Sweet and Sour Crock Pot Meatballs (Printable)

Frozen meatballs in tangy-sweet peach preserve sauce. Effortless appetizer or main dish ready in 3 hours.

# What You Need:

→ Meatballs

01 - 2 lbs frozen fully-cooked meatballs

→ Sweet and Sour Sauce

02 - 1 cup peach or apricot preserves
03 - 1/2 cup ketchup
04 - 1/4 cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
05 - 2 tbsp soy sauce
06 - 1/4 cup light brown sugar
07 - 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
08 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
09 - 1/2 tsp ground ginger
10 - 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

# Directions:

01 - Add frozen meatballs to a 4-6 quart slow cooker
02 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together peach or apricot preserves, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, ginger, and red pepper flakes until smooth
03 - Pour sauce over meatballs and stir gently to coat all meatballs evenly
04 - Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours until meatballs are heated through and sauce is bubbling. Stir once or twice during cooking if possible
05 - Serve hot as an appetizer with toothpicks or over steamed jasmine rice as a main dish

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It uses ingredients you probably already have, and the slow cooker does all the work while you do absolutely nothing.
  • The sauce gets thick and glossy and clings to every meatball like it was designed for it.
  • You can serve it as a fancy appetizer or dump it over rice for dinner, and nobody will know you didn't spend all day cooking.
02 -
  • Don't skip stirring at least once during cooking, or the meatballs on top will stay dry while the ones on the bottom swim in sauce.
  • If the sauce looks too thin after cooking, leave the lid off for the last 20 minutes to let it reduce and thicken up beautifully.
03 -
  • Stir gently so the meatballs don't break apart, especially if you're using homemade or delicate store-bought ones.
  • Taste the sauce before serving and add a splash more vinegar if it's too sweet, or a pinch of brown sugar if it's too sharp.
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