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Home / Holidays and Events / Christmas / Appetizers

Crockpot Bourbon BBQ Meatballs

5
/5
3 hours 5 minutes
7 Comments
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By: The Chunky Chefpublished: 01/18/2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

These crockpot bourbon bbq meatballs take just 5 minutes to prep and are the best appetizer for game day, football season or a fun night at home with the family! Sweet, savory and tangy, these meatballs will be the hit of your next party! #meatballs #party #appetizer #gameday #cocktailmeatballs #bourbon #bbq #crockpot #slowcooker
These crockpot bourbon bbq meatballs take just 5 minutes to prep and are the best appetizer for game day, football season or a fun night at home with the family! Sweet, savory and tangy, these meatballs will be the hit of your next party! #meatballs #party #appetizer #gameday #cocktailmeatballs #bourbon #bbq #crockpot #slowcooker
These crockpot bourbon bbq meatballs take just 5 minutes to prep and are the best appetizer for game day, football season or a fun night at home with the family! Sweet, savory and tangy, these meatballs will be the hit of your next party! #meatballs #party #appetizer #gameday #cocktailmeatballs #bourbon #bbq #crockpot #slowcooker

These crockpot bourbon bbq meatballs take just 5 minutes to prep and are the best appetizer for game day, football season or a fun night at home with the family! Sweet, savory and tangy, these meatballs will be the hit of your next party! 

Party food recipes like these Crockpot Bourbon BBQ Meatballs are great for game days, holidays, and pretty much any gathering.  Party guests love finger foods and dips!  We LOVE easy, family-favorite recipes like my Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball and this Everything Bagel Pigs in a Blanket.  This is one of my Appetizer recipes you’ll definitely want in your collection!

pile of bbq meatballs in white bowl

BBQ MEATBALLS RECIPE

Well folks, the football season is winding down to a close, with just one more Sunday of games before the BIG game.  You know, the one where the champion is determined, the commercials are awesome and the halftime show is always entertaining.

But this year, it’s undoubtedly going to look a bit different.  There will likely be less football parties with large gatherings of people, but I think even if you keep it to close family, you can still have a great spread.

Party foods… specifically game day foods, are some of my all-time favorites!  There’s something so tantalizing about a spicy buffalo chicken dip, a big platter of nachos, or a perfectly pop-able bite sized meatball.

These bbq meatballs are a grown-up version of my honey garlic meatballs, in that the sauce involves some more complex flavors like molasses, cayenne and of course, bourbon!

But the best part is that it’s base is bottled bbq sauce and store-bought frozen meatballs, so it’s a quick, 5 minute prep, with minimal ingredients.

How to make Bourbon BBQ Meatballs

step by step how to make bourbon bbq meatballs

  1. Add meatballs to slow cooker and set aside.
  2. Mix sauce.  In a mixing bowl, add bbq sauce, bourbon, honey, molasses, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper.  Stir well.
  3. Add to meatballs.  Toss the meatballs in the sauce until well coated.
  4. Cook.  Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
  5. Serve.  Serve hot, sprinkled with minced parsley if desired.

Additional cooking tips

  • Type of Meatballs – since this dish has sweeter flavors, I don’t advise using and Italian seasoned meatball variety for this recipe.  Personally, I pick up a bag of my grocery store’s brand meatballs, in the homestyle variety.  Trader Joes has some amazing frozen meatballs as well.
  • Type of BBQ Sauce – to keep things simple, I like to use an original variety of bbq sauce, and let the other flavors shine through.  Any flavor will work though.
  • Bourbon – since the bourbon is mixed in with other flavors, there’s no need to break the bank and bust open a bottle of super expensive bourbon for this.  But conversely, you want to enjoy the flavor.  My advise is to just use a brand of bourbon that you would sip on it’s own.

pile of meatballs in white bowl for a party

Variations of this recipe

  • Spicy – a fan of a spicy kick?  Try using half regular bbq and half spicy bbq sauce, adding more cayenne pepper, and adding some hot sauce.
  • Mild – if you’re really sensitive to heat, you can omit the cayenne pepper.
  • Meatballs – to save on some time, this recipe uses pre-cooked frozen meatballs that have been thawed, but you can use homemade meatballs if you want.  Just sear or partially bake them first, so they hold up well in the slow cooker.
  • Bbq sauce – I normally use bottled bbq sauce (Heady Country is one of my faves), but if you’d rather use homemade, you certainly can!  I like to use my homemade Bourbon BBQ Sauce when I’m using a made from scratch version.
  • Frozen – no time to thaw the meatballs? No problem!  Just use them frozen, but cook on LOW for 4 hours.  The sauce may be a bit thinner.

scooping some bbq meatballs out of the slow cooker

Making BBQ meatballs ahead of time

Since these meatballs cook in the slow cooker, and there’s not any rushing around cooking, I don’t find I need to make this recipe ahead of time.

