These Honey Garlic Crockpot Meatballs are the perfect appetizer idea and come together super easy with less than 10 ingredients.
Ingredients and substitutions
Meatballs
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- Extra-lean ground beef – you could also try making these meatballs with ground turkey for a healthier option.
- Breadcrumbs – try using panko, cracker crumbs or crushed unsweetened cornflakes instead.
- Egg – plain yogurt or buttermilk would also help hold your meatballs together. You can leave this out altogether but your meatballs might fall apart.
- Yellow onion – white onion would be the best substitute here.
- Garlic powder – if you don’t have any garlic powder, try swapping it out for some finely minced garlic.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Sauce
- BBQ sauce – I suggested using a tomato-based BBQ sauce.
- Ketchup – tomato paste with a bit of maple syrup and apple cider vinegar will provide a similar flavour.
- Honey – maple syrup or agave would be the next best thing.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but garlic powder will work in a pinch.
How to make meatballs in the crockpot
- Assemble your ingredients.
- Make the sauce.
- Form then brown the meatballs.
- Transfer the meatballs to the crockpot.
- Cover with sauce.
- Cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.
What type of BBQ sauce to use
When choosing your BBQ sauce, pay special attention to the flavours you want in your meat. There are a variety of BBQ sauces to choose from, and they each have a distinct taste.
- Tomato-based BBQ sauces are made with ketchup. It is sweet, tangy and thick and can be used on nearly any kind of meat. This is the most common store-bought kind of BBQ.
- Vinegar-based sauces are thinner and spicier. They’re used almost exclusively on pork.
- Mustard-based sauces are usually found in South Carolina. They are thin and spicy and are frequently used on pulled pork sandwiches.
- Mayonnaise-based sauces are what you find in Alabama white BBQ sauce. The sauce is thinned using vinegar and lemon juice and is perfect on chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t need to brown the meatballs for food safety (they’ll still cook completely if they add them in raw), but browning them first helps them keep their shape as they cook. I like to put them in a pan on the stovetop to brown, but you could also put them on a tray in the oven for a few minutes to achieve the same effect.
These crockpot meatballs need to cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours.
I wouldn’t recommend cooking these meatballs for more than the suggested cooking time. Anything after that and they’ll start to get dry – and no one wants to eat dry meatballs!
Storing and reheating
These crockpot BBQ meatballs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, use the microwave, stove or crockpot.
You can microwave them with a bit of water over top for 2-3 minutes, which is the easiest way to reheat them. Just be sure that they are coated in the sauce for extra flavour.
Freezing slow cooker meatballs
Slow cooker meatballs freeze very well. You can freeze cooked or uncooked meatballs. They’ll last for 2 to 3 months cooked and 3 to 4 months uncooked.
The best way to freeze them is to leave the meatballs on a tray for about an hour. After they have frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag. They won’t stick together if you do this and you can freeze them with or without the sauce.
To thaw, leave them in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat a large batch in the crockpot for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.
More crockpot recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning these meatballs into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your meatballs are cooked through.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're add the meatballs to freezer bags then freezing them.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Honey Garlic Crockpot Meatballs {Super Easy}
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 yellow onion, grated
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Sauce
- 3/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Mix sauce together in a large bowl and set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, mix meatballs together until combined. Heat a large skillet over high heat then sear meatballs for 2-3 minutes each side until lightly cooked and browned.
- Gently add meatballs to crockpot with tongs, then cover with sauce. Cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for 4 hours.
- Serve with toothpicks or in meal prep bowls with steamed broccoli. Leftovers will last up to 5 days in the fridge, and meatballs can be frozen up to 3 months. Enjoy!
Stephanie says
Hi Taylor,
To save time on our busy weekdays I was going to use frozen turkey meatballs. Would I have to defrost them prior to cooking or just throw them in frozen and add some cooking time to the toyal? Thanks for the help
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Stephanie – I haven’t tried this myself but I imagine you could add them in frozen.
Whitney says
How many meatballs is in one serving?
Taylor Stinson says
It depends on how large you make the meatballs. I don’t typically provide servings by number/weight/cup unfortunately. You will need to take the number of servings listed and divide into portions. Each portion is a serving.