Home » Appetizer Recipes » Crock Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs (+Video)

Crock Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs (+Video)

These Crock Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs are always a hit because they are so delicious so easy to make with only 3 ingredients!

DELICIOUSLY GLAZED PARTY MEATBALLS

What is it about meatballs that we love? Go to any potluck or party and if there is a Crock Pot of meatballs sitting out, you will usually find a group of folks standing around eating them as they talk. They draw us into their meaty goodness. This recipe is a blast from the past.

Crock Pot BBQ sauce, grape jelly meatballs shown in a wide white bowl with some fresh parsley in the background.

TIPS FOR MAKING CROCK POT GRAPE JELLY MEATBALLS:

  • The original recipe calls for using Heinz Chili sauce, which is tasty in it’s own right. However, a few years ago, I went to a party and the hostess made it with BBQ sauce and I was hooked! The BBQ sauce give these meatballs just a little more oomph. And speaking of BBQ sauce, I did a small informal poll on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. I asked everyone what their favorite bottled BBQ sauce was. The overwhelming winner? Sweet Baby Rays!
  • Don’t be thrown off by the grape jelly if you’ve never tried these before. I promise, you don’t taste the grape at all. It just adds a nice, lightly sweet background flavor and gives a nice consistency to the sauce. Try different types of jelly and jams – pineapple and cranberry are also really yummy with this!
  • If you want a homemade version of this recipe, click on this link: Crock Pot Homemade Grape Jelly Meatballs.
  • My favorite store-bought BBQ sauce is Sweet Baby Rays. However, you can make your own Homemade BBQ Sauce.
A toothpick holding up a grape jelly meatball.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

  • homestyle frozen meatballs
  • grape jelly
  • your favorite BBQ Sauce or Chili Sauce
frozen meatballs, grape jelly, bbq sauce.

HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT GRAPE JELLY MEATBALLS:

Combine the frozen meatballs, grape jelly and BBQ sauce into your slow cooker and stir well until combined.

frozen meatballs, grape jelly, bbq sauce in a crock pot.

Cook the mixture on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2 – 2 ½ hours until completely warmed through (stirring occasionally.) Meatballs are already cooked so we’re basically just heating them up.

Easy crock pot glazed meatballs shown fully cooked in a round, black crock pot.

When they are ready, just set your crock pot to the “keep warm” setting and let guests serve themselves. 

closeup photo of cooked meatballs in a white bowl with fresh chopped parsley on top.

Just place small bowls and toothpicks next to the meatballs.

closeup photo of a toothpick holding up a meatball.

Cook’s Note: This also works really nicely with a package or two of lil’ smokies. Also, you can use many types of jelly flavors. I’ve used cranberry, apricot and pineapple before and all were very good!

a hand pushing a toothpick into a meatball that is at the top of a pile of other meatballs.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Originally published: February 2011
Updated & republished: April 2020

Crock Pot Glazed Party Meatballs

Crock Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs (+Video)

These Crock Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs are always a hit because they are so delicious so easy to make with only 3 ingredients!
4.97 from 28 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients

  • 32 ounce bag frozen homestyle meatballs
  • 18 ounce jar grape jelly
  • 18 ounce bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce (or Chili Sauce)

Instructions

  • Pour the meatballs, grape jelly and BBQ sauce into a crock pot and stir until well combined.
  • Cook the mixture on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2 – 2 ½ hours until completely cooked through (stirring occasionally)
  • Then serve! Keep slow cooker on warm with lid on so they stay warm while serving.

Video

YouTube video
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 24g | Sodium: 739mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 52g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Recipe Rating




142 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    So I was VERY leery of these because of the grape jelly. My son’s graduation party is coming up and I wanted to have some of these and as such I thought I better make them beforehand in case they’re nasty. I am very pleasantly surprised that these are wonderful! You can’t taste the grape jelly at all, it just tones down the barbecue sauce and adds a slight bit of sweetness. I will definitely be serving these at the party and other times as they are very addictive.

  2. Instead of barbecue sauce, I’ve always used chili sauce. And instead of grape jelly, I’ve used cranberry sauce with whole cranberries. Gonna try with the barbecue sauce.

    1. You really wouldn’t need to increase the cook time as long as your crock pot is big enough to hold all the ingredients.

  3. I have heard of mixing BBQ sauce (has to be Sweet Baby Ray's!) with grape jelly for the BBQ, but have not tried it yet. Will definitely have to try this!

    That said, this is very similar to the super simple sweet and sour meatballs that a co-worker brings to all of our workday 'crock pot lucks' (yes, crock pots are required for all hot dishes & the whole place smells like manna from heaven with crock pots bubbling away on desks, in the kitchen, the meeting room and even next to the copier). These meatballs disappear in minutes every time; the power of the crockpot meatball!

    As the only difference is the sauce ingredients (same meatballs, mixing and cook time, also just 3 ingredients), I thought I would share:

    Sweet & Sour Crockpot Meatballs
    – 2 large cans chunk pineapple in juice, do not drain
    – 2 large jars sweet and sour sauce
    – about 2 lbs frozen swedish or homestyle meatballs

    Just a variation on the theme. Happy crocking!

  4. My kids (grown kids lol) made these once and I loved them! So happy to find the recipe, even if it seems like a simple one.
    Thank you hun

  5. Came via Gooseberry Patch, love this recipe and with the big game coming up, it's a winner! We usually make it with the Heinz Chili Sauce as others have mentioned. I have tried it with the cranberry sauce and, although I usually love cranberries, did not care for that strong taste coming through in the cooked meatballs. I am interested in trying your barbecue sauce idea, using Sweet Baby Ray's, for sure. If I am using the frozen meatballs I get the Swedish ones and not the Italian style, the flavor in the meatballs is very mild so that the jelly/chili taste dominates. Loved your description of the fifties, guess we always long for a simpler time!

  6. I love the prepared meatballs from (don't know if I should say). They have the best flavor without tasting weird. Then I always use bottled bbq sauce and whatever jelly/jam/preserves I have on hand. Cranberry is really good as is orange marmalade, pineapple or peach or apricot preserves… Sometimes a splash of bourbon is good, too! 😉

  7. Sounds like another winner! I make meatball subs for my boys using half barbeque and half spaghetti sauce mixture (put meatballs on sub rolls, add a little sauce, top w/ slices of provolone, microwave for about 15 seconds to melt cheese).

  8. I make theses kind of meat balls as well but I also use 1 can of Holmes Chilli with no beans..My family and friends love them

  9. I make it with the BBQ sauce but I use grape jam instead. I like the sauce to be a bit thicker. It thins out a bit too much with the jelly. (The crock produces extra moisture so with jam it works great!)

  10. Anonymous….That would work making the day ahead but make sure you allow enough time to re-heat before serving at the party.

  11. Can I make this a day ahead, keep it overnight in the refrigerator and then re-heat it in the crock pot the next day when I get to the party?

  12. Try apple jelly and Kraft Honey BBQ sauce for a different flavor too. It has become one of my favorites.

  13. I made these for my Super Bowl family meal, that and several other recipes that you had posted last week. Let's just say that everyone was going back for second's and even thirds of everything. The Asian Slaw, BBQ cups and your recipe for the choc.chip cookie bars were a major hit! Thank you for helping make this day so very special. I've always been a big fan but these recipes blew this party out of the park! (Even though our team lost)

  14. Hi Brandie, I sure do want to stay on your email list! Love these meatballs – I made them a couple years ago, but with the chili sauce. They were a bit spicy for me, so I believe the BBQ sauce will be perfect! Thanks for sharing!