This recipe for Sticky BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs uses barbecue sauce to make a delicious homemade party appetizer! They are easy to make as the crockpot does most of the work for you. Made with beef, breadcrumbs, seasoning and barbecue sauce. The best of comfort foods for fall and winter.
OK, a few things before we start off:
Thank you so much for all your lovely responses on my post on Monday! I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling the pressure at times and your nice words seriously made my day (and continue making my week!). You are awesome! ♡
Also, I have a wiggly baby on my lap as I am writing this – please excuse a gazillion typos. Fantastic, now I feel ready to talk party apps!
Sticky BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs
See those gorgeous crockpot meatballs? They are the result of 4 hours of labor – from my crockpot!
Seriously, if you don’t have a slow cooker yet, you need to hop on over to Amazon and order yourself one ASAP*.
It’s fine I’ll wait.
::
I’ve started using my beloved little slow cooker more and more lately, to make delicious things like slow cooker sausage pasta sauce, healthy slow cooker chili or even slow cooker cranberry walnut bread pudding with caramel sauce.
And now there’s these easy meatballs in crockpot land.
Easy homemade meatballs cooked in a delicious BBQ Sauce in the crockpot – yum. They are a great appetizer for your next holiday party. AND they are perfect for Football Sunday or the Super Bowl as mini sliders.
And really, they couldn’t be any more simple to make. I wish I had made these lovely little guys when my husband’s family visited on Sunday – they’re the perfect dish to make when you need to decide between cleaning the house and making food.
I was pretty much forced to pick the house cleaning, because IN-LAWS, but hubby made all the food we needed – lucky me!
How to Make Crockpot BBQ Meatballs:
Start with making the meatballs, cook the meatballs on the stove or make oven baked meatballs (or use ready-made ones, like I do in these 5 Ingredient Cranberry Glazed Turkey Slow Cooker Meatballs!) and then throw them into your crockpot with some barbecue sauce and a handful of other delicious things and wham!
3-4 hours later you’re ready to start partying!
P.S: If you need help with your homemade meatballs, I have step-by-step photos and a video for you on How to Make Meatballs.
And if you want to take a shortcut (no judgment here, shortcuts were made for busy seasons!) and need help choosing frozen meatballs…
How to choose frozen meatballs:
- Read the ingredients: I don’t know about you, but I want my meatballs to actually contain meat. Read the ingredients on the back of the bag and look for a brand that uses mainly ground meat, breadcrumbs, egg and seasoning. Too many additives and fillers aren’t necessary.
- Buy a large bag: If you have the freezer space, it’s more economical to buy a large bag – even if you don’t need all of the meatballs right now. They will keep for some time in your freezer and might just save you on a busy day.
- Make sure they’re fully cooked: You’ll want fully cooked meatballs for this recipe, or you’ll have to defrost and cook them first. Otherwise they could fall apart in the sauce and you’ll end up with BBQ spaghetti sauce.
- Looking for a healthier option? You can also make this recipe with turkey meatballs, or choose a lower sodium brand.
Tips for Cooking Frozen Meatballs in the Crockpot:
- No need to defrost: If you’re using fully cooked, frozen meatballs (either homemade or store-bought), there’s no need to defrost them. Frozen meatballs are easier to coat with the sauce as they won’t fall apart.
- There’s no need to stir! You should actually never open your crockpot while it’s on (unless the recipe says so), because the heat in there decreases super fast. And stirring the meatballs too much will make them scraggly and will eventually break them up too much – not a nice result!
- Use the appropriate crockpot size: If you want to make a larger batch, use a larger crockpot, too. You don’t want to stuff your crockpot to the brim with meatballs and sauce. They will have a harder time heating through and the sauce won’t get as nice and sticky.
More Crockpot Meatball Recipes:
- Cranberry BBQ Crockpot Meatballs
- Honey Garlic Crockpot Meatballs
- 5 Ingredient Cranberry Glazed Crockpot Turkey Meatballs
Looking for side dish ideas to turn these into dinner?
- Serve them with mashed potatoes or rice as a simple dinner for families. Or see more ideas:
- What Can You Serve With Meatballs?
- What can you Pair with BBQ Meatballs?
Now go, make yourself some slow cooker meatballs.
For your Christmas party next Saturday. For football on Sunday. Or for the kids on Friday as a nice start-of-the-holidays treat.
Whatever, just make them because oh my, are they awesome!
Watch the Sticky BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs video:
Sticky BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
To Make the Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 small shallot chopped
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- Salt & pepper to taste
- OR use ready-made meatballs to make the recipe even easier!
