Meatball Sauce
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This is the easiest meatball sauce recipe around! With just two simple ingredients you can have a flavorful sauce for meatballs to serve as an appetizer.
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Meatballs with grape jelly and chili sauce are the perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer for holiday parties or any gathering. The sauce has just two ingredients and you won’t believe how easy it is.
Unlike our Swedish meatball sauce, today’s recipe requires minimal ingredients and no effort. You only need a jar of grape jelly and a jar of Heinz chili sauce. While this sounds like an unusual combination, the result is a sweet, tangy, and smokey sauce that is best for glazing meatballs.
All you have to do is mix the two sauces together then add them to your meatballs and simmer on the stovetop or in a slow cooker. It’s really that easy!
Why This Recipe Works
- Grape jelly and chili sauce combine to make a tangy sweet sauce that glazes and coats meatballs perfectly.
- You can cook this sauce in the slow cooker or on the stovetop with frozen fully cooked meatballs. We like to pair the sauce with Italian style meatballs but any will work.
What You Need
Ingredients
- Grape Jelly: Any brand of grape jelly or jam will work.
- Chili Sauce: Heinz chili sauce is what you need for this recipe. It’s similar to ketchup with a few seasonings for added flavor but it isn’t spicy. You can also make homemade chili sauce and use that instead.
How to Make Meatball Sauce
You don’t need any special tools or equipment to make this grape jelly chili sauce for meatballs.
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
- Simply mix the two ingredients together in a bowl. That’s it.
- Pour the sauce over frozen meatballs in a saucepan or slow cooker and heat until the sauce is hot.
Tips For Success
- Meatballs in grape jelly chili sauce can be made with frozen or homemade meatballs.
- You can play around with the jelly flavor! Try strawberry, apricot, apple, or mixed berry jellies and jams.
- BBQ sauce can be a substitute for chili sauce. The flavor will not be the same but experiment with it. You may find a combination that becomes your new favorite.
Storage & Freezing
You can mix the sauce and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Once the sauce is cooked with meatballs, keep leftovers stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the slow cooker or on the stovetop.
Meatball Sauce
Ingredients
- 10 ounces grape jelly
- 12 ounces chili sauce
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine the grape jelly and chili sauce.
- Heat over low heat until the jelly is melted and the sauce is well combined.
- Store in a tight sealing container in the refrigerator until ready to use or use right away in one of the following ways.
Cook sauce on the stove top with meatballs:
- Add the sauce and meatballs to a large saucepan.
- Cover and simmer over medium heat until the sauce is hot, about 10 minutes.
Cook sauce with meatballs in a slow cooker:
- Add the sauce and meatballs to a slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2 to 3 hours or low for 3 to 4 hours.
Notes
Make ahead tip:
- The sauce will keep for up to 1 week stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Cooked sauce and meatballs can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the slow cooker or on the stove.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
This is my all time favorite recipe. I used to make it for appetizer meatballs as a newlywed in the mid 60s. It’s delicious and soooo easy.
We love it too!