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These cocktail meatballs are a holiday classic made with homemade meatballs! This recipe is gluten free and can be modified for paleo and AIP.

A bowl of cocktail meatballs with toothpicks.

If you’ve been to a party of any kind here in the US, you’ve seen these slow-cooker cocktail meatballs before… especially holiday parties! I don’t think I really remember seeing them as much until I moved to Texas, but they’re unmistakably a party classic. Traditionally, they’re made with frozen meatballs, BBQ sauce, and jelly, but I’ve tweaked them just a bit to keep it more gluten free friendly, and you can even tweak these to make it AIP.

The Ingredients You’ll Need for the Cocktail Meatballs

  • Ground beef. I haven’t tried this recipe with turkey, but I think it could work!
  • BBQ Sauce. This will vary depending on what your tolerances are. You can go for a paleo BBQ sauce, a homemade option like my AIP BBQ sauce.
  • Grape Jelly. Jelly makes these meatballs super yummy! You use a storebought brand, or you can also make your own if you want to control the sweetness.
  • Onion & garlic powder. Along with salt and pepper (omit pepper for AIP) these flavor the meatballs.
  • Green onion. Green onion is the finishing touch to add in some freshness and more flavor to the dish.

How to make crockpot cocktail meatballs

  • Bake the meatballs. Season the ground beef with onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper. Roll the beef into small meatballs (you should have 30-35) and place them on the parchment paper. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
  • To cook in the crockpot, add the cooked meatballs in a crockpot. Add BBQ sauce and grape jelly to the crockpot and stir well. Set the crockpot to low heat for 1 hour. The sauce should be thick and reduced and coat the meatballs.
  • To cook on the stove, combine the BBQ sauce and jelly in a pot and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken and reduce for about 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and toss to coat, simmering on low for 5-8 minutes. The sauce should be thick and reduced and coat the meatballs.

Step by step photos of making the cocktail meatballs.

Tips & Tricks

  • Make it spicy if desired! If you can tolerate the spice and nightshades, add some chili sauce or chili powder to spice it up.
  • You can also use premade frozen meatballs. If there’s a frozen meatball that works for you, you can easily use that. Just be sure to add extra time to cook it from frozen and bring it up to the proper temperature.

How do you serve these meatballs?

I’ve been to parties where the host will just keep the slow cooker on warm and serve them out of the slow cooker, which is a great option! These are great to serve with toothpicks for easy snacking.

A plate with cocktail meatballs with toothpicks.

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Cocktail Meatballs with Grape Jelly (AIP)

  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings (varies) 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
  • 1 1/4 cups BBQ Sauce (like this for AIP)
  • 3/4 cup grape jelly (I used this or you can use this for a sugar-free AIP version)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  2. Season the ground beef with onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper. Roll the beef into small meatballs (you should have 45ish meatballs) and place them on the parchment paper. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through to 165 F.
  3. To cook in the crockpot, add the cooked meatballs in a crockpot. Add BBQ sauce and grape jelly to the crockpot and stir well. Set the crockpot to low heat for 1 hour. The sauce should be thick and reduced and coat the meatballs.
  4. To cook on the stove, combine the BBQ sauce and jelly in a pot and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken and reduce for about 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and toss to coat, simmering on low for 5-8 minutes. The sauce should be thick and reduced and coat the meatballs.
  5. Top with green onion and serve with toothpicks as an appetizer!

Notes

All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.

  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Category: Appetziers
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American