These grape jelly meatballs are tossed in the slow cooker for a few hours and then make a perfect snack or appetizer for game day! Meatballs with grape jelly and chili sauce might sound a little crazy, but the sauce transforms into something amazing while it cooks!
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Raise your hand if you grew up eating Grape Jelly Meatballs at every family function, church potluck, or holiday dinner!!
Yep. These are a total vintage recipe that both mom and grandma used to make and I’m for sure continuing the tradition.
The name sounds weird – Grape Jelly Meatballs. I mean…no, thank you. Sounds ick. But ooh, you just have to trust the process!
Chili sauce and grape jelly combine to make the perfect sauce…it’s a lot like barbecue sauce in that it’s sweet with a little kick to it. So good and seriously irresistible with meatballs!
You might think meatballs with grape jelly sounds weird, and your’e not wrong, but if you’ve never tried these I implore you to give them a shot.
Grape Jelly Meatballs are the perfect appetizer or snack for your next party!
We love to serve these right from the crockpot with a pile of toothpicks at parties, football games, etc. People grab a plateful of meatballs, pop in some toothpicks, and munch away!
A few other party favorites include our homemade pizza rolls, veggie pizza, and Rotel dip!
Ingredients:
Frozen Meatballs: Grab a bag of homestyle frozen meatballs for this. Couldn’t be simpler.
Grape Jelly: Any brand will do, but we love Smucker’s.
Chili Sauce: This is in a glass bottle near the ketchup. We prefer Heinz brand. It’s similar to ketchup but has a little kick to it. We use it in our chili mac, too.
How To Make Meatballs with Grape Jelly:
Add the grape jelly and chili sauce to a slow cooker and stir to combine. Add the meatballs and stir to coat.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Serve with toothpicks as a snack/appetizer or over rice or mashed potatoes for a simple dinner!
FAQs:
These are perfect as an appetizer , with toothpicks stuck in them for easy serving. They also make a great main course, served over rice or mashed potatoes.
Any variety of frozen meatballs will work in this recipe, though we do prefer homestyle meatballs. Italian meatballs work great in a pinch, though!
The two sauces are quite similar, but chili sauce has a bit of spice to it with a more bold flavor. They’re both tomato based sweet sauces and both make a great dip for fries or topping for burgers.
Grape Jelly Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds frozen meatballs
- 12 ounces chili sauce
- 1 1/2 cups grape jelly
Instructions
- Add the chili sauce and grape jelly to a slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Add the meatballs and stir to coat.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Serve as an appetizer or over rice as a main dish.
Linda says
Made this recipe many times for parties and everyone loves it. Easy to make ahead in my smaller crockpot.
Ubaidullah Rasheed says
Awesome recipe I loved it