Grape Jelly Meatballs Recipe

Grape Jelly Meatballs Recipe – 3 ingredient meatballs with just 5 minutes prep! Tender, juicy meatballs blanketed in a sweet and spicy sauce. You’ll love how simple this recipe is!

This quick, easy appetizer is perfect for entertaining anytime and is always a hit.

Just 3 ingredients and less than 5 minutes prep these juicy, tender crockpot meatballs are the perfect appetizer or snack for any gathering.

Why this recipe works:

1. Just 3 ingredients!  — seriously – you can’t mess this up!
2. Add to the slow cooker then sit back then let it do all the work.
3. Tender meatballs in a sweet sauce with a little spicy kick.
4. Always the first to disappear at any party.

Ingredients in Grape Jelly Meatballs:

These meatballs were originally by someone in the 60’s and have a lot of different names: party meatballs, easy grape jelly meatballs, cocktail meatballs, sweet and sour meatballs and BBQ meatballs among others.

Here’s all you’ll need to make them:

1. frozen meatballs (I used all beef)
2. BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet ‘n Spicy used)
3. grape jelly

These are the meatballs I used. Any frozen meatballs will work well (beef, beef/pork, etc).

How to make Grape Jelly Meatballs:

Add the BBQ sauce and grape jelly to the slow cooker. Whisk or stir to blend then add the frozen meatballs to the sauce, turning to coat them.

Cook on high 2 to 3 hours or on low 3 to 4 hours until the meatballs are warmed through.

If you like a thicker sauce like you see here, remove the lid from the slow cooker for the last 1/2 hour of cook time. This lets some of the moisture escape and thickens the sauce.

When the meatballs having finished cooking, give them a good stir and switch the slow cooker to the warm. You can serve them right from the slow cooker with toothpicks.

What kind of meatballs are best in this recipe?

To keep this recipe super simple, I highly recommend giving frozen meatballs a try. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical but was wildly surprised at how delicious they are.

Of course, you make definitely make homemade meatballs using your family favorite recipe. Small meatballs are the best way to go – perfect for holiday parties.

Here are a few meatball recipes on my site:

Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs – ground turkey, bread crumbs and a few spices air fried for juicy meatballs loaded with delicious taste in just 10 minutes.

My go-to Ground Beef Meatballs – use ground beef or turkey – classic meatball recipe – great for everything from Grape Jelly Meatballs to marinara sauce.

Chicken Meatballs – ground chicken and spinach – another good option for Grape Jelly Meatballs. Roll about 1″ in size for easy cocktail meatballs.

Subs and variations to this recipe:

• Leftover cranberry sauce – equal amount of cranberry sauce instead of grape jelly.
• Instead of barbecue sauce, use bottled chili sauce or Frank’s Red Hot Sweet Chili Sauce.
• For spicy meatballs substitute a pepper jelly or other spicy jelly for grape jelly.
• Use Apricot preserves along with either chili sauce or bbq sauce instead of grape jelly.
• For a sweeter taste, add a tablespoon or two of brown sugar to the sauce.

How to store leftovers:

Cool completely then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.

More easy appetizer recipes:

Fig Goat Cheese Puff Pastry

Cranberry Brie Pastry

Cheesy Garlic Christmas Tree Bread

Enjoy!

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