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    Slow Cooker Frozen Meatballs With Grape Jelly + BBQ Sauce

    Oct 20, 2023 · 6 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    3-ingredient party meatballs that could not be easier to make! These are perfect as a game day snack, for parties, or as a fun dinner with some rice or mashed potatoes and a salad.

    bbq sauce meatballs on a platter

    These are always a hit at any party, and when I tell you they could not be easier to make, I am not exaggerating!

    The (frozen!) meatballs are so tender from cooking in the slow cooker, and perfectly coated in a deliciously sweet and smokey sauce. People will hoover them!

    Plus, I think it's a widely accepted fact that foods eaten off of toothpicks are more fun than all other types of foods.

    The Meatballs

    This recipe uses frozen meatballs which makes it so easy!

    cooked bbq sauce meatballs in slow cooker

    I use all-beef meatballs, but you could substitute a combination of beef and pork, or even chicken meatballs if you wanted to. I would recommend looking for ones that are just plain (sometimes labeled "homestyle"), rather than Italian meatballs - you want the sweet + smokey sauce to shine!

    The recipe calls for a (26-ounce) bag of meatballs, but this is pretty store-specific. If you can only find a bag that's slightly smaller or slightly bigger (28-ounce seems to be equally popular), feel free to use it!

    The Sauce (+ variations)

    This sauce is made of two easy-to-find ingredients: grape jelly and bbq sauce.

    frozen meatballs, bbq sauce, and grape jelly in the slow cooker

    Another popular variation of this recipe uses Heinz chili sauce + bbq sauce. There is great debate on which combination is better. I (you may have guessed) am partial to the bbq sauce, but you really can't go wrong!

    You can also swap out the grape jelly for other fruit preserves - raspberry, strawberry, apricot, orange marmalade, or a can of cranberry sauce for the holiday season.

    The grape jelly + bbq sauce is a no-fail classic, but whichever sauce ingredients you choose, you'll whisk them together in your slow cooker, then stir in your meatballs to coat.

    How to Cook

    To cook these, you'll cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 3-4 hours. After the cook time, you'll set the slow cooker to the "warm" setting and keep it there - stirring occasionally - until they're gone or you're ready to refrigerate leftovers.

    How to Serve

    I love to serve these straight out of the crock pot! It's easy to transport, and it keeps the meatballs at the perfect temperature.

    You can eat these with forks, but it's far more fun to do toothpicks. Regular ones work, or you can get fun ones. Gotta make those slow cooker meatballs fancy!

    cocktail meatball on toothpick

    So basically, this is the easiest and most flexible recipe, that people love and is fun to eat and easy and hands off to take to parties, and there's virtually no way to mess it up. Enjoy!

    cooked bbq sauce meatballs in slow cooker
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Slow Cooker Frozen Meatballs with Grape Jelly + BBQ Sauce

    3-ingredient cocktail meatballs that could NOT be easier to make! These are perfect as a game day snack, for parties, or as a fun dinner.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time3 hrs
    Total Time3 hrs 10 mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 10
    Author: Mandy Jackson

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup grape jelly
    • 1 cup BBQ sauce
    • 1 (26-ounce) bag frozen beef meatballs

    Directions

    • Whisk together the jelly and BBQ sauce in the basin of a slow cooker. Add the frozen meatballs and stir to coat. Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 3-4 hours.
      Serve immediately, or turn slow cooker to "warm" until ready to serve.

    Notes

    The Sauce - There are so many variations on this recipe! The most popular one uses Heinz chili sauce instead of the BBQ sauce - both variations are good!
    The grape jelly can also be swapped out for other fruit preserves such as apricot, raspberry, strawberry, orange marmalade, or cranberry sauce.
    Meatballs - Some stores carry frozen meatballs in slightly bigger or smaller bags that the 26-ounce one called for in this recipe. Using a slightly different size is perfectly fine here! If it's more than a few ounces bigger, I would increase the sauce amounts slightly.
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @itsmandyjackson on instagram so I can admire + share it!
    cooked bbq sauce meatballs in the slow cooker

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    Comments

    1. Deborah says

      November 14, 2024 at 5:40 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Mandy! I've been searching for a 3 ingredient recipe with jelly and bbq sauce, the 'easy' version, and I believe I found it here! I was wondering, however, if it's possible to add pineapple to cook in this recipe. Your website is beautiful and I'll be back to look around more! Thank you so very much!
      ~Deborah S.

      Reply
      • Mandy Jackson says

        December 02, 2024 at 6:22 am

        Hi Deborah! I've never used pineapple in this, but I think it would work great! Would love to hear how it goes if you try it - I've never heard of that addition!

        Reply
    2. Maritza says

      February 27, 2025 at 8:44 pm

      What bbq sauce (flavor) is used please, thanks!

      Reply
      • Mandy Jackson says

        February 27, 2025 at 8:49 pm

        You can use whatever you like - I usually use Sweet Baby Ray’s because that’s what I have on hand 🙂

        Reply
    3. Maritza says

      March 01, 2025 at 1:53 pm

      Thank you, I meant what flavor bbq sauce, hot/spicy or regular?

      Reply
      • Mandy Jackson says

        March 02, 2025 at 9:06 pm

        I use regular!

        Reply

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    Mandy Jackson

    hi, i'm mandy.

    A regular Midwest homebody. Here, I share recipes we love, and how we're thoughtfully renovating our 100-year-old American foursquare.

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