Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs are homemade beef and pork meatballs smothered in grape jelly and chili sauce. Just 3 ingredients if you buy store-bought meatballs! Try my Honey BBQ Meatballs for another flavorful bite-sized appetizer.
Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs
I started with homemade fully cooked, basic beef and pork meatballs for this recipe. Then I sauced them up with some grape jelly and chili sauce. It’s nice to have an appetizer you can have in the slow cooker, ready to be served when guests arrive. Plus, with the optional warm setting on a slow cooker, the meatballs can be ready to eat for quite a few hours with no fuss! I also have a Slow Cooker Bourbon Glazed Kielbasa you may want to add to your list of easy appetizers.
You can absolutely buy premade meatballs to use in this recipe to make it 1000% times easier.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Meatballs: This recipe is for fully cooked homemade meatballs. If you are using pre-cooked, frozen meatballs, you can put them right in the crockpot to cook. You can also let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before adding them to your slow cooker.
Sauce: The sauce is simple, but so flavorful, made with grape jelly and chili sauce.
Can I Make the Meatballs Ahead of Time?
Yes! You can choose to freeze the cooked meatballs until you are ready to make the crockpot grape jelly meatballs. Or, you can add them to the slow cooker after cooking them. To freeze the cooked meatballs, let them cool down completely. Put them into freezer bags and freeze them for up to 3 months. Remember to date the bags so you know how long they have been in the freezer!
Friendly reminder, you can use store-bought meatballs if you don’t want to make them from scratch.
How to Store Grape Jelly Meatballs
Leftovers? No problem! These grape jelly meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will last 3-4 days.
More Meatball Recipes
Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs
Ingredients
MEATBALLS***
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (100 g) grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup (122.5 g) milk
- ½ cup (54 g) fine dry breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
SAUCE
- 1 ¼ cups (12 ounces) grape jelly
- 1 ¼ cups (12 ounces) chili sauce
Instructions
MEATBALLS
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, beaten egg, cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix together until just combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk, breadcrumbs, garlic, and onion.
- Add milk mixture to the meat mixture being careful not to overwork ingredients.
- Form into desired size meatballs, greasing hands before starting to keep the meat from sticking, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place in preheated oven and roast until the outsides are browned and they read 165°F on a meat thermometer (about 25 minutes).
SAUCE
- Place the cooked meatballs, grape jelly, and chili sauce in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
How do you make the chili sauce?
Can these be frozen if you used frozen meatballs
I Make Sticks and Stones 🥰
In a 5-6 Qt Oval Crockpot Coated with Non-Stick Cooking Spray (I Use a Liner)
INGREDIENTS:
*1 to 2-14oz Pkgs Lil’ Smokies
*1-32 oz Pkg Frozen Homestyle Meatballs
*2-12 oz Jars Grape Jelly
*2-12 oz Chili Sauce
DIRECTIONS:
1) Cook on LOW for 3 Hours.
VARIATIONS:
**Heinz 57 Sauce and Orange Marmalade OR
**A1 Sauce and Blackberry Jam OR
**Sweet & Sour: 1-20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple and 1-21 oz Can Cherry Pie Filling
Looks lovely ! Could grape jelly be our chutney in sunny South Africa ?
Is there a way to convert this to an Instant Pot recipe?
Some people have a difficult time with reading a whole sentence. What’s so hard to understand, 3 ingredients if you use store bought frozen meatballs?
Delicious recipe. Only used beef and cooked stovetop instead of crockpot. Simple recipe but delicious. Would alsobe good over rice.
I’m 62 been making these for years…My youngest son (36) calls them ‘Jelly Balls’ 😂 and my oldest son (42) calls rotel dip ‘That damn dip’😂 gotta love your kids no matter their age❤
This tastes great!
Been making these for years. I do use the store bought meatballs because it is so quick and easy.
My mom used to make these, they were amazing <3
How long do you cook them in a regular pot? I don’t have a crockpot.
When I make from scratch meatballs for whatever use, I use my cookie scoop and place them on a foil lined baking sheet and bake on 350 until brown. They brown on all sides and I don’t have to spend time turning them. Sometimes I will buy a family size pack of hamburger and make a lot to freeze. Makes a quick and easy meal when I am too lazy to cook.
This 3 ingredient recipe calls for 13 ingredients!!
As I stated, if you use store-bought meatballs, it is 3 ingredients.
Awesome food
What is ‘chili sauce’? Are you talking about hot sauce, like Tabasco or Tapatio?
Chili Sauce is used to dip your shrimp in. Heinz makes a chili sauce, but it wouldn’t let me copy their photo. It’s like a ketchup and horseradish sauce- tasty!! It’s great in this recipe.
No, you are describing cocktail sauce for shrimp. You will find chili sauce in same area as cocktail sauce.
Another dolly who has to argue…
I don’t understand why you’d use parmesan cheese in this recipe.
Because I MADE MY OWN MEATBALLS. If you are not making your own meatballs then it’s not added. Please please please read.
These are great!
What is grape jelly is it jam 🤔 sorry want to make it sounds delightful
There is a difference between grape jelly and grape jam. Jelly is made with the juices…jam has some smashed fruit in it as well. Use grape jelly for this. It will say on the container. Welch’s and Smucker’s both make a grape jelly.
Thanks this was really good. My husband wasn’t sure about the grape jelly but I used some homemade and he was loving it.
I have been looking for this recipe for months. Thank you.