Ground Beef Meatball Bbq Slow Cooker Slaw

Crockpot BBQ Meatballs are fabricated with simply a few simple ingredients, just they're so good! The barbecue sauce turns into a thick, sticky glaze – perfect for a party appetizer.

close up of white slow cooker with bbq meatballs

This recipe for Viscous BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs is one of my favorites for whenever I need a quick and easy appetizer. I employ barbecue sauce to make a delicious glaze on my bootleg meatballs, but feel costless to use storebought meatballs if you prefer.

I fully appreciate how easy these are easy to brand thank you to the wearisome cooker doing virtually of the work. I serve them on their own or as mini subs (or over mashed potatoes for dinner!) – they are going to exist a big hit either way!

Ingredients you lot'll demand

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll downwardly to the printable recipe card at the lesser of this post for quantities!

ingredients for crockpot BBQ meatballs with text labels — Ingredients for Crockpot BBQ Meatballs: Ground beef, onion, breadcrumbs, mustard, egg, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt & pepper, BBQ sauce, basis paprika and Worcestershire sauce.

Ingredient notes

Ground beefiness: I prefer lean ground beefiness hither. If you use a fattier ground beef, delight note that a lot of the grease may bleed out into your coat as the meatballs cook. For a bacteria version, feel costless to apply ground turkey!
Barbecue sauce: I prefer a smooth barbecue sauce here (over one with large pieces of things similar onion etc.). Choice one you like the season of – it's a pretty big function of the dish 😉
Worcestershire sauce: feel costless to leave this ane out if you don't take it on hand. You can likewise employ ane tablespoon soy sauce as a replacement.
Meatballs: Feel gratis to use frozen meatballs (I recommend using 1 pound for saucier meatballs, i.five pounds for more of a glaze) instead of making your ain. See my tips below for buying frozen meatballs for this recipe!

How to choose frozen meatballs:

Read the ingredients: I don't know nigh y'all, but I want my meatballs to really comprise meat. Read the ingredients on the dorsum of the bag and look for a make that uses mainly ground meat, breadcrumbs, egg and seasoning. Too many additives and fillers aren't necessary.
Buy a large pocketbook:If yous have the freezer infinite, it'due south more economical to purchase a large pocketbook – even if y'all don't demand all of the meatballs right now. They volition go along for some time in your freezer and might but save you on a busy twenty-four hour period.
Make sure they're fully cooked: You'll want fully cooked meatballs for this recipe, or yous'll take to defrost and melt them first. Otherwise they could autumn apart in the sauce and you'll end upwardly with BBQ spaghetti sauce.
Looking for a healthier option? You tin also make this recipe with turkey meatballs, or cull a lower sodium brand.

How to brand BBQ Meatballs in the deadening cooker

Starting time, you lot take to make the meatballs (if y'all're using homemade; you'll skip this if you're using frozen ones).

Add all ingredients for the meatballs to a basin and combine very well (1). I use a manus mixer with the hook attachments for this, like shooting fish in a barrel and mess-free.

photo collage to show how to make meatballs from scratch

Next, shape the meatball mixture into ane teaspoon sized balls and cook them until browned (2).

Once the meatballs are ready, combine the BBQ sauce with spices and Worcestershire in a pocket-sized crockpot (3).

photo collage to show how to assemble BBQ meatballs in the slow cooker

Carefully stir in the meatballs – don't blast them as y'all add them to the sauce! Then, slow cook the meatballs on low for three-4 hours.

Recipe tips

Defrosting:If you lot're using fully cooked, frozen meatballs (either homemade or store-bought), it'south easier to use them frozen. THAT Beingness SAID, do and so at your own take a chance considering using frozen foods in crockpots isn't mostly recommended. Since the frozen meatballs are fully cooked, I myself exercise it. I cheque the internal temperature of the meatballs before serving with a thermometer to make sure information technology has reached 160°F (see more near safe meat temperatures here).
At that place's no need to stir! You should actually never open your crockpot while it'southward on (unless the recipe says so), because the oestrus in in that location decreases super fast. And stirring the meatballs too much will make them scraggly and will somewhen interruption them up likewise much – non a nice result!
Apply the appropriate crockpot size:If you want to make a larger batch, apply 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 equally nice and sticky.

Serving ideas

While these meatballs are a wonderful party titbit by themselves, they are likewise great for dinner!

You can serve them with rice or mashed potatoes and add peas, a coleslaw, sautéed light-green beans or sautéed zucchini on the side.

plate with mashed potatoes, peas and bbq meatballs

Or try any of the ideas I have listed in my post about BBQ meatball side dishes.

More than easy holiday appetizers

Crockpot BBQ Petty Smokies
Broiled Dear Wings
Baked Spinach Artichoke Dip (in a Breadstuff Bowl!)
Bacon Wrapped Dates with Pecans and Caprine animal Cheese

PS If you endeavour this recipe, please leave a review in the comment department and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Mucilaginous BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs

Crockpot BBQ Meatballs are made with just a few simple ingredients, but they're and then skillful! The charcoal-broil sauce turns into a thick, sticky glaze – perfect for a party titbit.

made it? tap the stars to add your rating!

Recipe details

Prep 15 mins

Cook iv hrs

Total 4 hrs xv mins

Servings 10 servings

Difficulty Easy

To brand the meatballs

▢ i pound lean footing beef
▢ one large egg
▢ 1 teaspoon mustard
▢ ⅓ cup finely chopped onion OR shallot
▢ ⅓ cup breadstuff crumbs
▢ ¼ teaspoon dried parsley optional for more flavour
▢ ¼ teaspoon dried garlic pulverisation optional for more flavor
▢ salt & pepper to sense of taste

To make the sauce

▢ ane cup barbecue sauce
▢ 1 teaspoon footing paprika smoked or regular both work
▢ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
▢ ½ teaspoon table salt or less to gustation

Make meatballs: To make the meatballs, mix all ingredients in a big bowl (I use a hand mixer with the dough hook attachements for like shooting fish in a barrel and mess-free work) and shape into small meatballs. I use 1 teaspoon meat mix per meatball for a good titbit size; make sure to firmly shape the meatballs or they disintegrate in the sauce.
Cook meatballs: Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and add together some oil. Cook the meatballs until browned on the exterior and entirely cooked through. OR bake the meatballs at 425°F for 10-12 minutes.
Wearisome cook with sauce: Once the meatballs are cooked, mix all sauce ingredients together in a 3-4 quart ho-hum cooker. Add the meatballs and cook on depression for 3-4 hours. The meatballs keep in the slow cooker for some other 1-2 hours.

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