These juicy Grape Jelly Meatballs are the best appetizer recipe. Tender and juicy meatballs smothered in a sweet and spicy sauce and slow-cooked to perfection. The sauce has just three ingredients and you’ll love how easy it is.
Grape Jelly Meatballs are perfect for New Year’s parties or any gathering. If you are looking for a crowd-pleasing appetizer, these are always a hit, along with our Jalapeno Poppers or the Easy Cheese Ball.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Grape Jelly Meatballs
These delicious grape jelly meatballs are loved by everyone. Meatballs tossed together with grape jelly, bbq sauce, and garlic chili sauce then slow cooked until tender, saucy and flavorful.
We love serving these during the holidays, game nights, or even for a simple dinner over fluffy white rice.
Ingredients for Grape Jelly Meatballs
With just 4 basic ingredients you can have this amazing appetizer thrown together and allow the crockpot to do the rest of the work.
- Meatballs – For this recipe we use frozen meatballs made of pork, beef, and chicken from the local grocery store. You can use any of your favorite frozen meatballs for this recipe.
- Grape Jelly – Any grape jelly will work, we prefer using Smucker’s grape jelly.
- Chili Sauce – You can also adjust the amount for the level of heat you prefer. Any chili sauce will work for this recipe, we love Huey Fong Chili Sauce (the same sauce we use in Shrimp Cocktail Sauce and Springroll Dipping Sauce).
- Barbecue Sauce – We love Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce for this recipe.
How to Make Grape Jelly Meatballs
This recipe is so easy to make. With just 5 minutes of prep time, you can have this appetizer ready to go in your crockpot.
- Into the slow cooker, add: frozen meatballs, jelly, bbq, and chili sauce to the slow cooker. Toss until combined. TIP: You can also mix the bbq, jelly and chili sauce in a separate bowl then pour over the meatballs.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours, stirring halfway through cooking. Once the meatballs are cooked, turn the slow cooker to warm and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Garnish with parsley or chives if desired.
Other Cooking Methods
If you do not have a slow cooker, don’t worry, here are two other methods that you can use to make these meatballs.
- Stovetop Grape Jelly Meatballs – Add the meatballs, barbecue, grape jelly, and chili sauce in a Dutch oven or large pot and combine. Simmer over medium/low heat for 25-30 minutes or until the meatballs are warmed through, stirring occasionally to keep the sauce from burning.
- Oven-Baked Grape Jelly Meatballs – Add all the ingredients into a casserole dish or Dutch oven and mix to combine. Cover with lid or foil and bake at 325°F for 20-25 minutes or until the meatballs have cooked through. Note: Adjust the cooking time based on the size of your meatballs.
To Serve
There are several different ways to enjoy these meatballs! Here are some of our favorite ways:
- Appetizer – They make for the ultimate appetizer, serve with toothpicks at your next gathering, or game day tailgating party!
- Side Dish– Serve these as a side dish for the holidays. The flavors in these meatballs really stand out and this recipe always gets compliments.
- Entree – Serve over cooked rice or with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or pasta as a main entree.
Common Questions
You can store the grape jelly meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Yes, you can use Homemade Meatballs or even our Turkey Meatballs. You’ll want to be sure to cook the meatballs first.
You can use any type of frozen meatballs that you like, Italian, Angus, and turkey meatballs work great for this recipe. The frozen Italian-style meatballs from Costco work great.
Yes, if you do not like spicy foods then you can leave out the chili sauce completely.
While the grape jelly is classic to this recipe, you can switch up the flavor of jelly you use for different flavors! You can also use strawberry, apple, apricot, mixed berry jam, or preserves.
Make-Ahead
Here’s a great food storage guide from the FDA – print this and tape it inside one of your kitchen cabinets to reference.
- To Freeze – Once cooled, add to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 2 to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- To Reheat – Grape Jelly Meatballs reheat well. Just add them back to the slow cooker to reheat or you can also reheat in the oven, stovetop, or microwave until steamy hot and fully heated through.
More Party Appetizers
- Cowboy Caviar (Bean Salsa)
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Best Guacamole Recipe
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Grape Jelly Meatballs are a real treat. Everyone is always surprised when they find out what is in the sauce. It’s a keeper of a recipe.
Easy Grape Jelly Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 32 oz frozen fully cooked meatballs
- 1 cup grape jelly, we like Smuckers brand
- 1 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, we like Sweet Baby Ray's brand
- 2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
Instructions
- Add the frozen meatballs, grape jelly, barbecue sauce, and chili sauce into the base of the slow cooker. Mix until well combined.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, stirring halfway through cooking. Keep covered and on the warm setting until ready to serve. Garnish with parsley or chives if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
No slow cooker. What would be the cooking time equivalent for stove-top or oven?
