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The Magical Slow Cooker » Recipes » Appetizers » Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs

Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs

by Sarah Olson on June 4, 2019 | Updated January 19, 2022 30 Comments

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collage of bbq meatballs images with text of the ingredients
collage of meatball photos with text overlay that says: Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs

Easy Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs only have 3 ingredients and are wonderful for an appetizer or over mashed potatoes for dinner.

meatballs in barbecue sauce in a slow cooker.

Is it a party if someone doesn’t bring the Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs? I think not!

My sister-in-law makes these amazing barbecue meatballs for our family get togethers and everyone always asks for her secret recipe.

She laughs and says it’s just barbecue sauce and frozen meatballs! Another great recipe of hers on my site is Slow Cooker Molasses Barbecue Little Smokies.

I stick with my sister-in-laws “secret” recipe but I add diced white onion. Because if you love onions, they make everything better.

Bag of meatballs, barbecue sauce and onion in front of a slow cooker.

How to make:

These meatballs are as easy as 1-2-3! Yep, just three ingredients to one of the best appetizers (or dinner!).

You will need these ingredients:

  • Frozen homestyle meatballs
  • Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce
  • Diced white onion
frozen meatballs with barbecue sauce and onions on top in a slow cooker.

Add the frozen meatballs to the slow cooker and add the onion and Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce. Stir.

meatballs in a slow cooker with barbecue sauce poured over and diced onion.

How long do I cook frozen meatballs in the slow cooker?

Cook for 2.5 hours on high or 4 hours on low, stirring occasionally. The meatballs should be hot in the center and very moist after warming up.

cooked meatballs in barbecue sauce.

How long can I keep meatballs in the slow cooker?

If you are serving these meatballs as an appetizer you can keep them warm for about 3 hours by placing the slow cooker to the warm setting.

Keep an eye on the meatballs and stir them occasionally and if the sauce seems to dry out, add a splash of water.

meatballs in a slow cooker with bottle of barbecue sauce and toothpicks on the side.

How to serve:

  • As an appetizer with toothpicks
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Steamed white rice
  • Slider buns
  • Hoagie rolls
meatballs over mashed potatoes in a bowl.

My family enjoyed these meatballs over homemade mashed potatoes. It’s a great recipe for summer because you get that barbecue flavor with very little effort.

barbecue meatballs over mashed potatoes in a slow cooker.

Whether you are planning a party or need a last-minute dinner idea these Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs are your ticket to deliciousness! Your guests will ask what your secret recipe is, you can tell them how easy they are!

Other great meatball recipes:

  • Slow Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs
  • Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs
  • Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs – Recipe from the Cagle Diaries
  • Slow Cooker Teriyaki Meatballs
  • Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs
  • Slow Cooker Easy Meatball Subs
  • Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Want to make more magic in your crockpot? Stay up to date and subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

Slow cooker half full with meatballs, barbecue sauce and onions.

Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs

5 from 29 votes
Easy Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs recipe that only has 3 ingredients. Great as an appetizer with toothpicks or on top of mashed potatoes for a hearty dinner.
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Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 10
Calories: 381kcal
Author: Sarah Olson

Equipment Needed:

  • Slow Cooker – 4 quart or larger

Ingredients:

  • 40 oz. frozen meatballs (I use Safeway's Kitchen brand homestyle meatballs)
  • 16 oz. Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce
  • 1 small sweet yellow onion diced
US Customary – Metric

Instructions:

  • Add the frozen meatballs to the slow cooker.
  • Add the diced white onion and barbecue sauce. Stir.
  • Cover and cook on high for 2.5 hours or on low for 4 hours. Stir occasionally so the meatballs won't burn on the edges.
  • Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks or as dinner on top of mashed potatoes or rice. Or you can serve on slider or hoagie rolls.

To keep warm at a party:

  • After the cooking time is up, set the slow cooker to the warm setting.
  • The meatballs can be kept warm for up to 3 hours. Check on the meatballs occasionally and stir. Add a splash of water if sauce seems to be dry.
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How to Video:

Recipe Notes:

Use your favorite barbecue sauce in this reicpe and also you can use flavored barbecue sauces such as chipotle or spicy.
Nutritional values are approximate. Please your own calcuations if you require a special diet. Values below are for 1/10 of the recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 447mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 1.9mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.

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    13327 shares
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    Filed Under: Appetizers

    Comments

    1. Linda says

      July 15, 2021 at 12:16 pm

      Hi -I need to bring these to a party 2 hours away.Can I make them in crockpot day before transport cold in a cooler then reheat in crockpot ?
      I recently had these at a birthday party and they Delish !!

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        July 15, 2021 at 4:29 pm

        I would thaw the meatballs on your trip and cook them there. Reheating will take almost as long as the recipe.

        Reply
      • Tiffany says

        July 23, 2021 at 9:58 pm

        Add sweet baby rays bbq and a jar of grape jelly . It is so so so good

        Reply
      • Heather Boyce says

        December 30, 2021 at 7:18 pm

        Take them in the crockpot with the lid on. Wrap it in 2 layers of foil, then, two towels. They don’t have to be steaming hot when you arrive at the party.

