Slow Cooker Apple Butter Meatballs
4 Comments Oct 13, 2021
Updated Apr 05, 2024
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These slow cooker apple butter meatballs are smothered in a delicious sweet and savory sauce made by combining tangy chili sauce, warmly spiced apple butter, and maple syrup. Whether it’s game day or a holiday, this easy-to-make appetizer will surely win your guests over.
Frozen meatballs are the way to go for an easy recipe. We also like to make Swedish Meatballs, Cranberry Meatballs and Sweet and Sour Meatballs regularly.
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
Whether you need a fall or winter appetizer, crockpot apple butter meatballs are the ticket! The classic grape jelly meatball recipe gets a facelift with apple butter.
The reason meatballs work so well with jam or jelly is because of the sweet and savory aspect. The meatballs are pretty large, so when you take a bite, you are only getting a bit of the sweet with the salty, juicy meatball, and it’s a match made in heaven.
Recipe Ingredients
- Meatballs – Use precooked frozen meatballs. Shockingly these are AMAZING, we love the texture and flavor of these.
- Apple Butter – You can use homemade apple butter or store bought. You can even use pumpkin butter if you have it!
- Chili Sauce – This is similar to ketchup and found near the ketchup at the store. It is NOT spicy. Do no use sriracha hot chili sauce or thai sweet chili sauce, these are spicy and not the correct chili sauce.
- Maple Syrup – Plenty of this is needed for the chili sauce and apple butter aren’t terribly sweet.
- Flavorings – Molasses, cloves and cinnamon add a fall flavor to this appetizer. You can use allspice instead of cinnamon if you have it.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step 1 – Add the apple butter, chili sauce, maple syrup, molasses, cloves, and cinnamon to the slow cooker.
Step 2 – Stir until combined.
Step 3 – Add the meatballs to the sauce in the slow cooker. Place the lid on the slow cooker.
Step 4 – 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.
How to serve apple butter meatballs
- As an appetizer – These apple meatballs make a great appetizer. Serve these with toothpicks for a great party!
- With mashed potatoes – For a hearty fall dinner, try these meataballs over mashed potatoes.
- Over steamed rice – Serve these meataballs over steamed white rice, the rice will soak up the yummy sauce.
Variations
We rarely can make something the same way twice, mix up this recipe with one of these variations!
- Pumpkin Butter Meatballs – Use 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin butter in place of the apple butter.
- Cranberry Meatballs – A can of jellied cranberry sauce is wonderful in this reicpe instead of the apple butter.
- Red Current Jelly – Red current jelly has such a tart and wonderful flavor and is great in this recipe. Use 1/2 cups red current jelly instead of the apple butter.
Recipe FAQs
You can find chili sauce at the grocery store near the ketchup, and the brand is usually Heinz. Do not buy sriracha hot chili sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce.
Apple butter is found in the grocery store near the jams and jellies.
When I think of apple butter, I think of an intensely spiced, super-concentrated, lightly-sweetened apple sauce. Apple jelly is dissimilar in that it contains no spices and has about twice the sugar. If you’re looking to make that substitution, I would omit the maple syrup and add 1/8 teaspoon more of the ground cloves and the ground cinnamon.
No need to defrost the meatballs beforehand. These store-bought meatballs are pre-cooked and then frozen and will defrost in the crockpot while they soak up all of the tasty sauce.
These will last about three days in the fridge or three months in the freezer.
Slow Cooker Apple Butter Meatballs
Ingredients
- 12 oz. bottle chili sauce, (I use Heinz Chili Sauce) Do not use sriracha hot chili sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce.
- 1 1/2 cups apple butter, I use Musselman’s Apple Butter
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp. molasses
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, (or allspice if you have it)
- 40 oz. frozen meatballs (these are precooked and frozen), two 20-ounce bags
Instructions
- Add the chili sauce, apple butter, maple syrup, molasses, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Add frozen meatballs to the prepared sauce. Toss to coat.
- Cover and 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. Serve as an appetizer or as an entrée over mashed potatoes or rice with roasted veggies.
Sarah’s Notes
- Pumpkin Butter Meatballs – Use one cup of pumpkin butter in place of the apple butter.
- Cranberry Meatballs – A can of jellied cranberry sauce is wonderful in this reicpe instead of the apple butter.
- Red Current Jelly – Red current jelly has such a tart and wonderful flavor and is great in this recipe. Use one cup instead of the apple butter.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
What would be a good alternative to chili sauce ?
Ketchup or barbecue sauce.
What flavor of meatballs do you use?
I try to find a plain flavored one like homestyle, but I often use Italian if that’s all there is.