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!
I’m getting a bit of a complex here, guys.
Every time I go shopping with my daughter she ends up shouting that I can’t possibly be a girl because I don’t like sparkles and glitter and bling and neon colored pictures of cats wearing sunglasses adorning my clothes.
Which, let’s be real for a minute, if that’s the measuring stick of girl vs. boy, I’m fine being a boy. Cats on clothes will never be my thing. Ever.
But, every time she loudly proclaims, “You’re not even a REAL girl, Mom!” I get a little uncomfortable and wonder what the other shoppers think. I promise, guys. I am a lady.
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Grape Jelly Meatballs are the perfect appetizer or snack for your next party!
Anyway, this really has very little do with meatballs other than the fact that I feel like meatballs are a manly food.
You don’t see a lot of dainty little girls grubbin’ on a meatball sandwich, with melty cheese all up in their hair, and marinara sauce down the front of their shirt.
I can’t help it though. Maybe my daughter is right.
Not only do I freakin’ love a good meatball recipe, I am thoroughly obsessed with meatloaf.
My cheeseburger meatloaf is one of the most made recipes in my repertoire. Bacon, cheese, beef. Yep. Manly.
So, this year I was thinking about New Year’s Eve and football food and I knew that we needed some crockpot meatballs to go alongside the pizza rolls. With grape jelly and chili sauce.
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.
The jelly and chili sauce do something magical when slow cooked with the beef and the resulting sauce is a perfectly sweetened barbecue sauce with just the right kick. I use this Heinz chili sauce (affiliate link) and you can usually find it near the ketchup and other condiments.
Meatballs with grape jelly are sweet saucy perfection!
I can eat my weight in grape jelly meatballs and I don’t want to tell you how much I weigh, so I’ll just say that’s a lotta dang meatballs.
Best of all, these are made in the slow cooker, which means they’re super simple to throw together and you basically dump things in and then walk away.
I use my Ninja slow cooker for this recipe. I have quite a few slow coookers, but the Ninja is my favorite – nothing sticks to it, it cooks evenly, and I love the timer on it. It has tons of 5 star Amazon reviews too. You can buy one here. <– This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
I know meatballs with jelly sounds a little out there, but I hope you give this a try! So good!
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.
Nutrition Information:
More savory recipes? No problem.
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June Leathers says
I love grape jelly meatballs. Can I use apple jelly in place of grape jelly?
Karly says
I haven’t tried, but I think any type of jelly would probably work.
Lori says
This recipe is great with chile sauce. Gives it good flavor.
Sylvia says
What is a good brand of chile sauce to use?
Karly says
We use Heinz Chili Sauce.
Susan Dubose says
This recipe has been around for years and it’s still the best and easiest one you’ll find. The crowd will gobble these up.
Patrick says
I love these!! Reminds me that I need to make some really soon!!
Erika says
These were really good! My kids loved,loved, loved them.
Karly says
That’s great to hear!
Kae says
What would you serve with these (dinner wise)?
Karly says
Mashed potatoes, for sure. Any kind of veggies the kid like would be good on the side. 😉
Deborah Exley says
Can I use frozen meatballs?
Karly says
Yep!
Daniela says
Any preference on size of crock pot?
Karly says
You’ll just want to use a larger/dinner sized one, not one of the small dip ones. Otherwise, it shouldn’t matter.
Ann Boyd says
You are such fun! I laughed out loud with your daughter’s comments. From the mouths of babes, right? And again laughed out loud on the weight comment! Oh, I was enjoying your writing g so much I forgot i was looking for an easy recipe for a cheese ball. You got me hooked with your great directions! You are a sweetie. Thank you.
Karly says
Thanks so much, Ann! Hope you found your cheese ball recipe! 🙂
Mary says
I make this recipe with canned cranberry sauce (the chunky one) rather than grape jelly.
Delicious and perfect for the winter holidays!!
Maggie Martin says
Remember a month ago I told you you have to lock girl children in the closet til they are 27?! Still true…
Been making these for many years, and they are still good, thanks for reviving a memory.
Maggie
Gloria says
Does anyone know how I can do this in the oven? My boyfriend’s place doesn’t have a slow cooker but I want these for supper.
Karly says
I’m not sure this one would very well in an oven.
Shauna Glover says
Hello! Wandering if these would be good as a main dish for dinner also? Like with Egg Noodles maybe?
Thank you! I’ve made these back right when I got out of high school and haven’t made them since! Haha. Excited to make them again!?
Karly says
I think they’d make a great main dish, but definitely with something savory on the side. They’re a bit sweet. 🙂
Leona ferranti says
Made this for years. Also, if I don’t have chili sauce I’ve used barbecue sauce and grape jelly. Also, frozen chicken wings are great with this recipe as well. Karr of grape jelly and small bottle of barbecue sauce your favorite.
Karly says
I bet it’s great on chicken wings!
Brooke says
May be a silly question, but is your crockpot round or oval? Mine is oval (pretty big) and I’m trying to decide if I need to double the recipe or not. Serving a large crowd at a Super Bowl party this weekend!
Karly says
Hi Brooke! Sorry I’m too late to answer your question. I had a busy weekend cooking too. 🙂 I do this recipe in the larger 5+ quart slow cookers. Hope you enjoyed!