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.
I am putting the meatballs in the crock pot in the morning. Do I need to put them in frozen or is it ok to put them in the fridge overnight to unthaw them ?Do I need to
Frozen or thawed meatballs both work greet!
I made these for a friend and everyone wanted to know how they were made. Easy and oh so good. Thanks for sharing.
I make these all the time but for my sauce I use
1 cup grape jelly
1 jar chili sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Thought I’d pass on my take on this recipe.
Sounds delicious, Sarah!
Is there a different way to make this without a crockpot I’m a cook for a preschool and think they would enjoy this
Low and slow on the stove top in a big pot or in the oven at 250 would work!
If you’re starting with frozen, you may want to test run a small batch at home. I think at 250, 90 minutes would be good but I’m not 100% certain. :D
I use chili sauce in mine…so goood
Yum!
I have used Costcos Turkey meatballs and no one knew they were not beef. I’m making them Saturday for a 97 yr olds birthday.
Is it necessary to thaw the meatballs first? Some crock pot instructions state not to put frozen food in them. So if they are thawed how would that change the cook time on them?
The time should likely be the same either way, because you want the sauce to get delicious and sticky. :)
As crazy as this sounds, I make these with grape jelly and ketchup! They are yummy . . .
I have 60 people joining us to celebrate our son’s high school graduation and plan to make a boatload of them for the high school kids and will put them in our downstairs “kid cave.” Might make a few different types in different crockpots! My colleague does an even simpler version. She uses meatballs and only one additional ingredient – Jack Daniels BBQ sauce. They are amazing!
Can I use grape jam instead of jelly?
Definitely!
I always add garlic powder and Montreal steak seasoning, still using the same recipe. When we have chili sauce on hand, I add a little in as well. Just gives it a little more yum.
Can you start with frozen UNcooked meatballs? I assume they’ll cook on high for 3 hours, right?
You could try! My bigger concern isn’t of them not cooking through, but getting kind of slimy, as frozen mean when cooking tends to get. Since this will be in a sauce and the juices will be released, your result may be more soupy than sticky with the sauce.
These look awesome!! Are they super super sweet? I’ve also seen a recipe with a packet of ranch dressing powder and bbq sauce for the sauce. Have you ever tried that version?
These are sweet, but not dessert-sweet. They have that nice spicy/salt/sweetness balance. :)
I haven’t tried that version! If you do, let me know how they taste!
Walmart sells sugar-free BBQ sauce and I get the all-natural Polaner concord grape jelly
If you are using a bag of pre cooked frozen meatballs do you put them in the crock pot frozen or thaw them before? What would be the time limits for frozen?
I started with frozen meatballs and on high, it took 3 hours. :)
Just curious if cooking them on high helps with the sugars in the jelly so they are stickier because I cooked them on low and the sauce was a bit runny but I used equal parts BBQ to jelly ratio. Have you ever cooked them on low? Do you like them on high better?
Did you cook them on low for twice as much time? It should have make the sauce be thick and saucy that way. :)
I am making these now… Should the sauce be thick or watery?
Thick when you start, and very thick and sticky after they have cooked. :)
Can I substitute Apricot preserves for the grape jelly?
I haven’t tried it, but I bet it would be delicious!
Had to make something fast for a Church event! I was late so I looked up recipe for meatballs sauce saw yours and it’s the Best! Thank you! Being a Single Mom I had to budget so I went to food for less bought a bag of Turkey meatballs! Got the Jelly and BBQ sauce at the 99 cent. store! Everybody Loved them!
Yay, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them!
Hi there!! I’ve made these a few times now and they’re so awesome! Can you simply double the recipe? 2 18oz jars, 2 18oz bottles and 6 hours?
You can definitely double the quantity, but you shouldn’t need to double the time. Three hours should do the trick. :)