its magic.
- Versatile Dish: Whether appetizer or main course, these honey garlic meatballs are versatile. Serve them over rice or with a toothpick at your next party.
Recipe Ingredients
Keep all the ingredients for these crockpot meatballs on hand so you can enjoy them anytime! Here’s what you’ll need:
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Frozen meatballs: A 32-ounce bag of frozen, fully cooked meatballs makes this recipe a breeze.
- Sauces and seasonings: The perfect blend of ketchup, honey, brown sugar, and soy sauce creates a delightful glaze, while minced garlic adds a punch of flavor.
Substitutions and Variations
These sticky garlic meatballs are fantastic as they are, but there are also a lot of ways that you can switch the recipe up depending on your tastes.
- Meatball options: Not a fan of traditional beef meatballs? Try turkey meatballs or chicken meatballs for a leaner option.
- Hawaiian twist: For a tropical touch, add pineapple chunks to the slow cooker, creating a variation similar to Hawaiian meatballs.
- Smoky taste: Add some of your favorite BBQ sauce for a smoky taste. It’s a favorite add-in for these grape jelly & BBQ meatballs!
- Make it spicy: If you like the bit of heat in my firecracker meatball recipe, add a dash or sriracha or sprinkling of red pepper flakes to the sauce.
How to Make Honey Garlic Meatballs
Just mix everything in your crockpot and leave it to do all of the work!
- Pour in sauce ingredients. Mix ketchup, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic in the slow cooker.
- Add the meatballs. Stir to coat them well with the honey garlic sauce. Season with garlic salt and pepper.
- Cook. Either on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 3-4 hours.
- Serve with white rice. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
Cooking Tips
- Consider using a slow cooker liner for effortless cleanup, especially if you’re making a large batch for a party or gathering.
- For even cooking, layer the meatballs and sauce in your slow cooker instead of mixing them. This ensures each meatball gets an even coating of the delicious honey garlic sauce.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the meatballs after they are cooked, set the slow cooker to high, and mix in a cornstarch slurry. Let it cook and thicken for an additional 10-15 minutes before adding the meatballs back in.
- Using fresh meatballs. You can use homemade meatballs. If they’re uncooked, brown them slightly in a pan before adding them to the slow cooker to enhance flavor and texture.
More appetizer recipes we love include Lil Smokies recipe, meatball sliders and cream cheese and chili queso dip.
More Meatball Recipes
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Honey Garlic Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 (32-ounce) bag frozen fully cooked meatballs (about 50)
- garlic salt & pepper , to taste
For serving: Cooked rice, Sliced green onions, sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or the base of a slow cooker, combine the ketchup, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic. Add meatballs and stir until coated in sauce. Add a pinch of garlic salt and pepper on top if desired.
- Cook on high 2 to 3 hours or low 3 to 4 hours. Turn the slow cooker to warm until ready to serve. Season to taste.
- Enjoy as an appetizer or serve over rice and top with green onions for a main dish.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
Enjoy these as a standalone appetizer or over white rice for a filling meal. They’re also great served with toothpicks along with other Super Bowl appetizers on game day.
Absolutely! Prepare the meatballs and sauce, store them separately in the refrigerator, and combine them in the slow cooker when you’re ready to cook.
No problem! You can cook the meatballs on the stovetop. Simmer the sauce and meatballs in a pot over low heat for about 20-30 minutes.
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in a covered container. They’re great for meal prep or a quick, reheatable dinner.
Categorized as: American, Appetizers, Beef, Crockpot, Crockpot, Crockpot, Dairy-Free, Dinner, Meal Prep, Nut-Free, One Pot, One Pot, Stovetop
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Super easy to makd and super delicious
So glad you love the honey garlic meatballs Ebony!
The Honey Garlic Meatballs were a real success! I made two batches for Christmas. My 30 year old grandson went back 4 times for more. Said the sauce was delicious! They were completely gone, everyone loved them!
Love that everyone loved the honey garlic meatballs!
I substituted coconut amino’s for the soy sauce… Because I was halfway through the recipe when I realized I didn’t have soy sauce! They turned out amazing, and this almost certainly be a new staple for our family!!
So glad to hear your family enjoyed the honey garlic meatballs!
Easy and delicious!! I would definitely make again.
Thanks and so glad you loved the honey garlic meatballs!
We add Gochujang for a little kick, but these are my favorite weeknight dinner right now. Delicious with rice and a veggie!
Yum! So glad you enjoy them!
Is a 4.5Q crockpot big enough for this dish?
I would half the recipe to give the meatballs and sauce enough room to heat evenly.
If you double the recipe how does that affect cook time?
Since the meatballs are already cooked, it should not affect the cook time, I would just ensure your slow cooker is large enough.
This was easy and very delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Thanks for the review!
The slow cooker made it so easy, and the flavor was perfect. They were a hit as an appetizer and just as great for dinner! Adding to my rotation.
The coating on these meatballs were everything! They were the first thing to disappear and most talked about dish at my church potluck this weekend. Thank you!
OMG!!! Words can’t describe how insanely delicious these were! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the meatballs Rae!
How many pounds of beef would you use it you were making fresh meatballs for this amount of sauce?
Hi Randi! Two pounds of beef should be enough :) Happy cooking!