Easy Grape Jelly Meatballs Recipe
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
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. You can easily scale this recipe up, or scale down if using a smaller crockpot.
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.
Recipe Notes
NOTE: The chili sauce gives the meatballs a slight kick. If you want your meatballs on the sweeter side, you can omit the chili sauce completely.
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Oops! I forgot to rate the recipe! I am so sorry I could not go back and fix it—at least I did not see a way to do so.
Thank you, Debbie! I appreciate it. 🙂
I have made these without the BBQ sauce, but will add it the next time. I usually use apricot preserves, 1 packet of Lipton onion soup, and Russian dressing for meatballs and Little Smokies, which could also be used with chicken. Love your videos and your recipes!
These turned out great. I have to stir them around a few times to make sure they stay covered in sauce and don’t burn on the bottom.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Keegan!
Hi Natasha! Love your recipes!! Would you adjust this at all if using pre-cooked meatballs?
Hi Kelley, the recipe does call for pre-cooked frozen meatballs. Do you mean if they are freshly cooked meatballs? That will still work but will probably finish an hour or so sooner since you aren’t starting with frozen meatballs.
if i cook on the stovetop – do i still use frozen meatballs & cook for 20-25 min please?
Hi Heidi, please see this section in the recipe for the stovetop or oven method recipe: “Other Cooking Methods”! We mention it may take up to 30 minutes on the stove top. I hope you love this recipe!
In the stovetop method, is 25-30 minutes for *frozen meatballs — or do they have to be thawed first?
Hi Cate, yes you can add them frozen. 🙂
Try using Old Kingsley & Sons Meat Paint BBQ Sauce next time. They make a regular, smoky mesquite and a chitople.
Thank u for that one I use marmalade jelly for my meatballs but I will try the great one too
This is always a winning appetizer at family gatherings. Although I use chili sauce instead of bbq sauce.
That sounds delicious!
I used to make these years and years ago except my recipe called for current jelly. However, since I could never find current jelly in our town I used grape. Also, take them to potlucks and everyone will be asking for recipe. Love them.
So glad you loved the recipe, Kathy! 🙂
Hi Natasha, this sounds like a similar recipe someone gave me 45 (!) years ago using currant jelly and dijon mustard. Are you familiar with this one? It‘s delicious and super easy.
Hi Rosemarie! I haven’t tried that specific recipe, but it sounds delicious.
Hi Natasha
Love this recipe but also like the meatballs with Stonewall Kitchen’s Apple Jalapeño Jelly. Fantastic but a little more spicy. Everyone devours them!!
That sounds amazing!
Can I use frozen Italian meatballs? That’s all I can find.
Hi Cheryl, yes, that will work. We used frozen meatballs for this recipe. I hope you love it!
Natasha, I made my own grape jelly but one of the batch did not set well (a little runny). Can I use it for this recipe?
Hi Mel, I think that would be fine.
We don’t do pork (did beef & lamb) or frozen (fresh pan fried) but these were FABULOUS following the recipe otherwise. Thank you for sharing!
So glad it was enjoyed! Thank you for sharing, Melissa!
I’ve been making these for years with the addition of a shot of soya sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice. No measurements, sorry.
We mix a can of jellied cranberry with a bottle of chili sauce, over meatballs or cocktail weiners. Simple and delicious!
Sounds delicious!
Dear Natasha,
I do not like store bought frozen meatballs! Do you have a recipe for homemade meatballs that will work for this recipe?
Thank you,
PC
I have the Juicy Pork Meatballs recipe.
I prefer to make my own meatballs. The store bought ones just seem tough and do not taste as good as homemade.
That’s good, homemade is always better.
I use Hickory Farms “Hot Pepper Bacon Jam” instead of grape jelly. It is fantastic!
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Hey there!
I am wondering if using reduced sugar jelly affects the outcome? I have a diabetic husband.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Jill, I think that will be okay although I have not experimented on that yet. If you happen to try that, please share with us how it goes.
Hi Natasha, would this recipe for meatballs subs too? What cheese would I use? Thanks for your help.
Hi Marisa. Are you wanting to make meatball subs? If so, I would follow my other Meatball Recipe, HERE. This recipe is closer to traditional meatballs used to make Italian meatball subs. I toss them through marinara sauce and top them with mozzarella cheese. I hope that answers your question.
Hi!
I will make this recipe. I would like to know if you use the same recipe for cocktail meatballs as for the larger balls for spaghetti.
I’m wondering about the bread cubes.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Helen! Yes, this is the perfect recipe for cocktail meatballs. I use my other recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Would the flavor profile work for sliders? It was an idea I had.
Hi Melanie, I haven’t tried that for sliders, but that may work! If you experiment, I would love to know how you like that!
Hello Natasha. I love this recipe. Another one I use is equal parts of black currant jam and ketchup.
