These sweet-and-spicy party bites bring the heat with a Southern twist! Frozen meatballs simmer low and slow in a bold blend of grape jelly, barbecue sauce, and Louisiana hot sauce until sticky, saucy, and irresistible. Perfect for game day, potlucks, or anytime you need a flavor-packed crowd-pleaser.
Sweet and Spicy Meatballs
My husband, aka The Cajun, loves meatballs. If there's a crockpot of meatballs at a party, you'll find him close by!
He also loves football, although that's a bit waning here lately with the performance of his favorite New Orleans Saints team, but... I regularly make meatballs and/or wings for him to enjoy over the college and NFL weekend.
Just a quick reminder.... if you aren't interested in the chit chat, info, photos, tips, product recommendations and such on a blog, as always, you'll find the complete recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll down to the bottom of the post!
It couldn't be easier. Here's what you'll need to make these Sweet and Spicy Meatballs:
- 2 (2-pound) bags fully cooked beef and pork meatballs, or equivalent homemade
- 1 (30 ounce) jar grape jelly
- 2 (18 ounce) barbecue sauce, or equivalent homemade
- 1/4 cup Louisiana hot sauce
I have mentioned before about buying meats from sources around the country and Good Chop is one of those sources. I've been getting these beef and pork meatballs in my deliveries, so that I have some on hand almost all the time. That's what I'm using today. They're a great option if you don't have to time to make homemade meatballs from scratch.
Note: I have no financial or affiliate relationship with Good Chop. I'm just a customer like you!
Now. Here's where I differ from a lot of "slow cooker" meatballs.
Y'all already that I'm not much of a plan ahead type person, so I don't do a lot of slow cooker recipes because of that. When I want to make appetizer meatballs, well, those meatballs are more likely than not frozen.
Most folks dump the frozen meatballs in the slow cooker and dump all the ingredients on top and let it go for hours.
I prefer to put those meatballs on the stovetop to get them heated up. It's much faster, and then I can transfer them to a warmed crockpot for serving. This way, they are ready to eat much faster! The frozen meatballs just seem to take forever to thaw and heat through thoroughly in the slow cooker.
Top with jelly, barbecue sauce and hot sauce; toss. I'm using a generic grocery store barbecue sauce here because that's what I happened to have on hand, but use whatever your favorite is!
Cover and cook over medium heat, gently tossing several times, until sauce is bubbly and meatballs are thawed and warmed through.
For serving, transfer to a crockpot on low or warm if desired, stirring occasionally. I usually set it to high for a few minutes so the crock itself warms up quickly and then switch it over to low or warm.
Unable to view the printable above on your device? Tap/click here for a backup printable.
Thank you for supporting my work! Please note that Images and Full Post Content including photographs and recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, do not copy and paste post or recipe text to repost or republish to any social media (such as other Facebook pages, etc.), blogs, websites, forums, or any print medium, without explicit prior permission. Unauthorized use of content from ©Deep South Dish is a violation of both the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and copyright law. All rights reserved.
Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
20251012
