Honey BBQ Meatballs are made with a combination of ground beef and ground pork, smothered with a sweet honey barbecue sauce, and baked to perfection. It’s fun and delicious to try all kinds of flavors when it comes to meatballs, for sure! But, it all starts with my go-to meatballs recipe, which you will want to try, too! You will never buy frozen meatballs again!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Meat: I used ground beef and ground pork for the most tender, flavorful meatball base. However, you could try this recipe with turkey, or even chicken meatballs! For another saucy meatball recipe, check out my Teriyaki Meatballs.
Barbecue Sauce: Homemade or store-bought barbecue sauce would work for these meatballs. Mix it with honey and grape jelly for an amazingly flavorful sauce!
Can I Make The Meatballs Ahead Of Time?
Yes! You can get the meatballs formed and frozen until ready to bake them in the oven. To freeze the meatballs, place them onto a lined baking sheet. Then, place them into the freezer for an hour or two, or until solid. Finally, store the frozen meatballs in a freezer-safe bag or container. Label and date the packaging; they will last up to 3 months. When ready to bake, they can go directly into the oven, no need to thaw.
Honey BBQ Meatballs as an Appetizer
Just in case you are looking for something amazing to serve at a get-together or potluck, this recipe would be perfect! You can prepare all of the meatballs and keep them warm in a crockpot or a commercial warming pan. In general, ceramics and glass will hold their heat better than metal pans, so opt for those if possible. Once you pour the sauce over the baked meatballs, cook it on low for about an hour.
How To Store Honey BBQ Meatballs
To store BBQ meatballs, first, let them cool to room temperature. Then, store the meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will last up to 3-4 days. Reheat the meatballs in the oven, on the stovetop, or in the microwave.
More Meatball Recipes
Honey BBQ Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup (50 g) parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup (54 g) fine dry breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- ¼ cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup (280 g) barbecue sauce
- ⅓ cup (113 g) honey
- ⅓ cup (106 g) grape jelly
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, beaten egg, cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix until just combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk, breadcrumbs, garlic, and onion.
- Add milk mixture to the meat mixture, careful not to overwork ingredients.
- Greasing hands before starting, form the mixture into desired-size meatballs. (We used a heaping 2-tablespoon scoop for each meatball.) Place into the prepared baking dish.
- Place in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are crisp on the outside.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven. Carefully discard most of the grease.
- In a medium bowl, combine the barbecue sauce, honey, and grape jelly. Pour the sauce over the partially cooked meatballs.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Place the meatballs back into the oven to bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F. (Cooking times may vary, depending on the size of the meatballs.)
- Serve warm.
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
The family loved them.. and I have some fussy eaters! It’s a repeat recipe
These are delicious my only comment is my cook time before adding the sauce takes way longer, 30mins or so, before they look cooked – am I doing something wrong?
The total cook time in this recipe is 30 minutes. So you mean that you baked them for 1 hour? That seems a long time for meatballs. But if they were done to temperature, and still juicy, it’s ok.
This was my experience too. First tried cooking 15 min & 15 with sauce- not close to temp. Tried throwing them back in a few times and was at over an hour of cooking but with sauce. Flavor was delicious but texture was off probably bc of how many times I pulled them out to check temperature. 🙁
Going to have to try again another day so I can cook to temp before putting sauce (based on today’s experience I’m estimating 45 min-1 hour rather than the 15) and then add sauce with 15 min more of cooking.
I made these tonight and everybody loved them! I did have to use a 9″ X 13″ pan.(recipe calls for a smaller one). Also I drained the grease off before I added the sauce. Really an easy delicious recipe. Thanks so much! I will definitely put this one in my recipe book.
I don’t understand the jelly ingredient is it jelly crystals or makeup jelly?
Grape jelly like Smuckers you put on peanut butter & jelly sandwiches
Delicious