Hi Theresa! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Hello Natasha. I love using this same meatball recipe. Sometimes for a change, I use equal parts of black currant jam and ketchup. We love that one also.
Hi Theresa, thank you for sharing that with us. Good to know that you are using the same recipe for your meatballs!
I’d heard of this but never made them before New Year’s Eve. Huge hit! I’ve passed along your recipe to almost everyone who has tried them. And the BBQ sauce used has a huge impact on the result. Bullseye was too smokey for my liking but original Sweet Baby Rays is fantastic!
I’m so glad you gave them a try, Jacqueline! I’m so glad you loved this recipe!
hi,
I am making these for a larger crowd. I have a bag of 140 meatballs how much jelly, and BBQ sauce should I use?
Hi! This recipe serves 12, you can adjust the serving size to 24 on the recipe card if you’d like and that is about 64oz of frozen meatball. 64 ounces of frozen meatballs takes 2 cups of jelly and 3 cups of BBQ sauce so you can use this as a formula to get you to what amount you need. Just measure the total ounces of the frozen meatballs you have.
Do you need to adjust the time when doubling the recipe in a slow cooker?
Hi Melanie, you may need to adjust the time slightly to ensure everything is cooked through.
The first time I heard about Grape Jelly / Chili sauce Meatballs, I was like “Your kidding, right”. But I made them for a group BBQ no they were the first dish to empty out. But the recipe I used had no BBQ sauce only 2:1 ratio of Chili Sauce and Grape Jelly. I will have to try this recipe for a change.
I hope you love it, Sharon!
My mom used to make this recipe starting in the 1960’s for all our family get together when ever we had a crowd. It always brings back happy memories when l make it now! She also would use canned cranberries instead of grape jelly to give it a bit of tartness. Sooooo yummmmy!
Hello Shelley, good to know that your mom is also using a similar recipe for this dish. I’m sure she’s a great cook!
Wondering if this same recipe would work as well with the little smokies instead of meatballs?
Hi Jess, I haven’t tried that but feel free to experiment!
OMG. My husband has been making this exact recipe for years. Best appetizers ever. Always a hit at parties. The only difference is that he bakes his in an oven proof dish in the oven. They come out glazed and delicious. A must try for everyone. And I love your recipes. So easy to try. Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Mary! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made these today. I couldn’t find chili sauce so I bought Sweet Baby Rays sweet and spicy sauce. It gave the meatballs quit a kick. They were delicious! I love your recipes! Thanks!
Hi Brenda, great to hear that the substitute ingredient that you used worked well too! Thanks for the review and for sharing that with us.
Hi Brenda, i would like to try making them with sweet and Spicy baby Rays sauce. could you please tell me the amount you used ? Thank You.
Hi! Sorry I just saw this. I put in the 1 1/2 cups that is called for in the recipe, plus 2 tbs to substitute for the chili sauce.
I see that my grocer has 1/2 ounce meat balls and 1 ounce meatballs. Perhaps there are even larger ones! What size do you show in your photos, or what size do you generally prefer to use? Thanks!
Hi Nancy, I like the meatballs to be about 1-inch diameter meatballs. A 1-inch meatball is about 1 ounce, but either size should work fine.
Made these for New Years Day and they are delicious! I used Turkey meatballs and they were so yummy! Served with rice…so good!!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Robin!
I’m fixing these for our laid-backed New Year’s Day eat what you want type of day. Happy New Year from California.
Great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hi Natasha, first time making these and was wondering if you have suggestions on making them if I don’t have a crock pot or slow cooker? Thanks!
Hi Natalia, please see this section in the recipe for the stovetop or oven method recipe: “Other Cooking Methods”! I hope you love this recipe!
Hi, I’m making these now for our New Years Day appetizer night. My wife said I had to make just BBQ sauced meatballs as well so I’ll put them next to each other and let our friends and family rate them lol. Happy New Years from British Columbia, Canada
Sounds good Shaun, I hope they will love both versions.
Morning Nathasha
I will also like to try the recipe it looks is appetizing and attractive.
HAVE A BLESSED 2022.
Go for it, I hope you love this recipe. Happy New Year too!
I’ve always enjoyed Grape Jelly Meatballs at parties but never before tried making them myself. Well now that I have, this is going to become a regular recipe at our house! My whole family loved your version…thank you so much!
I’m so glad you found a new favorite, Samantha! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I remember these meatballs that my brother and I loved as a child. Aunt Minnie used to make them for us. She and my relatives came from Ukraine as children. I am so happy to find your recipe. Thank you!
Hi Ellen, I’m happy that you found the recipe that you loved since you were a kid! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try from my website.
I love all the amazing flavors in these meatballs! I can’t wait to try them!
I hope you love this recipe, Katerina!
WOW! I was intruiged by this recipe and I am so happy I tried it. It’s amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!