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Grape Jelly BBQ Meatballs

Grape Jelly BBQ meatballs with a glossy, sticky sauce are made by warming frozen fully cooked meatballs in a slow cooker. The sweet-and-savory glaze thickens as it heats, so every bite clings to the meatballs.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 340
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Frozen fully cooked meatballs
  • 2 lb frozen fully cooked meatballs
BBQ sauce glaze
  • 18 oz BBQ sauce
  • 1 cup grape jelly
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
Garnish
  • chopped fresh parsley

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Make the sauce
  1. Whisk BBQ sauce, grape jelly, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder together in a slow cooker until smooth and well combined. The mixture should look uniform and slightly thick before adding the meatballs.
Cook the meatballs
  1. Add frozen fully cooked meatballs to the slow cooker and stir to coat evenly. Make sure the meatballs are submerged as much as possible in the sauce for consistent coverage.
  2. Cover and cook on LOW 3-4 hours or HIGH 2 hours, stirring once halfway. Keep the lid on to maintain heat and watch for gentle bubbling of the sauce at the edges.
  3. Stir until the sauce looks glossy and the meatballs are heated through. The glaze should cling to the meatballs with a sticky sheen when lifted.
Serve
  1. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and keep the meatballs on WARM until serving. Serve hot with toothpicks so sauce can drip from the meatballs.

Notes

For the stickiest coating, stir only once halfway as directed, then do a final stir right at the end so the glaze stays glossy. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for up to 4 days; reheat in the microwave or on LOW until hot. Freeze glazed meatballs for up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat gently. If you want a lower-sugar option, use reduced-sugar grape jelly and check that the BBQ sauce is also reduced-sugar.