If you want to do it, you can make it 1-2 days ahead, and reheat in the slow cooker until hot and bubbly.

Storage

Leftover meatballs should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Freezing

Meatballs can also be frozen for up to 3 months.  Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat.

These crockpot bourbon bbq meatballs take just 5 minutes to prep and are the best appetizer for game day, football season or a fun night at home with the family! Sweet, savory and tangy, these meatballs will be the hit of your next party! #meatballs #party #appetizer #gameday #cocktailmeatballs #bourbon #bbq #crockpot #slowcooker

Special equipment for this recipe

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Be sure to scroll down to check out other readers’ comments for tips and reviews.

And don’t forget, if you’ve made this recipe, leave a comment and please consider giving it a star rating letting me know how you enjoyed it 🙂

close up of bbq meatball on cocktail fork

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pile of bbq meatballs in white bowl

Crockpot Bourbon BBQ Meatballs

5 from 5 votes
Author: The Chunky Chef
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
Calories: 582
Servings: 8 servings
(hover over # to adjust)
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These crockpot bourbon bbq meatballs take just 5 minutes to prep and are the best appetizer for game day, football season or a fun night at home with the family!

Ingredients

  • 32 oz bag fully cooked frozen meatballs thawed
  • 2 cups bottled bbq sauce our favorite is Head Country original, but use your favorite
  • 3/4 cup bourbon
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1 Tbsp finely minced fresh garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • fresh minced parsley optional - for garnish

Instructions

  • Add meatballs to slow cooker. Set aside.
  • In a bowl, mix together bbq sauce, bourbon, honey, molasses, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper.  Pour over meatballs and stir to coat.
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours.
  • Stir before serving, then serve hot, sprinkled with minced fresh parsley if desired.

Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!

Chef Tips

The calories shown are for a crockpot of meatballs, serving roughly 8 people as an appetizer, with one serving being approximately 4 oz of meatballs.  Please remember, any nutritional information shared is an estimate, since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information.
 
  1. Type of Meatballs – since this dish has sweeter flavors, I don’t advise using and Italian seasoned meatball variety for this recipe.  Personally, I pick up a bag of my grocery store’s brand meatballs, in the homestyle variety.  Trader Joes has some amazing frozen meatballs as well.
  2. Type of BBQ Sauce – to keep things simple, I like to use an original variety of bbq sauce, and let the other flavors shine through.  Any flavor will work though.
  3. Bourbon - since the bourbon is mixed in with other flavors, there's no need to break the bank and bust open a bottle of super expensive bourbon for this.  But conversely, you want to enjoy the flavor.  My advise is to just use a brand of bourbon that you would sip on it's own.

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Any nutritional information shared is an estimate, and is automatically calculated through a program.  If calorie count is important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer.  Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

 

The Chunky Chef is not a nutritionist and doesn’t provide full nutritional information for recipes as there is a potential for error and we wouldn’t want to potentially and/or unknowingly pass along incorrect information.

 

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Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!

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Recipe Rating




  1. Cathy says

    Posted on 1/21 at 5:08 pm

    These meatballs were delicious! We love the savory/spicy/sweet combo!

    Reply
  2. Catalina says

    Posted on 1/20 at 5:18 pm

    Such delicious meatballs! Perfect for our movie night dinner!

    Reply
  3. Beth says

    Posted on 1/20 at 3:51 pm

    These look fantastic and so delicious! My family is going to be all over these! So excited to make this recipe!

    Reply
  4. Beti | easyweeknightrecipes says

    Posted on 1/20 at 2:50 pm

    Oh my goodness, these Bourbon BBQ Meatballs were absolutely amazing! Everyone loved them!!

    Reply
  5. katerina @ diethood.com says

    Posted on 1/20 at 2:49 pm

    These Bourbon BBQ Meatballs are incredible!! I bet they taste amazing!! YUM!

    Reply
  6. Amanda Livesay says

    Posted on 1/20 at 7:47 am

    Love the flavors in the sauce! Yum!

    Reply
  7. Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says

    Posted on 1/20 at 12:18 am

    These Crockpot Bourbon BBQ Meatballs are look so fun and tasty!

    Reply

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Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!

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