Easy Crockpot BBQ Meatballs Recipe – This “set it and forget it” slow cooker recipe uses only 4 simple ingredients, like your favorite frozen meatballs and barbecue sauce. Tender, moist, and super flavorful BBQ meatballs in the crock pot are a perfect party snack or fun main dish!

Bowl full of meatballs covered in barbecue sauce, topped with fresh chopped scallions.

Why We Love This Crockpot BBQ Meatballs Recipe

Meatballs are a classic favorite party snack around the holidays, but really, anytime of year! We have quite a few delectable meatball recipes on the site, like our tangy apple butter meatballs and zippy buffalo chicken meatballs… Even another slow cooker holiday meatball recipe that savory sweet. However, this 4 ingredient Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs recipe is a must-make!

It includes just 4 ingredients: Frozen meatballs (or you can make your own meatballs if you like!), your favorite barbecue sauce, light brown sugar, and butter. The extra sugar and butter give the meatballs that little extra something… Sweet and spicy, with deep richness and gloss. It turns the barbecue sauce into glaze with the consistency of really good buffalo sauce.

Simply dump all the ingredients into a slow cooker, then set for as little as 2 hours on high or low (minimum 3 hours), depending on the amount of time you have. You can serve these beautifully glazed meatballs as-is, or top them with chopped green onions, parsley, or crushed red pepper for extra kick!

White slow cooker filled with meatballs in bbq sauce.

4 Ingredients You Need

  • Meatballs – frozen, or try homemade classic cocktail meatballs with ground beef and pork sausage
  • BBQ sauce – your favorite brand and flavor, we like a spicy sweet heat bar-b-q sauce
  • Brown sugar – light, so it enhances the sweetness of the sauce without overwhelming
  • Butter – unsalted
Top down ingredients you need: Bag of frozen meatballs, bottle of barbecue sauce, pack of brown sugar.

How to Make BBQ Meatballs in a Crock Pot

  1. Dump the meatballs into a large 6-8 quart slow cooker. Then add the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and butter. Give the meatballs a little stir around to get them coated in a bit in the sauce.
  2. Then cover the slow cooker and turn on LOW for 3 to 5 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.

Pro Tip: Make sure to stir at least once during the cooking time, to smooth out the sauce, and make sure all the meatballs get a good coating of sauce. But other than that, try not to remove the lid!

Crockpot filled with frozen meatballs, a stick of butter, scoop of brown sugar, and pouring in a bottle of bbq sauce.
  1. Once they have finished cooking, turn the crockpot to WARM. You can then serve and turn off the slow cooker, or keep warm during your gathering.

Get the Complete (Printable) Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!

White slow cooker filled with meatballs in bbq sauce.

Recipe Variations

This simple crockpot BBQ meatballs recipe is easy to tweak in a few ways to suite your tastes! Try any of these variations:

  • Other types of meatballs – Use your favorite frozen chicken or ground turkey meatballs, or try our homemade lean turkey meatballs recipe.
  • Gluten-free – Simply use your preferred GF meatballs, and check that your BBQ sauce doesn’t have some sneaky gluten in there.
  • Vegetarian or vegan – There are lots of great plant-based frozen meatless meatball options on the market. Or use our fabulous vegan meatballs recipe made with quinoa and cauliflower!
  • BBQ sauce – You’ve got lots of options for what type of delicious barbecue sauce to use. Use your choice of sweet, hickory bourbon, jalapeno honey, smokey mesquite, or any flavor you prefer.
  • Servings – This recipe serves 10 to 12 people as-is, but if your slow cooker is large, you can double this recipe and cook for the same amount of time.
Bowl full of meatballs covered in barbecue sauce, topped with fresh chopped scallions.

Serving Suggestions

Tender, tasty BBQ meatballs are a fun main dinner dish to enjoy with cozy casual sides!

Serve them for dinner with starchy faves like crispy fries or potato wedges, fluffy mashed potatoes, cheesy scalloped potatoes, or chilled potato salad. Or snuggle them up on a plate with homemade mac and cheese or our uniquely delicious potato mac and cheese recipe! You can even keep things simple and enjoy with rice, egg noodles, or other types of pasta.

Crockpot BBQ meatballs make for an enticing appetizer or game day party snack! Add them to a buffet with toothpicks and any of these winning recipes:

And don’t forget the veggies! I suggest offering a serving platter of cut carrots, celery sticks, bell peppers, or other fresh vegetables.

Bowl full of meatballs covered in barbecue sauce, topped with fresh chopped scallions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need to brown meatballs before cooking in sauce?

Nope! Whether or not you are using frozen or homemade meatballs, they go straight into the slow cooker with no (additional) precooking necessary.

Can you overcook meatballs in sauce?

Yes, you absolutely can. But thankfully it will take a while. We suggest cooking for no more than 5 hours on low, or 3 hours on high… Too much longer than this, the meatballs will break down and become mushy.

How long do leftovers last?

Leftover BBQ meatballs cooked in the crock pot will keep well for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Can you re-freeze cooked frozen meatballs?

Sure! But note that the texture will likely be a bit softer after re-freezing, thawing, and reheating.

To freeze: Let the cooked meatballs cool completely before transferring to a freezer-safe airtight container. I suggest wrapping the container in a layer of aluminum foil as well. Freeze for up to 3 months. You can then throw them back in the slow cooker with more BBQ sauce from frozen. Or thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and reheat them on the stovetop or microwave.

A fork is holding a bbq sauce-coated meatball to camera.

Looking for More Easy Slow Cooker Recipes? Be Sure to Try:

White slow cooker filled with meatballs in bbq sauce.
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Crockpot BBQ Meatballs Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
This "set it and forget it" slow cooker recipe uses only 4 simple ingredients, like your favorite frozen meatballs and barbecue sauce. Tender, moist, and super flavorful BBQ meatballs in the crock pot are a perfect party snack or fun main dish!
Servings: 10 – 12 servings

Video

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Set out a large 6-8 quart slow cooker. Pour the meatballs into the slow cooker, followed by the barbecue sauce, brown sugar and butter.
  • Cover the slow cooker and turn on LOW for 3 to 5 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours. Make sure to stir at least once, to smooth out the sauce, and make sure all the meatballs get a good coating of sauce.
  • Keep warm until ready to serve. Garnish if desired.

Notes

Leftover BBQ meatballs cooked in the crock pot will keep well for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
To Freeze: Let the cooked meatballs cool completely before transferring to a freezer-safe airtight container. I suggest wrapping the container in a layer of aluminum foil as well. Freeze for up to 3 months. You can then throw them back in the slow cooker with more BBQ sauce, or reheat them on the stovetop or in the microwave.
But note that the texture will likely be a bit softer after re-freezing, thawing, and reheating.

Nutrition

Serving: 2.5oz, Calories: 350kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 65mg, Sodium: 605mg, Potassium: 341mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 24g, Vitamin A: 261IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Appetizer, Main, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: American
Author: Sommer Collier
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