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★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★
These grape jelly and chili sauce meatballs are a crowd-favorite. Made and served warmed in a crockpot, they are an easy and delicious appetizer for any gathering.
Just 3 Ingredients!
These grape jelly and chili sauce glazed meatballs are the easiest appetizer recipe. Ever! Yet so tasty. They have that sweet spicy combo going on that's hard to pass up.
Slow cooked with these 3 ingredients: frozen meatballs, grape jelly and chili sauce. Just toss everything in your slow cooker, heat, and serve with toothpicks or a slotted spoon.
Great Football and Tailgating Food
A quick and easy appetizer for holiday parties or football Sunday game days. We like to take these to tailgates.
I have this insulated slow cooker I got as a gift that I LOVE — It's perfect for transporting hot appetizers like this one, especially when you don't have a place to plug in.
Pair these Grape Jelly Meatballs with my Spinach Dip Pinwheels and Southwest Corn Dip and a mixed berry fruit salad for a quick and easy appetizer spread.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
A two-ingredient sauce makes these meatballs sing!
You only need to add two ingredients to your meatballs to create a sweet and spicy sauce for your meatballs.
Start with:
- Frozen cooked meatballs. You can use beef, turkey, pork or chicken. I prefer Sam's Choice angus beef meatballs. They have a nice "meaty" flavor and not too much filler. Of course, you can also make you own meatballs. Get my meatball recipe here.
- Grape jelly. 1 whole jar! You'll want concord grape jelly. You can opt for sugar free or regular. I like to use Welch's grape jelly because they grow their grapes here in NW Pennsylvania where I live!
- Chili sauce. Again, the whole bottle! This spicy condiment add a subtle heat. If these are too spicy for you, you can replace the chili sauce with ketchup or barbecue sauce instead.
Flavor Boost
Optional: For more complex flavor, add yellow mustard to taste if you'd like. Just a tablespoon or two goes a long way.
★ How to Make this Recipe★
Here's a quick look at how to make these grape jelly meatballs — easy!
- You literally just put everything into your crockpot and heat!
- You can quickly heat on high or slowly heat on low depending on how much time you have.
- Remember, the meatballs are already cooked so you just want to heat them, not overcook them.
- Once the meatballs are heated all the way through, give everything a stir to coat the meatballs in the yummy grape jelly-chili sauce.
- Turn your crockpot down to "keep warm" until you're ready to serve them.
- Offer toothpicks or a large spoon to serve.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
I have made these glazed meatballs for many parties. If I know there will be a vegetarian coming, I made a smaller batch with meatless "meatballs" for my vegetarian friends. Both versions are always popular! Many of the meat-eaters enjoy trying both and enjoy the vegetarian batch.
So, yes, this easy meatball appetizer recipe can be made vegetarian with plant-based "meatballs"!
Yes! You can prepare them ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Simply reheat in a slow cooker, on the stovetop, or in the microwave before serving.
Absolutely! While grape jelly is the classic choice, you can experiment with other flavors like apricot, raspberry, or even cranberry sauce for a fun twist.
These meatballs are perfect as an appetizer with toothpicks or a slotted spoon for potluck-style meals, but you can also serve them over rice or mashed potatoes for a delicious main dish. A nice little weeknight dinner idea.
★ More Meatball Recipes ★
Love these grape jelly meatballs but want to try a new flavor that's just as easy? Check out my orange marmalade glazed meatballs!
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This easy, 3-ingredient recipe for crockpot grape jelly meatballs was featured on South Your Mouth!
Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 18 oz concord grape jelly
- 12 oz chili sauce
- 3 lbs frozen meatballs*
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Heat crockpot. Set your slow cooker to low.
- Add ingredients to your crockpot. Pour the whole jar of grape jelly, whole bottle of chili sauce and add all of the frozen meatballs to your crockpot. Toss to coat. Cook on low for 2 hours, stirring about mid-way through.
- Serve. Change the crockpot setting to warm. Offer toothpicks, a slotted spoon or tongs for serving.
Owen Jenny says
Can I double sauce and freeze half?
Angela G. says
If you'd like extra sauce, yes you can double it. Yes, these meatballs are freezer friendly.
Leticia says
I have a question: What if I have raw meatballs. How long would I put it in the crock pot for? The meatballs are also not frozen either.
Angela G. says
Hi Leticia, it really depends on the size of the meatballs, what time of meat and what temperature you are cooking. So, I'd guess around 1.5-2 hours on high using a crockpot, or 4 hours on low. That's my guess. You'll want to check the temperature of the inside of your meatballs to be sure. They are fully cooked when they are 165˚F inside. Hope this helps! If you need a meat thermometer, you can get them on Amazon. Here's a link to meat thermometers.