Hi Patty! See my note above under “other cooking methods.”
What do these taste like without the grape jelly? Diabetic asking here. <3
Hi Rosemary! I haven’t tested it without but you can use sugar free.
Can you use blueberry jam for this recipe?
Hi Amanda! Yes, you can change out the flavor of the jelly.
I plan on making this recipe for a baby shower. What would you recommend serving with these meatballs. Thank you. BTW I love your recipes.
Hi Marie! These can be served as an appetizer with other finger foods. We also like to eat these with rice or mashed potatoes.
I used your recipe and the meatballs were a hit! I did heat the meatballs up alone and drained most of the grease before adding all the sauces and jelly. No greasy aftermaths.
Making this right now – using ChocZero grape jelly and sugar free Sweet Baby Rays Sweet and Hot BBQ sauce with my meatballs.
Love your recipes Natasha (I’ve got your cookbook) – I’ve been a cook all my life and now, at 72, I’m cooking new things and loving it (so’s my husband!).
Hi Nancy! I’m so happy to hear you’re loving my recipes. Thank you.
I am trying the grape jelly meatballs on the 4th of July never tried it but I’m going to
I hope you love the recipe!
Hi! I want to bring this to a baby shower, but I couldn’t find the chili garlic sauce. What can I substitute it with? Thank you!
Hi Rain! You can use sriracha sauce or leave it out completely and add chili flakes to your preferred level of spice.
We served this recipe today at our first grandchild’s baby reveal and they were a big hit!! Will be adding to the entertainment menu as a must have. Thanks for the recipe 👍🏽.
That’s wonderful, Elise!
Wow these meatballs were outstanding!!! I was a bit concerned about the grape jelly being too sweet but no worries the flavors balanced out perfectly. Do not skip the Asian chili garlic sauce because it really takes it over the top!!!
Made these with plant based meatballs so simple and delish! I used three bags of Gardein meatballs, Sweet Baby Ray’s sugar free bbq sauce and Sambal Olek chili paste will definitely be making these again.
Nice to know that you enoyed it and that you were able to make it work using the substitutions that you used. Thanks a lot for sharing!
If I ever come across a recipe like this again -.- my mil calls me and says she’s making these w frozen meatballs and grape jelly and I laugh… we don’t cook like that in this household
Thank you for sharing that with me L, we all have our preferred cooking methods, perhaps you have a favorite cooking technique for this dish?
Hi! I can’t wait to make this recipe for Super Bowl party but I made a mistake and bought frozen raw meatballs instead of fully cooked can I still make these with your recipe and what’s the steps to do that?
Thank you
Hi Trisha! I would prepare the meatballs according to the package instructions then continue on with the recipe. I have made this with homemade cooked meatballs too.
I’m going to make the meatballs myself. How many pounds of ground beef do I need? Thanks so much, all the best for a healthy, successful New Year.
Hi Frannie! In the “common questions” section above, I linked my homemade meatball recipes. You can reference one of those recipes for the amount of ground meat used. I hope you love the recipe!
These are so delicious! I’d like to make them for a party, but would need to double it. Do you think that would work? If so, how long would they need to cook? TIA!
Hi Charlotte, doubling this recipe will work, you may need to adjust the time slightly to ensure everything is cooked through.
The recipe and the reviews say nothing about the size crockpot to use. I have several. What size?
Hi Marilyn. If you click on “slow cooker” in red font in the recipe card, it will show the one suggested for the recipe. It was an 8qt.
What is everyone using for chili garlic sauce? Can’t find it anywhere. What about adding sirracha and garlic ? I have a bottle of sirracha from before the shortage ….?
I used plain chili sauce because I did not find any with garlic and so I added some minced garlic. I’m in the process of cooking these, so will see how they turn out.
My recipe has always been 2 jars chili sauce and one jar grape jelly. I use 2 bags of (Walmart brand) small Italian meatballs. So yummy!! I’ve also did another version by changing out grape jelly and using a can of jellied cranberry sauce!
I love this recipe.
I changed it up a little by adding I/2 jar of orange marmalade to this recipe. It’s always a hit.
That sounds wonderful!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Are you using bite size meatballs?
Hi Angie, these are pretty standard, bite-sized yes. I like the size of the meatballs at Costco in the freezer section if you are looking to use store-bought.