As much as I love having a bunch of friends over to enjoy a big pot of chili on football Sunday, sometimes nothing is nicer than just hanging on the couch with Andy. Lately- since he’s on a fantasy football league plus we’re in a weekly pool PLUS he’s just generally obsessed, he’s pretty glued to the games while I come in and out with snacks and such. I made us these meatballs a couple weeks ago and we just kept ’em in the crockpot snacking on them all day. They’re exceptionally easy and a bit better for you than the frozen meatball+bbq sauce+grape jelly kind. (Which I’m sure I’ve eaten before and loved, but who knew about the grape jelly??)
You can use any BBQ sauce you’d like, but I highly recommend a really good quality one. We had a bottle of from Dinosaur BBQ which is an amazing restaurant here in NYC, but I normally like Sweet Baby Rays or anything else with some tang. Since the pan-browned meatballs are simmered in the crock pot with nothing but the BBQ sauce, you really want it to have loads of flavor. (You could of course make your own as well, I just didn’t want to mess with that on this particular day.) We finished a half batch of these one afternoon just the two of us, but these would be absolutely perfect to make for a party or potluck as well.
PS- I am posting savory recipes now! Hopefully once a week- don’t stop reading OK!? :)
- 2 lb. ground beef
- 1½ cups bread crumbs
- 1 cup very finely chopped onions (a food processor works great for this)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. garlic powder or fresh minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 2 eggs
- 4-5 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
- In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients and use your (gloved?) hands to thoroughly mix everything together.
- Roll meatballs about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.
- Brown meatballs in a large skillet over medium high heat. (If you are using very lean beef you may want to drizzle your pan with a little olive oil.) Place browned meatballs in the bottom of your crockpot as you continue to brown them in batches.
- Pour the BBQ sauce over all the browned meatballs, using the full 5 cups if needed to make sure all the meatballs are covered in sauce.
- Cook on high for 1 hour or low for 3 hours until meatballs are hot and fully cooked.
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
September 25, 2013 at 9:41 amWow these look crazy easy and I am sure they would be devoured at a casual family-friendly pot luck. I won’t stop reading if you keep posting savory dishes like this one;)
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
September 25, 2013 at 9:51 amI’m such a bbq fan, though hubs isn’t, so I could hog these all to myself! :)
Becca from Cookie Jar Treats says
September 25, 2013 at 11:32 amOh I love meatballs! This looks absolutely amazing and easy :)
Coco in the Kitchen says
September 25, 2013 at 3:57 pmWe’re having movie-nite this w/end w the neighbourhood kids and you just solved my menu.
These li’l guys and you’re chocolate croissants – I’ll be set!
You look great, btw! xoxo
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
September 25, 2013 at 5:07 pmI shamefully really like those grape jelly meatballs:-) These look so good, though, and I love how easy they are. If we lived closer I’d come steel some of your football snacks!
Joanne says
September 26, 2013 at 7:12 amI would never have guessed about the grape jelly! Crazy!! I’m pretty sure the.boy could polish off an entire batch of these. No problem.
Annie @ Annie's City Kitchen says
September 26, 2013 at 10:52 amI always look for ANY reason to eat BBQ sauce. Sometimes I even use it in place of salad dressing if I really have a craving. This looks amazing and perfect football snacking food.
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
September 27, 2013 at 8:52 amI would have to make a double batch of these just so I could snitch a couple from my husband!
Courtney says
October 22, 2013 at 4:12 pmI grew up eating meatballs (and cocktail weenies) that were cooked in a combination of grape jelly and Heinz 57 steak sauce. Yeah…
Crystie says
December 6, 2013 at 2:24 pmI just made these meatballs as I was looking for a crockpot recipe and came across your site. They are very yummy! My husband just told me that they were so bad that he’d have to eat them all. Looking forward to having them for supper tonight with some browned buttered noodles and corn. I just used Jack Daniels BBQ sauce as that’s what I had on hand. The BBQ flavor is very strong, and so the noodles will offset that well. Thanks!
Cydney says
December 7, 2013 at 11:22 pmI made these today and they are the BEST meatballs ever. There aren’t any leftovers because everyone ate them so fast!! This will definitely be my go-to recipe for meatballs in the future.
Audra says
December 10, 2013 at 9:46 amThank you so much Cydney- I’m so glad you liked them :)
Ashley says
January 12, 2014 at 3:16 pmHi!
This looks great but, I was wondering if you could bake these before putting them into the crock pot? If so, temperature and time? Thank you!
j says
January 13, 2014 at 5:32 pm375 about 30 min or so
Audra says
January 14, 2014 at 7:18 pmI haven’t baked them before but I suggest pan-frying them in a skillet- you don’t want them to be over-cooked.
Nadia says
February 16, 2014 at 2:16 pmI followed the recipe step by step and for some reason the BBQ sauce mixed with the bread crumbs etc is not melting into a meatball sauce. Instead a have a crock pot full of meatballs with a layer of this mixture. What went wrong here??
steph says
June 10, 2014 at 10:49 pmBread crumbs and other ingredients other than the bbq sauce are supposed to be mixed into the ground beef and the meatballs are made from this mixture. Once meatballs are made you cover them with just the bbq sauce
Savannah says
June 22, 2014 at 6:46 pmCould you substitute all or half of the ground beef for ground turkey? great recipe!
Candace says
July 23, 2014 at 5:53 pmI made these for a Book Club that I hosted, and everyone RAVED about how delicious they were! I made them a few days ahead. After browning them in a skillet, I put them on a cookie sheet and into the freezer for a few hours. After they were frozen, i threw em in a gallon freezer bag. Put them with BBQ sauce in the crock pot on high about three hours before my guests arrived, they were perfect by the time everyone started snacking! Amazing recipe!
Melinda says
October 25, 2014 at 12:54 pmThanks for the freezer suggestion! Were having a Halloween Party tomorrow and I want to make these ahead! Im going to call them mini brains!
steve says
November 7, 2014 at 1:15 pmThis is a good, basic recipe. Try using milk instead of eggs. I did, and the result was great! I also added a couple Tsps of Italian seasoning.
steve says
December 2, 2014 at 4:25 pmSo should i put them in the crock pot for four hours? My crock pot has four six and eight hour options
Audra says
December 3, 2014 at 9:59 pmStart with 4 and if they are cooked through just let them chill on low heat :)