To Make the Sauce
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- To make the meatballs, mix all ingredients in a large bowl and shape into small meatballs. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and add some oil. Cook the meatballs until browned on the outside and entirely cooked through.
- Once the meatballs are cooked, mix all sauce ingredients together. Add to the slow cooker with the meatballs and cook on low for 3-4 hours. The meatballs keep in the slow cooker for another 1-2 hours.
Nutrition (this is an estimate)
* I make a commission for purchases made through these links.
Crystal
Love this recipe. I use frozen meatballs. The sauce is amazing. Others love the dish too. There are some that say the sauce is really rich for them. Anyway to fix that?
Nora
Hi Crystal, really happy to hear this! If you want to try make these a little less rich, you can thin out the glaze to make more of a sauce. I have a recipe here for Cranberry BBQ sauce that uses cranberry-apple juice to thin out the BBQ sauce: Cranberry BBQ Crockpot Meatballs – you can try lots of juice flavors, pineapple, apple juice, grape juice… Let me know if you end up trying!
Loretta
Hi I have frozen 28 count ,1/2 bite size meatballs in my freezer can i use these ,and do i need to add any more of the ingredients
Thanks
Nora
Hi Loretta, that should be fine to use with the exact recipe for the sauce!
Loretta
Thankyou :0)
Hazel
Hi can you tell me what size crock pot you use for these meatballs ?
Nora
One that’s between 4-5 quart would be perfect, Hazel! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions. – Nora x
Monique
I made these for a partyI attended tonight and I swear, they were gone after 5mins! I made them with a mixture of beef and pork and they turned out lovely!
Nora
That is usually my experience with these, too 🙂 We make them for parties all the time and they barely ever last long enough for me to grab one. So glad they turned out well for you, too, Monique! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, too – I appreciate it so very much.
Erin H.
How many pre cooked meat balls should I put in the slow cooker?
Nora
Hi Erin, I would ballpark anywhere between a pound and a pound and a half. Hope that helps!
Yasmine
Hi, is there any way to make these if I don’t have a slow cooker? I have large le cruiset pots as well as a large nonstick pot. Thanks
Nora
Hi Yasmine, Sure! Prepare the meatballs as directed in the recipe. Then gently simmer the sauce separately in a pot without the lid. Once it has thickened (this should happen fairly quickly – 5 to 10 minutes, tops), add the meatballs and simmer for another 4-5 minutes or until they’re nicely glazed. Hope that helps!
Yumvilla
I made this and my family loved it. My boy said that “it’s so yummy to eat”!
Nora
I’m very happy your family enjoyed the meatballs, Jennifer! Thanks for coming back to review the recipe – I appreciate it!
MEAl5
Love this recipe ! want to try it now!
Casey Parker
Hi! These look delicious! My question is probably dumb but I see that one of the ingredients for the meatballs calls for mustard. Are you referring to dry ground mustard or actual mustard (like you would put on a sandwich)? Thanks!
Nora
It is actual mustard! Hope the meatballs turn out well for you 🙂
Courtney
Can I use rice instead of bread crumbs?
Nora
I really don’t know, Courtney! I have never used rice in meatballs before. The bread crumbs are really not incredibly important to make the recipe work (there’s the egg as the binder), but they do help the meatballs to stay in shape in the crock pot. If you want to avoid the gluten, you could do ground gluten free oats? Hope that helps!
Elaine
My mouth is watering just from looking at these. I can’t believe how happy I will be trying these when I make this delicious dish – thanks to your recipe. Thanks so much for publishing it Nora!
Brittany
Hi what kind of BBQ sauce do you use?
Brittany
Never mind just saw the last comment
Nora
Sorry I’m only just seeing your question, Brittany! Glad you found your answer in the comments! Did you like the meatballs?
Kelsey
Hi, jist curious what brand of bbq sauce you used? I don’t ever buy it so I get lost standing in front of all the choices!
Nora
Hi Kelsey, I love Stubb’s Hickory Bourbon and basically use it one anything and everything that requires BBQ sauce, haha! Hope that helps 🙂
Stephanie
Hi Nora – I’m making these as we speak – can’t wait to dig in!! (I’ve sampled already and they are delicious.) Having these for dinner over rice tonight – spiced it up a bit by adding garlic and Frank’s Red Hot.
Nora
I’m excited you made the meatballs, Stephanie! They’re definitely a reader favorite here on Savory Nothings. And I’m a huge fan of your recipe tweaks – garlic and hot sauce sound like two amazing additions! Hope they were delicious – and thank you so much for taking the time to rate the recipe and leave a comment, I very much appreciate it.
Nneka
Hi there! When using the ready made meatballs is adding salt to the sauce needed?
