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
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
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.
Hi, doing lil smokies, when you say 2 packs, how many ounces is that? Thanks!
I would do 2 packages of 16 oz packs of lil smokies! :)
Can you substitute grape jam fir the grape jelly?
Definitely!
Have you ever try to serve the meatballs with the sauce which is made from brown sugar, honey, ketchup, soy sauce and minced cloves garlic? I see that sauce taste very good
I have tried a similar recipe, love that combination together! :)
If you double the recipe do you need to increase the cooking time in the crock pot?
You shouldn’t need to! :)
I had these for the first time at a party a couple of years ago and they were so good I went and bought a crock pot just to make them! I have also heard of substituting apricot jelly for the grape, which would probably give it a citrus/Asian flavor. I do like the Baby Rays BBQ, though, because it is sweet and tangy.
BBQ and meatballs sold me. . adding grape jello to it is awesome!
Has anyone tried this with cocktailweiners?
I’ve tried the meatballs & they were great!
Yes! We’ve tried it and it’s just as delicious! :)
I’ve never been a huge appetizer maker and have always wanted to try one of these easy, super-delicious recipes. I chose this one, and man were they delicious! I used lil’ smokies with cheddar and it was an easy peasy appetizer. You might not think the cheese would go with the sweet sauce, but it went together really well. Definitely bookmarking this page to make again! Thanks!
Can I double this
Definitely! :)
Am getting ready to make these using grape jam,Heinz 57 chili sauce,and sweet & spicy BBQ sauce. Because I’m using fresh meatballs will cook them 1/2-3-4 done before adding sauce to crockpot. Because one person said the sauce got mushy Im going to add half the amount till almost done in crockpot then will add more as needed. .
Either way look delicious for a pre Thanksgiving day dinner. They’ll go great with crackers and cheese,salami,etc..!!!
May be a silly question, but could someone please tell me if you are adding the entire jar of jelly and the entire bottle of BBQ sauce? I didn’t see measurements anywhere, so I’ll assume yes, but just wanted clarification.
Yes!
These are perfect-the same kind we used to have for Christmas.
We use grape jelly and 2 jars of chili sauce. They are amazing.
This recipe is also amazing if you substitute the bbq sauce for chilic sauce, WOW, is all I can say! We also do cocktail weiners in this sauce and they are always a hit.
Just put mine in the Crock pot. I used Super Store Angus Frozen meatballs ( box of 64), Welch’s Grape JELLY & of course Sweet Baby Rays regular BBQ sauce. Just like your recipe called for…no tweaking for this girl. I am cooking mine slow for 6 hours. I plan on taking the whole Crock pot to work in the morning and letting them stay on warm until party time! Making them for our Halloween pot-luck at the office for tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the reactions on peoples faces when they indulge. :-)
Thanks I’m gonna make the meatballs for my sons 2ND B-Day party.
Could I freeze it ahead of time? Thinking of bringing it camping and would rather mix it ahead of time and freeze so it’s less to pack.
I’d just bring the frozen meatballs and unopened cans and assemble at the camp ground, would be less mess and easier to pack. :)
How often to stir (started frozen) so don’t fall apart?
I only stir when I add them all to the crockpot, and again before serving – that’s it! :)