Sweet Baby Ray's Slow Cooker bbq meatballs (no jelly) is made with a jar of bbq sauce, pineapple, onions and can be a bit spicy. A great cheap appetizer using Crockpot frozen meatballsyou can serve on Hawaiian rolls as sliders or with toothpicks for a bite size finger food with guests for a party food.

Ok so you don't have to be throwing a party for Christmas to serve slow cooker bbq meatballs, they make a fun dinner too. That is right, you can serve these over a bed of rice or as sliders for fun finger foods your kids will love. one easy Crockpot meals on our site.

You could make these with just 2 ingredients if you wanted to. We mean a few more makes them better and better but the base remains the same. Choose your favorite barbecue sauce and a bag of your favorite brand of meat already formed and there you go.

How Long to Cook Meatballs in a Slow Cooker with bbq Sauce

No matter what sauce you use it will take about 4 hours whether you are using a bag of frozen meatballs or browning from homemade and setting those inside. With that said we usually leave in for 6 hours to allow them to absorb more of the sauce and flavors.

A bowl of frozen meatballs, solid for Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs, is surrounded by a bottle of barbecue sauce, a red bell pepper, an onion, a can of pineapple chunks, and minced garlic on a white surface.

Ingredient notes

We like to add a small can of pineapple for sweetness with the tidbits and juice and all in there.

Add a jar of your favorite barbecue sauceyou could even use homemade teriyaki sauce instead as a second choice. Peppers and onions are a great addition. Air fryer garlic or minced garlic in a jar works

Is it better to cook frozen meatballs or homemade in slow cooker?

We feel for many reasons that this is the best way of how to cook frozen meatballs but top of the list is because you need little to no prep. They are so popular for Super Bowl and when people come over to visit that we buy these babies in bulk at Costco so we always have a bag in the freezer.

Can you cook raw meatballs directly in the sauce?

If you wanted to make this with our homemade basic meatball recipe you could. It is better if you brown them in a skillet first to get a sear on the outside. This will prevent them from falling apart as much, but you can stick in there raw, covered in sauce. They will “boil” and cook in the sauce soaking it up along the way.

Should we brown our meatballs before putting in slow cooker?

Nope, no need for that if you use frozen. With homemade we would recommend it but it isn't necessary. If you did thaw and brown ahead of time you would want to decrease the cook time or else they will get too done and start to dry out. Instead it is better if you throw in frozen meatballs right from the get go.

A slow cooker brimming with a tangy red sauce spiced with diced pineapples and red peppers. Beside it, on the pristine white surface, rests a bowl of uncooked BBQ meatballs, ready to transform into savory delights.

Swaps

To speed up this process you could heat Instant Pot frozen meatballs to tender and then you would need 1 hour to soak up the sauce. If serving as a starter have some toothpicks on the side to grab one at a time.

Beyond that you can chop up any color peppers and onions you like. They will all cook down and get nice and tender with everything else kinda' like our crockpot meatballs and gravy dish.

You can use your favorite brand of bbq sauces of course. It's easy to doctor whatever you use from there too. If you want it a bit spicy but still sweet then a bit of sriracha and/or red pepper flakes will hype it up fine.

What other sauce can you use?

If you want to add sweetness like our grape jelly and chili sauce meatballsinclude 1/2 a jar of grape jelly as another variation. Sweet Baby Rays is not only good, has a few varieties, but is also usually the cheapest brand out there. We mean win all the way around y'all. Pineapple chunks or tidbits work the same, one is a bit larger than the other.

Should you Cook Meatballs in Slow Cooker on High or Low?

As always we do not recommend to cook on high ever, low is always better. If you wanted it done faster we would make it in a pressure cooker. You only need 4 hours on low as is so that is rather quick and the solid appetizer if you ask us.

What Goes Good with BBQ Meatballs?

You can make kabobs tossed with our Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce and vegetables. Served over rice or on slider buns turns this into more of a meal. If you chopped them up a bit you could fill baked potatoes with them too, we mean think outside of the box with this one.

There is nutrition information listed below but it isn't super accurate because you'd need to refer to the brand and bag you chose. What is listed in the below recipe card is generally around what you would find with these 2 basic ingredients though. Jump to recipe and give it a go yourself.

Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs Recipe

By Sweet Baby Ray's Slow Cooker bbq meatballs appetizer with pineapple is great. A cheap treat using frozen meatballs or homemade. Prep: 10 minutes minsCook: 5 hours hrsServings: 12 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

32 oz frozen meatballs
18 oz barbecue sauce
20 oz pineapple, tidbits or chunks
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes, optional, only add if you want some heat

Instructions

Dump all ingredients into slow cooker, stir together so meat is coated with sauce. Close lid.
Slow cooker on low for at least 4 hours until meat is tender, but could go as long as 6 if needed. Serve as an appetizer or meal over rice.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer, SnackCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Kitchen questions

Can you cook frozen meatballs in a sauce?

Yes!! No need to defrost them first either which is great. Instead of leaving them plain, submerge in teriyaki or bbq sauce of your choice and boil on low heat or in a slow cooker until tender to your liking.

Dump all ingredients into slow cooker, stir together so meat is coated with sauce. Close lid. Slow cooker on low for at least 4 hours until meat is tender, but could go as long as 6 if needed. Serve as an appetizer or meal over Ninja Foodi rice.

Like we said you can follow these same instructions with a variety of other sauces. You could make a batch of these, one with Panda express sweet and sour sauce and another pot with a mixture of chili sauce and a jar of grape jelly.

Can you freeze leftovers

Since they are already sauced it is kinda' messy to do this but it is possible. Easiest is to store in a sealed container in the fridge and reheat within 48 hours. If you won't eat them at that point you can set on a baking sheet with a bit of space between them. Slide this tray into your freezer for a few hours.

Once they are firm and hard, pour them into a freezer bag, seal shut and suck all of the remaining air out. Store in your freezer for up to 2 months. When you're ready to enjoy them again take out the # you want and put into a bowl to thaw in the fridge. Then add a bit more sauce and microwave for 2 minutes to reheat.

Thrown in the middle of a hoagie roll is a great way to serve leftovers with a bit more sauce and a slice of mozzarella cheese melted on the top of that. Oh yum y'all.