Nora
Hi! No, I don’t think so! If you prefer to omit it, I would do so. You can always check the seasoning once they’re done cooking and adjust if you feel like it. Hope that helps 🙂
Ann
I made this and my family loved it. I made it with ground turkey instead. Next time I will make the meatballs smaller.
Nora
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the meatballs, Ann! Great idea with the turkey. I actually have a cranberry turkey meatball recipe for the crockpot on the site, perfect for the upcoming holiday season 🙂 And I find it super hard to gauge meatball size! Somehow they always end up bigger than I intended, ha! Thank you so much for your feedback, I appreciate it!
June
If using ready frozen meatballs, do you have to thaw first or throw them right in slow cooker
Nora
Hi June, if you use them from frozen, you’ll have to add some extra cooking time. But it shouldn’t be an issue otherwise! Hope that helps.
Cher
These are good and I was sure hungry by the time I got to the actual recipe. You might shorten your blog a little….I almost went to another recipe because the ads and the pop ups were annoying.
Nora
Hi Cher, thanks for your input. I’m glad you enjoyed the meatballs.
Right now, the money I make from the ads is a substantial part of my family’s income. It’s what we use to buy food for our kids and keep a roof over their head. I’m working hard on getting my blog to a point where I can take down the ads though, because I know the ads are not great for user experience – sorry about that. But I hope you can also appreciate the fact that I’m not running a non-profit organisation and need to earn an income to support my family.
Merry Christmas!
RACHEL BOYD
How many people does this recipe feed?
Nora
Hi Rachel, it makes around 30 appetizer-sized meatballs. If you’re planning on serving it as an entree, I’m guessing it feeds around 4 people (unless you have hungry teenage boys at home!). As an appetizer I’d gauge how many other things you’re going to be serving. If there’s plenty of food I’d say this is good for 8-10 people. Hope that helps!
Jen
I can’t wait to try out this recipe for the kids literacy night. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes! Thank you for the recipe!!
Nora
Oh I hope they turn out well for you, Jen!
Chris richmond
Any other spice suggestions if I happen to be out of paprika?
Nora
It really depends on your taste and what kind of barbecue sauce you’re using. For some heat, you can try chili. And if you’re up for experimenting, you could even try some curry powder or turmeric. Just leaving it out will be fine as well, though. Hope that helps!
Donald Campbell
Hi there, I tried this recipe with both turkey and beef. The turkey ones were harder to fry up as they had a higher water content than the beef for whatever reason. So needless to say they were “less than round” meatballs. I found that the beef tasted better and went with the bbq sauce. Ok. let me just stop and say the sauce was awesome and got nice and thick. The only thing I wonder is if anyone has tried to cook the meatballs in the oven. The fry method took a little long for my busy household. If I could throw them in an oven and not have to mind them for turning ever few minutes it would be a great help. Thoughts?
Thanks again.
Don
Nora
Hi Don,
I have never tried baking meatballs, but it sounds like a great idea! I’m pretty sure you can get away with greasing a cookie sheet well and then baking the meatballs at 400-425°F. I would even place the cookie sheet in the oven while it’s pre-heating and you’re shaping the meatballs. Pour some oil on right before adding the meatballs, place them on the hot cookie sheet and bake for around 10-15 minutes. Let us know if you try it 🙂
Elaine Anderson
If we are to substitute fresh meatballs with frozen ones do you know how much we need?
Thanks!
Nora
I’d go with around a pound! Hope that helps 🙂
Debbie
Made these for Christmas Eve and they are fantastic. Followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing. This is a keeper recipe!
Nora
I’m very glad you liked them, Debbie! Thanks for taking the time to report back.
Jill Curry
How do you think this would be with Trader Joes frozen Turkey Meatballs? Looking to cut-down on prep time. Thanks!
Nora
That shouldn’t be a problem at all! If they are pre-cooked, you can just add them to the slow cooker with all the sauce ingredients and cook them as directed. If they aren’t pre-cooked, thaw and brown them before cooking in the slow cooker. Hope that helps!
Connie Johnson
Just made these yesterday but I didn’t have smoked paprika so I used regular. I did use a smokey flavoured barbecue sauce though. They were amazing! I used frozen meatballs from a a frozen food specialty shop. Your food photography is fantastic! I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes. I also shared your site with my best friend and my sister. Keep up the great work!
Nora
Thank you so much for your lovely recipe review, Connie! I really appreciate you taking the time to write it, and I’m glad you loved the meatballs. Thank you so much for sharing Savory Nothings! Have a wonderful New Year!
