With just three simple ingredients — frozen meatballs, grape jelly, and chili sauce — these Crock Pot meatballs are an easy appetizer for parties and a quick dinner for busy weeknights!
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If you’re looking for even more easy appetizers to round out your holiday table, don’t miss these cream cheese sausage balls, these Bisquick sausage balls, this 5-minute corn dip, million dollar dip, Italian appetizers, this easy buffalo chicken dip recipe, and my mom’s 10-minute crab dip, too!
I first tasted these Crock Pot grape jelly meatballs at my aunt’s engagement party almost 20 years ago — and I’ve been making them ever since! The combination might sound odd, but trust me…it just works. After a couple of hours in the slow cooker, you’ll have sweet, zesty, and tangy crockpot meatballs to serve a crowd!
What to Know Before You Get Started
- Grape jelly thickens the sauce. It also adds sweetness, which nicely balances the zesty cocktail sauce. Don’t worry — you can’t taste the grape flavor!
- Chili sauce is similar to ketchup, but has a zippier flavor. When paired with the sweet jelly, the end result tastes like sweet and sour sauce.
- You can swap out the chili sauce for 18-24 ounces of barbecue sauce. The bbq sauce will give the finished dish a smokier flavor. We like Sweet Baby Ray’s.
- Cocktail meatballs (also called “bite size” meatballs) work best because they’re smaller. Perfect little bites for party appetizers!
- Look for homestyle meatballs rather than Italian-style meatballs. You can use turkey meatballs, chicken meatballs, pork meatballs, beef meatballs, or a combination.
How to Make Crock Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs
Crock Pot meatballs with grape jelly and chili sauce are the ultimate crowd-pleasing snack or easy weeknight dinner! You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Place frozen meatballs in the crockpot.
- Whisk together the grape jelly and chili sauce. It will look chunky and not completely combined, but that’s fine — it will be nice and smooth when heated in the slow cooker.
- Pour the sauce over the meatballs and stir to coat.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or on HIGH for about 2 hours.
- Keep the meatballs on the “warm” setting if you’re entertaining guests for a cocktail party or if you want to keep them on the counter for others to easily serve themselves.
Serving Suggestions
The best slow cooker meatballs disappear fast when you serve them at potlucks, holiday parties, or Game Day get-togethers. A little bit of chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish is all you need to give them a bright, colorful finishing touch. They’re perfect on a party buffet with pulled pork nachos, pepperoni rolls, 4-ingredient spinach dip and a sweet and salty snack mix.
If you’d like to offer the meatballs for an easy dinner, they’re great over rice, egg noodles, or buttermilk mashed potatoes, or when paired with a skillet of Southern cornbread, flaky biscuits, or a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. For some veggies on the side, try a simple green salad dressed in red wine vinegar salad dressing, house salad with candied pecans, this easy green bean casserole with frozen green beans, or garlic roasted broccoli.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Crock Pot Meatballs with Grape Jelly
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (26 – 32 ounce) package frozen meatballs
- 2 (12 ounce bottles) chili sauce (I use Heinz chili sauce)
- 1 (18 ounce) jar grape jelly (I use Smucker's grape jelly)
Instructions
- Place the frozen meatballs in a slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the grape jelly and chili sauce until mostly combined. The mixture may look chunky, but it will smooth out as it cooks.
- Pour the sauce over the meatballs and stir gently to coat.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH for about 2 hours, until the meatballs are heated through.
- Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks, or pair with rice, noodles, or crusty bread for an easy dinner.
Notes
- Meatball size: Cocktail or bite-size meatballs work best for even cooking and easy serving. Look for “homestyle” rather than Italian-seasoned.
- Sauce swap: Replace the chili sauce with 18 to 24 ounces of barbecue sauce for a smokier flavor.
- Meatball options: Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or a combination all work well.
- Stovetop method: Whisk the chili sauce and grape jelly together in a large saucepan. Add meatballs, cover, and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Serving size: Plan 4 to 6 meatballs per person for appetizers, or 8 to 10 per person for a main dish.
- For parties: Keep meatballs on the “warm” setting so they stay at the right temperature for serving.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Warm in a saucepan over low heat or microwave individual portions for about 1 minute.
Nutrition
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Always unexpected and rated delicious by guests … I don’t tell them the sauce combo until they have taken a bite!! Super easy, too!
We’re so happy to hear this! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, Lori.
The sauce is surprisingly more tangy than sweet. Perfect and love how easy it is to put together and walk away to work on other things. Everyone loved it.
Yay! So glad to hear that. Thanks, Sassy!
The meatballs are delicious in this sweet sour sauce. Very easy to make.
Thank you, Deanne! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.