Sweet and Sour Crock Pot Meatballs (Printable View)

Tender meatballs in tangy-sweet peach preserve sauce, slow-cooked to perfection for easy entertaining.

# What You'll 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

# How To Make It:

01 - Transfer frozen meatballs into the slow cooker bowl
02 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together preserves, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, ginger, and red pepper flakes until smooth consistency is achieved
03 - Pour prepared sauce over meatballs and gently stir to ensure even coating throughout
04 - Cover and cook on LOW setting for 3 to 4 hours until meatballs are heated through and sauce reaches a gentle boil. Stir once or twice during cooking if possible
05 - Transfer to serving dish and serve hot as appetizer with toothpicks or ladle over steamed rice for main course presentation

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • You can start it and completely forget about it until guests arrive or dinner is ready.
  • The sauce tastes like you simmered it for hours, but it takes less than two minutes to mix together.
  • It works as a fancy appetizer or a weeknight dinner depending on how you serve it.
02 -
  • Don't cook these on high to save time, the sauce can scorch around the edges and the meatballs won't get as tender.
  • Stir at least once during cooking so the sauce doesn't settle and stick to the bottom of the pot.
03 -
  • Make the sauce the night before and store it in the fridge so you can dump everything in the slow cooker in the morning without measuring.
  • If the sauce looks too thin after cooking, leave the lid off for the last 20 minutes to let it reduce and thicken up.
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