Stacey
I made these for a Thanksgiving appetizer and everyone loved them! I doubled the recipe and used 1 lb of beef and 1 lb of pork. Perfect appetizer! And meal… Because I’m eating the leftovers right now for lunch 😉
Nora
That makes me so happy to read, Stacey! And I’m glad they work as a leftover lunch as well 😉 Thank you so much for taking the time to review this recipe, I really appreciate it.
Melanie
Can I use ground chicken or turkey instead?
Nora
Sure you can, Melanie! Maybe use a little less breadcrumbs so they don’t dry out too much! If you’re interested, I have an in-depth post about making meatballs here: https://www.savorynothings.com/how-to-make-meatballs/ and another recipe for slow cooker meatballs using frozen turkey meatballs (but you can make your own) here: https://www.savorynothings.com/5-ingredient-cranberry-glazed-turkey-slow-cooker-meatballs/
Hope that helps 🙂 have a wonderful Christmas!
Tiffany
This meatball recipe is awesome! I made these meatballs for a potluck at work and they were a hit. I used 93/7 ground beef and they were still so moist and delicious. I was hoping there would be some left over to take home but I wasn’t so lucky 🙂
I will definitely being making these again!
Nora
That’s fantastic to read, Tiffany! I’m so happy you and your work colleagues liked the meatballs. And I truly appreciate your recipe review, thank you so much!
Marla Lindner
Omg! I just made these and they are amazing. I haven’t even put sauce on them yet. I was going to make the bbq sauce but then I saw there was a recipe for the cranberry glaze. I am having trouble finding it. Can you please help me? My meatballs await the glaze.
Thank you
Nora
Hi Marla, I’m so happy to hear you like the taste of the meatballs! Here is the link to the cranberry version, I hope you’ll like the recipe: https://www.savorynothings.com/5-ingredient-cranberry-glazed-turkey-slow-cooker-meatballs/
toni
Can i just cook these in the slow cooker instead of pan-frying them first? If so, how long? Thank you so much! They look amazing and I’m in the midst of preparing!
Nora
Hi Toni
I have no idea if that would work, as I haven’t tried it myself. If the meatballs are ready-made/pre-cooked I’m sure you can just cook them in the slow cooker though. If they are homemade I would pan-fry them. Else I think they’d fall apart and you’d end up with sticky BBQ bolognese sauce!
Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Bekky
What kind of buns did you get? They look smaller than even your typical slider bun, so I was just curious. Thanks! Also, these look delicious!!!
Nora
Hi Bekky
I just got some mini-buns I found at our local supermarket. I’m not sure if you’d be able to find something similar in the U.S. but for size comparison, they each weigh 1/2 oz. Hope that helps!
Amanda Hilland
When you say cook in slow cooker for 3-4 hours and meatballs for 1-2 what do you mean? Take the sauce out then continue the meatballs?
Nora
Hi Amanda, no, I just meant you can keep everything in the slow cooker for 1-2 additional hours without the meatballs ending up mushy! It’s great if you’re having a party or a picnic – just lug the whole slow cooker with you 😉
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen
Thank you for the shout out Nora! I have to tell you – your meatballs are making my mouth water! YUM! Pinned!
Nora
Couldn’t agree more!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel
Oh my gosh, those little buns are TOO adorable!! These meatballs sound so delish! Perfect for baby sliders!
Nora
YES! I couldn’t resist them, haha! Thanks Jess 🙂
Christina @ Bake with Christina
Mmmm this post is making me so hungry! And that tiny meatball sandwich is the CUTEST! Pinned! 🙂
Sarah | Broma Bakery
Those mini burger buns are to die for. And I can totally relate to spotless house needed for when in-laws come. It’s like, “OK, don’t panic… just clean EVERYTHING.”
Nora
Yes, anything mini I just can’t resist! Oh god, I’m glad I’m not the only one! At least everything gets cleaned from time to time…
[email protected]
Oh my! These look sooo good! Succulent and delicious! A perfect appetizer for the holidays, for sure!!
Nora
Thank you Annie!
Andu fisher
I just found my Superbowl dish!! Thank you and I’m gonna add mozzarella in the center of them 🙂 I soooo can’t wait
Nora
Yum! I hope they turn out well for you!
[email protected]om
I am all over these! I know what I will be serving for my holiday appetizers now!
Nora
Thank you so much Tori!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats
Wow these look amazing and I adore appetizers in the CROCK POT! Seriously takes the work out of it when you are rushing around trying to get ready for the next party!
Nora
So true Julie! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Shinee
Wow, these meatballs look absolutely delicious! I’m literally drooling now. Going to the kitchen to have lunch now!
Nora
Haha, thanks so much Shinee!