These crowd-pleasing tender crockpot meatballs are smothered in a super flavorful honey garlic bbq sauce. Perfect for parties, this recipe couldn’t be more simple to make!
Party food recipes like these Honey Garlic Crockpot 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!
CROCKPOT MEATBALLS RECIPE
What’s your holiday season going to look like this year? Normally we’re booked every weekend with a holiday party, hosting one ourselves, or getting the house ready to host Christmas. But this year, it’s undoubtedly going to look a bit different.
But even if we don’t get to attend or host all those fun holiday parties, we’re still going to want some of that amazing party food!
I like to have a fun appetizer-dinner every once in a while. You get to eat all your faves, and the kids think it’s a blast because they get to eat finger food!
These honey garlic meatballs are a staple at our parties and appetizer-dinners. The sauce is out of this world good. And the best part, it’s base is bottled bbq sauce, so it’s a quick, 5 minute prep, with very minimal ingredients.
Perfect for parties, these little meatballs are pop-able, and oh so delectable. Your guests will keep coming back for more and asking you for the recipe, I promise!
HOW TO MAKE CROCKPOT MEATBALLS
- Stir together sauce. I like to mix the bbq sauce, honey, garlic and cayenne right in the slow cooker, so I have one less dish to wash.
- Add meatballs. Stir the meatballs into the sauce.
- Cook. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours.
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 honey and garlic flavors shine through. Any flavor will work though.
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 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 3-4 hours. The sauce may be a bit thinner.
MAKING CROCKPOT 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.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
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- Slow Cooker – the white model pictured isn’t available any more, but this model is one of my favorites!
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Ingredients
- 28 oz bottle BBQ sauce (use your favorite brand)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 32 oz bag pre-cooked frozen meatballs thawed
Instructions
- Lightly spray a slow cooker insert with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add bbq sauce, honey, garlic, and cayenne pepper to slow cooker insert and stir to combine well.
- Add thawed meatballs and stir to coat well. Cover and cook on LOW for. 3-4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours.
- Stir before serving; serve hot.
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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.
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 she wouldn’t want to potentially and unknowingly pass along incorrect information.
Steph says
Do you have any recommendations cooking in an instant pot?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe in an Instant Pot, so I can’t say for certain what changes would need to be made or how long to pressure cook. If you experiment with this recipe in your Instant Pot, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Pam says
What size are the meatball? How many will the 32 oz frozen bag make? Thanks😁👍
The Chunky Chef says
The amount of meatballs in a 32 oz bag will depend on how big the meatballs are. You can use any size for this recipe, so go with what you like 🙂
Karen says
wanting to make for tomorrow’s potluck at work. Planning on making tonite, putting on container then bring all to work to put in crockpot to heat, how much time do you think I need tomorrow?
The Chunky Chef says
It would depend on how cold the meatballs are (due to how long your commute is), but I think LOW for 4-5 hours should be more than enough 🙂
Mama Mac says
How do I “PIN” these?
The Chunky Chef says
On the lefthand side of the screen (if you’re on desktop), there’s a “P” which will open up the pins for you to pin. There’s also a “pin this recipe for later” in the post with a bright coral box outline, or there’s a “Pin” button right at the top of the page 🙂
Marie says
Can I make these on the stove top?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it specifically, but yes, I think that would work well.
Dominique says
If made on stovetop how long would you say they would cook for?
The Chunky Chef says
I couldn’t say, as I didn’t test this recipe on the stovetop.
Becky says
Do the meatballs have to be thawed first? Being at work all day, I was hoping they could cook for 8 hours.
The Chunky Chef says
You can use frozen meatballs, but they definitely won’t need to cook for 8 hours. The sauce would likely burn at that point. Frozen meatballs should be cooked on LOW for 3-4 hours.
Elena says
I am a little confused. The recipe states to cook thawed on low 3-4 hours, and above it states to frozen for 3-4 hours.
Please let me know, sounds great!!
The Chunky Chef says
My apologies, that wasn’t very clear was it? I meant to say they’ll cook at the same time and temperature, but if you’re cooking from frozen, I don’t recommend the cooking on high option that the recipe states as a choice. The only drawback to use frozen meatballs is that the sauce may be a bit watered down 🙂
Barb says
What size crockpot are you using for this recipe?
The Chunky Chef says
Just a standard 6 quart slow cooker 🙂
Sandra says
Can I make the sauce a couple of days in advance of a party?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes 🙂
Brendyl says
These were a HUGE hit at our BBQ last night! Sooooo easy to make too. Thank you for another amazing recipe, Amanda!
Tanya says
Going to make these for a party but if I crockpot the day before, refrigerate in an airtight container overnight, what setting and how long to reheat in the crockpot?
Amanda says
I like to set mine out on the counter for a bit before adding the cold meatballs to the crockpot, then have them cook on low for several hours. The meatballs are fully cooked, you just want them hot in the center.
Aaliyah Jefferson says
What brand of frozen meatballs do you recommend for the best flavor and texture?
The Chunky Chef says
I use Meijer brand homestyle meatballs (midwest grocery store), but I’ve also used Cooked Perfect meatballs with good results 🙂
Sharon Brown says
Hi Amanda – I agree that meals should be easy to make, this is the reason I don’t cook. I feel that cooking can be stressful. However, I just put your honey garlic meatballs in the crockpot. I am having a celebration for my birthday in a couple of weeks and want to test them on myself before I serve them to friends. Wish me luck!
Gayla Daniels says
Wonderful. Very tasty
Vicky Griffin says
I’m gonna Use Your Recipe 🙂 it Sounds GREAT!!!
Sandra McCollum says
My husband really loved it! It was so good!
katerina @ diethood.com says
We loved these honey garlic meatballs!! They were incredibly delicious!!
Beti | easyweeknightrecipes says
These meatballs are incredible!! I bet they taste amazing!! YUM!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
These Honey Garlic Crockpot Meatballs are would disappear in our house!
Dorothy Reinhold says
Who could resist a tasty meatball? I love that the slow cooker does the work!
Haley Williams says
Wow this recipe couldn’t be easier! And it’s delicious!
Beth says
These look incredible and so delicious! I’m so excited to give these a try! My husband is going to love these!