These Grape Jelly BBQ Meatballs are easy to make in the crock pot. This recipe only takes 3 ingredients and 5 minutes to prep! Doesn’t get better than that.
These meatballs are a tried and true appetizer recipe of mine. They literally couldn’t be easier to make and everyone always loves them. Other easy go-to’s are little smokies, meatball sliders and pigs in a blanket.
Table of Contents
The Perfect Appetizer
These crockpot BBQ grape jelly meatballs are one of my family’s favorite meatball recipes. They are seriously so good and the perfect appetizer for game day! They almost remind me of sweet and sour meatballs but taste better.
My Grandpa has been making these crockpot meatballs for years and we always loved them growing up. My sister even talked him into making them as an appetizer at her wedding. Everyone loved them! Now of course my family has their actual “homemade meatballs recipe,” which are just as amazing.
The best part about BBQ meatballs is that no one would ever know how simple they are to make. Turn them into a main dish and serve them over sticky rice like I do with honey garlic meatballs. YUM!
3 simple ingredients!
These slow cooker grape jelly meatballs are so easy to make. You just need the 3 ingredients below to get started:
- Meatballs: I love getting the frozen meatballs from Costco or Kroger. They taste the best in my opinion. Homemade meatballs taste great as well if you have the time.
- Grape jelly: I keep it simple and use Smucker’s grape jelly.
- BBQ Sauce: Sweet baby ray’s BBQ sauce is my personal favorite. :) You can also make a homemade BBQ sauce if preferred.
How to Make Crockpot BBQ Meatballs
- Add ingredients to crockpot. Pour grape jelly and BBQ sauce in the bottom of your crockpot. Add in the meatballs and stir until fully coated.
- Cook meatballs in crockpot. Cook frozen meatballs in crockpot for 2 to 3 hours on high, or until warm. Make sure to stir a few times throughout.
- Serve and enjoy! Garnish with sliced green onions if desired and serve as an appetizer or main dish.
Variations
There are plenty of ways to easily mix up the flavors in this recipe. Check out some other yummy variations below:
- Sub Heinz chili sauce for BBQ sauce for an extra kick, like I did with these chili sauce meatballs.
- Replace grape jelly with 16 ounces sliced or diced pineapple for Hawaiian meatballs.
- Use 1/4 cup honey instead of jelly for a a little healthier alternative (add more or less to to taste).
- Make cranberry meatballs with leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. Sub an equal amount of cranberry sauce for grape jelly.
- Use 2 packages of little smokies instead of meatballs.
FAQ
We love to serve them with coconut rice, green beans and fresh cut pineapple.
If you’d like to thicken your sauce, you can mix together a cornstarch slurry (about 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 Tablespoon of water) and stir it into the sauce and allow it to simmer.
This is the base of the sauce (which helps thicken it) and brings the best flavor. I promise you won’t taste the grape flavor.
More Easy Appetizers:
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Ham and Cheese Sliders
- 4-Ingredient Cheese Ball
- Easy 7-Layer Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
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Crockpot Bbq Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
- 1 (18-ounce) jar jar grape jelly
- 1 (18-ounce) jar BBQ sauce
- 1 (32-ounce) bag frozen fully cooked meatballs (about 50)
Optional: Cooked rice, Sliced green onions
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or the base of a slow cooker, combine the grape jelly and BBQ sauce. Add meatballs and stir until coated in sauce.
- Cook on high 2 to 3 hours or low 3 to 4 hours. Turn the slow cooker to warm until ready to serve.
- 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!
Categorized as: American, Appetizers, Crockpot, Crockpot, Dairy-Free, Mini appetizers, Reader Favorites, Super Bowl
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.
Can i make my own meatballs?
Of course! I would probably just make on the stove instead. Just heat on the stove to a simmer, add in the meatballs and cook for a few minutes. :)
Can I mix the jelly/bbq sauce together and marinate it with the meatballs overnight then cook them the next day. The meatballs would thaw out a little but didn’t know if it would make them mushy.
Hi Cathy! I haven’t tried that before. I’m pretty sure it says on the package not to let them thaw before cooking.
Can i make these in the instapot and how long should i cook them?
Hi Hazel! I haven’t tried it in the instant pot before, but I would probably recommend cooking the meatballs first in water for 4-5 minutes. Then drain and add the grape jelly and BBQ sauce and saute until the sauce is smooth. Then add the meatballs in and warm until ready to serve. It may be easier to cook on the stove!
I made these years ago they are so delicious I finally found the recipe again making them tonight ❤️
I’m so glad you found the recipe again! It’s one of our favorites! :)
I accidentally bought Italian frozen meatballs. Would it mess the taste up using them? Thanks!
They should work great! :)
So easy to make and so addictively delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! :)
The recipe is terrific. I love all the variations you list at the end. Very useful. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for leaving a comment and review Erin. :)
so good!!
Very good!
I made this for Christmas eve and it was a hit with the whole family!
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thanks for leaving a comment Rita!
Do you cook them just as long if you make homemade meatballs?
If you cook your homemade meatballs ahead of time, I would just cook until warmed. You can also cook this on the stove if you prefer!
If I make my own meatballs (your recipe) 2 days in advance, how do I proceed with the crock pot?
OR, do I put the uncooked meatballs in the crockpot with the sauce?
I would probably cook the meatballs before and just cook until warmed all the way through. You can also make this on the stove.
Hi! My mom LOVES this recipe and makes it all the time, so I’m going to use it for a work pot luck Thursday. If I make them Wednesday night, how should I store them over night? And then do I just set the crockpot to “warm” for an hour or so before the potluck begins Thursday? I’ll bring the crockpot to work. Thanks!
I think that should work great Kathryn! :)
What type of meatball do you recommend? Italian, home style, etc.
Either works! I usually use the Italian meatballs from Costco.
I made these for the first time using frozen meatballs, 18oz Sweet Baby Ray’s and 18oz Smucker’s, on high for 3 hours. But there sauce turned very watery/greasy and overall just didn’t taste very great. I was going to make again for another potluck in 2 days. Any ideas as to what went wrong this time/improvements for next time?
I’m sorry these didn’t turn out very well for you. The sauce shouldn’t be very watery/greasy, but my sauce does get a lot thicker when I cook these on the stove. You could try that if you want. I cook the meatballs in the microwave and then heat the sauce on the stove and add the meatballs. :)
If we double the ingredients do we need to adjuat the cook time?
You may need to increase the cook time by 30-60 minutes. I would probably recommend doing them in 2 separate crockpots.
Hello,
I’m not sure if I missed the recipe, but how much grape jelly and BBQ sauce do I use to make this? I saw the recipe to make half of this. Please let me know thanks
It is equal parts grape jelly to BBQ. If you scroll down, the recipe calls for and 18 oz jar of grape jelly and 18 oz of BBQ sauce.
Can i use frozen Turkey meatballs?
That should work! You may need to adjust the cooking time a bit.
This has been a family’s favorite for years and we got this from our grandmother years ago. I make it now for my kids and grandkids and they love it! She is right use different jelly’s and sauces to get different tastes. I just made these last Christmas for work and only had Marion berry jelly at the house so use it instead of grape and it was wonderful! Also we add a bottle of chili sauce (the one in the ketchup section) to ours so its 4 ingredients for us.
The additions sound great! Thanks for sharing! :)
Easy! A big hit at church!
Please do not use Sweet Baby Rays. First ingredient is HFCS: SO bad for you. Best bbq sauce without all the bad-for-you ingredients is Newman’s Own Original. I’ve only seen it at Vons.
Karen. Youre eating meatballs with bbq sauce and jelly. This isnt meant to be healthy.