Pair these orange marmalade meatballs with an Ramen Noodle Asian Slaw Salad, Chilled Sesame Noodles with Carrots and a Raspberry Sloe Gin Fizz.
★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★
Love Chinese food? Then you'll love these sweet and sour, orange marmalade meatballs. An easy appetizer you can make in your slow cooker or serve over rice for an easy weeknight dinner.
Made with frozen meatballs or you can make your own.
Set it and forget!
Crockpot appetizers are great for when you're short on time but you still want to bring or serve something delicious.
Asian-inspired Flavor
I love these slow cooker meatballs because they're an easy appetizer recipe yet they're not your typical grape jelly and chili sauce meatball recipe, although those are yummy too!
These spicy orange meatballs are yummy and so easy!
This is such a simple appetizer recipe, made using just 5 ingredients. Perfect to take to a pot luck or serve at a party you're hosting.
Turn these saucy meatballs into a full meal.
Serve these orange meatballs over rice, with a side vegetable or salad for an easy dinner! I like to add extra sauce when I serve these as a meal to flavor the rice.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
All you need is FIVE ingredients! The sweet and spicy flavor of these orange marmalade meatballs comes together really easily and transforms plain meatballs into a delicious appetizer or dinner.
- Frozen meatballs. Or you can make your own using my recipe or use your own.
- Orange marmalade. You can find this next to the jelly and jams in the store.
- Chinese or yellow mustard. Either one works, your choice.
- Sriracha sauce. This adds the spice. You can dial the heat up or down by adjusting the amount you add.
- Rice vinegar. You want to make sure to use rice vinegar. This gives you that Asian flavor.
Optional seasoning: Add garlic and ginger powder to taste or paste for an extra layer of Asian flavor! You can stir these into the sauce after warming, before serving.
Soy sauce can also be added to taste for a more salty, less sweet flavor.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Sriracha vs. sweet chili sauce?
I've been really trying to make an effort to cut out junk ingredients lately. After reading quite a few labels, I found that Sriracha has more natural ingredients than chili sauce so I opted for that vs. chili sauce to give these meatballs some spice.
Plus, the orange marmalade add a unique orangey flavor of sweetness that chili sauce does not.
What kind of jelly is best?
You can find most flavor of jelly or jam in a "Natural" variety now. Orange marmalade is no exception.
Could you use Chinese mustard instead of yellow mustard?
Yep! But I've written this recipe using yellow mustard since most people have that on hand. I'm all for simplifying my condiment collection otherwise it can get out of hand quickly! It can also be hard to find bottled Chinese mustard.
Good news is, you can easily make your own Chinese mustard using yellow mustard and rice vinegar.
If you have Chinese mustard on hand, then just leave out rice vinegar.
Garnish only if you want.
If you want to go the extra mile, toss some chopped green onions on top. They add some nice fresh green color and also a little flavor and crunch. Totally optional though!
What type of meatballs are best? Can you use frozen meatballs?
You can use any variety of meatball you prefer. Go light and choose a meatless "meatball" or turkey meatballs.
Use pork meatballs, chicken or beef.
Make your own meatballs or buy frozen. Totally up to you!
Just avoid Italian seasoned meatballs since this is a Chinese-style recipe.
How long does it take to cook frozen meatballs in a crockpot?
This is a question I hear a lot. It depends if the meatballs are precooked or raw. If you're using already cooked frozen meatballs, you only need to "cook" them long enough for them to be thoroughly heated all the way to the center. In this sauce, that takes about an hour on high heat.
However, you can test one by cutting it in half and carefully feeling the center to see if it's hot. If you're making your own meatballs using raw meat, I'd recommend cooking them first in the oven then adding them to your crockpot with the sauce.
★ More Asian Recipes You'll Love ★
Looing for more appetizer ideas?
Browse all my easy appetizer recipes and Pin your favorites so you've got plenty of ideas when your next potluck or holiday party comes up.
This recipe for spicy orange marmalade meatballs was featured on South Your Mouth and Meal Plan Monday!
Orange Marmalade Meatballs
Equipment
- crockpot liners for easy clean up
Ingredients
Meatballs and Sauce
- 24 oz frozen meatballs (chicken, beef, or turkey — your choice)
- 18 oz orange marmalade
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup Sriracha sauce or use soy sauce
Garnish
- 2 green onions finely chopped
Optional Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Combine meatballs ans sauce ingredients. Add frozen meatballs, orange marmalade, yellow mustard, rice vinegar and Sriracha sauce to your slow cooker.
- Heat. Cook on high for 1 hour or until sauce is bubbling.
- Stir and then set to warm to serve.
- Add optional garlic and ginger before serving, if desired.
Video
Notes
- To speed up the cooking process, you could cook these on the stove in a large pot on high for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a crockpot to keep warm.
- To enjoy as a dinner, double the sauce and serve over white rice.
- Substitute Sriracha sauce with soy sauce in part or in whole for less spicy meatballs.
Michele says
This was amazing! I mixed with instant Jasmine rice and Asian vegetables (steam bag) Thank you so much for posting!!
LeeAnna says
Can you suggest some side to try and make this into more of a meal.
Angela G. says
Sure! I would recommend anything Asian. So white rice and then any stir fry veggies would be great. You can buy a frozen mix or try broccoli, snow peas, peppers, carrots... just pan fry them with a small amount of cooking oil and salt. Thanks for asking!