        Reply
    2. Cornell says

      June 30, 2021 at 2:47 pm

      5 stars
      So I tried this recipe mainly because I had a bag of frozen meatballs in the deep freeze. AnyWHO! Used half of that bag, some frozen chop onion from the farmers market and a mixture of my two fav bbq sauces. WOOOOWWW! Thought at first first it was not going to work when I did a stir as suggested after a while but in the end of the suggested cooking time it all came together. Came off as a comfort food to me.

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        June 30, 2021 at 3:37 pm

        So great to hear! It’s amazing what only a few ingredients can do in the slow cooker.

        Reply
    3. Lacie Turner says

      April 8, 2021 at 9:15 am

      Can these be made with meatballs that are not frozen?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        April 8, 2021 at 9:16 am

        Yes. They will work great. You will have to test out the timing and make sure they cook in the middle.

        Reply
    4. Frank Twigg says

      October 25, 2020 at 9:44 am

      5 stars
      I have tried your recipe very good. I am on salt free so I had to look for salt free sauce. On potatoes great on rice aha .! so I tried with Mac and cheese (home made) great

      Reply
    5. Mary Wieclaw says

      September 18, 2020 at 10:22 pm

      Great food ideas thank you

      Reply
    6. Paul says

      July 18, 2020 at 11:30 am

      I’ve actually done this a few times…My sister told me to try it and I was hooked! They are great on hogie buns with fries also…

      Reply
    7. Patricia Tarver says

      June 24, 2020 at 7:15 pm

      5 stars
      I love this receipe! I have to add extra meatballs cause can down a dozen while putting it in a dish to seve for myguest. .. adicted!@

      Reply
    8. Dianne says

      April 25, 2020 at 12:00 am

      5 stars
      This is a keeper. I made it with my own meatballs. Was so pleased to find the Sauce in Woolies here in Australia. Thank you!

      Reply
    9. Julia Gray says

      April 20, 2020 at 7:59 am

      Sarah, I found this recipe in Milwaukee WI, Instead of using BBQ sauce on the meatballs, use a lg. bottle of Chili Sauce and 1/2 to 3/4 of Grape Jelly ( Lg. jar) on the meatballs. Delicious.

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        April 20, 2020 at 10:48 am

        Yes! I’ve made that too! Sooo good.

        Reply
      • C.C.P says

        October 24, 2021 at 1:20 pm

        I have made this with the BJ’s brand of Thai chili sauce marinade/sauce and OMG over jasmine rice. NIIIIICE!

        Reply
    10. eila lang says

      February 16, 2020 at 1:04 am

      I saw your recipe the other day, read the ingredients and have them ready to make the recipe.

      I just noticed from your picture…that is a yellow onion, not a white onion.

      Which is it supposed to be. They’re different flavors.

      Thanx.

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        February 16, 2020 at 8:42 am

        You can use either. But I fixed it. I used a sweet yellow onion

        Reply
        • Robyn says

          March 19, 2021 at 1:03 pm

          5 stars
          Have not made these but what I like about this recipe is the freedom it offers to complete other tasks. While these are stewing in the background, I can be making the balance of our meal, and loading the dishwasher. Diet multitasking!

      • Anonymous says

        April 14, 2020 at 8:13 am

        I have found that after well cooked, most onions have the same flavor.

        Reply
    11. Patricia says

      January 25, 2020 at 9:44 am

      Is rays sauces smoked. We don’t like the smoked taste bu like the sweet taste

      Reply
      • Amber says

        April 22, 2020 at 7:06 am

        They have several flavors of Sweet Baby Rays, but the original is just kind of sweet. They have a hickory smoke, brown sugar something and sweet & spicy. Just pick your fav flavor.

        Reply
    12. brian says

      December 14, 2019 at 1:12 pm

      break out the grape jelly to add to the BBQ sauce, i know sounds strange but it is a great additive.

      Reply
      • Megan G. says

        June 5, 2020 at 12:16 pm

        I added two large spoonfuls of strawberry preserves. So amazing and so easy!

        Reply
      • Tonya says

        September 13, 2020 at 2:47 pm

        If you use grape jelly with BBQ sauce, how much?

        Reply
      • Anonymous says

        December 13, 2020 at 8:03 am

        Use the grape jelly and chili sauce. It is so good.

        Reply
    13. Steffany B. says

      November 18, 2019 at 8:27 am

      I’d like to make these as a half batch, as it is only for two people. Any thoughts on how that would affect the cooking time?

      Reply
      • Glory says

        March 4, 2020 at 10:35 am

        For a smaller batch enough for 2 people, you could half the batch. Will be just enough for you to eat for a meal and freeze some for another rainy day. You could also, microwave the meatballs arranged in a plate lined with paper towels, and put the onions, bbq sauce and meatballs in a saucepan, and slow cook for 30 mins. I basically prefer it on the stove if its a smaller batch instead of using power for 4 hours.

        Reply
    14. Pat says

      June 7, 2019 at 10:01 am

      Can these be made with fresh ground chicken? Would you say 4 hours on low would be ok or longer?

      Looks great, But, we can’t have ground beef. I have never seen frozen chicken meatballs.

      I would definitely make these as we love Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauces.

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        June 7, 2019 at 10:29 am

        I would do 5 hours on low for homemade meatballs.

        Reply

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