Grape Jelly Meatballs
108 CommentsUpdated Jan 19, 2026
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These easy grape jelly meatballs come together with just three ingredients—frozen meatballs, chili sauce, and grape jelly. They’re tender, sweet, and coated in plenty of sauce.
Featured Comment
“Awesome flavor! I made these for my office luncheon and everyone loves them and asking for the recipe!! Yummo.”
– Sally
My go-to meatball recipe has always been with barbecue sauce until I tried grape jelly meatballs! What amazing flavor these meatballs have. I can never stop at just one meatball — I always go back for more.
The long cooking time in the slow cooker ensures that the meatballs absorb the sauce, which is why I love cooking these in the crockpot.
Key Ingredients
Your guests will be asking for the recipe. Find the full recipe in the recipe card below the images.
- Grape Jelly – Grape jelly (I use Welch’s) is the magic ingredient in this recipe. It is not overpowering, it’s a subtle flavor that adds sweetness to the recipe.
- Chili Sauce – Look for Heinz or the store brand
- Meatballs – These are found in the frozen section of your store.
How to make Grape Jelly Meatballs in the Crockpot
- Combine the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker and add the meatballs.
- Let everything cook until the meatballs are hot and the sauce is thick and glossy. The longer these cook, the more the flavors meld.
Tips & Variations
Here are some variations to change up these meatballs
- Jam Swap: You can swap the grape jelly for other flavors—try strawberry jam, apple jelly, or raspberry preserves for a fun twist!
- Sauce Change: Barbecue sauce OR Ketchup can be used. One reader uses salsa instead and loves it!
- Meatball Amounts: This recipe is very flexible! You can use a slightly smaller bag or two bags that equal a little more than 32 ounces.
What Chili Sauce to Use
- There are different types of chili sauce; the variety in this recipe is near the ketchup at your grocery store (I use Heinz chili sauce).
- Heinz chili sauce is made from tomatoes, garlic, sweet peppers, and aromatic spices.
- DO NOT use sriracha hot chili sauce or sweet Thai chili sauce unless you want it to be VERY spicy.
How Many Meatballs per Person?
Plan for 3-4 meatballs per person at a party if you are serving other appetizers as well. If you are serving meatballs as a dinner, plan for 6 per person. It never hurts to prepare a few extras for leftovers.
How to Serve Grape Jelly Meatballs
- Set them out with toothpicks and plates as a crowd-pleasing party appetizer.
- Spoon them over steamed rice or mashed potatoes for a quick and tasty dinner – this is a great leftovers idea as well!
- If you can get enough of these flavors, try my Grape Jelly Little Smokies, or Meatballs and Little Smokies Recipes.
Grape Jelly Meatballs Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 32 oz. bag frozen meatballs, I use homestyle
- 20 oz. grape jelly, I use Welch's
- 12 oz. Heinz chili sauce
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions:
- Put the frozen meatballs in the slow cooker. Add the grape jelly and chili sauce.
- Stir until the meatballs are coated in the grape and chili sauce mixture.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker.
- Cook on HIGH for 2.5-3 hours or LOW for 4-5 hours. Stirring occasionally so the meatballs won't burn on the edges.
Stove-Top Instructions:
- Add everything to a large pot. Turn to medium low heat, heat for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are warmed and the sauce starts to thicken.
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Frozen Meatball Recipes
Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs are just as easy as the classic grape jelly version and perfect for parties.
Try Salisbury Steak Meatballs or Swedish Meatballs—especially great with egg noodles—for a comforting dinner twist.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs bring that takeout-style flavor with familiar veggies, and Baby Shower Meatballs are always a hit at celebrations.
This has been a family favorite for longer than I can remember. I dad used to make the meatballs, but getting a bag of frozen is so much easier now.
Have made numerous times. Great for pot lucks.
I used to make this back in the 90’s with katsup and diced onions. Everyone loved it at parties. So good.
Worth noting: If you don’t want the full blast of spice that the Sriracha/Thai Chili sauces bring, but you think you might want to try a ‘little’ bit of spice, you can always proportionally split it with the regular chili sauce (for example: 6 oz of regular, 6 oz of the Sriracha type; you can adjust up/down as you see fit between the 2, so long as you end up with 12 oz of chili sauce)
Can you cook frozen browned meatballs in a crock pot. Should they be fully cooked
Yes, you can cook frozen cooked meatballs in the slow cooker. No need to precook.
“DO NOT use sriracha hot chili sauce or sweet Thai chili sauce unless you want it to be VERY spicy.” – My one associate team lead at work would probably try this actually. She LOVES spicy LOL!
We don’t have frozen cooked meatballs here can I use uncooked ……or should I brown them off first? Timings please….I now have some grape jelly! Excited to try
I would brown them first and do about the same amount of time. Be gentle when you stir them.
My family has been making these with homemade meatballs for at least 3 generations.We make them for party appetizers. You can use another kind of jelly if you don’t have grape.I’ve even used orange marmalade with a few drops of soy sauce.They are always a crowd pleaser and just as good with little smokies.
If I’m doubling the recipe or making a little bit more, does that increase the cooking time?
I would do 5 hours on low or 4 hours on high if I was doubling this.
What is the serving size ?
It depends on how many meatballs are in your bag. I would account for about 4 meatballs per person.