Cocktail Meatballs (Grape Jelly Meatballs) Recipe
These cocktail meatballs (aka grape jelly meatballs) have a delicious sweet and tangy sauce that will drive everyone crazy!
Servings: 4
Calories: 794kcal
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef 85/15 meat to fat ratio
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1 slice of bread*
- 2-3 tbsp milk to soak bread
- 1/2 yellow onion finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1-1.5 salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup grape jelly
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp beef stock (or broth)
- 1 garlic clove pressed
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
Meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with some oil or cover it with parchment paper.
- Combine the ground beef, ground pork, egg, minced onion, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in large mixing bowl. Squeeze milk out of the slice of bread, break it up, and add crumbled bread to the bowl. (Discard squeezed milk.)
- Mix everything very well.
- Grease your hands with some cooking spray. To get even meatballs, use a cookie scoop. I use #40 scoop but you can use a slightly larger one. Try to keep the meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. (You can make meatballs a little bigger or smaller according to your own preference. Just remember to adjust cooking time if making bigger or smaller meatballs.)
- Quickly roll all the meatballs and add them to the baking sheet, close together but not touching.
- Bake the meatballs for 18-22 minutes, depending on the size.
Sauce:
- Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce together and preheat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat.
- Pour the sauce into the pan and simmer for about 6-8 minutes. Make sure to slowly stir every couple of minutes while it's simmering.
- Add meatballs (just meatballs, but the juices left from baking meatballs) to the sauce. Carefully stir meatballs and sauce until coated and let them cook for just a few minutes.
- Transfer the meatballs and the sauce onto a serving bowl and serve.
Keeping them warm in a crock pot:
- You can also serve these meatballs in a crock pot to keep them warm for the party.
- Prepare the meatballs and the sauce per instructions above but combine them together in a crock pot instead of the skillet.
- Set the Crock pot to "warm" setting, cover, and let them stay in there for the party. You will want to stir them from time to time.
Video
Notes
- *Gluten Free Note: The only true gluten ingredients here is the slice of bread. Use a slice of gluten free bread instead and you will be good to go. If the slice of bread if small, you may want to use a slice and a half or two. Tip: make sure you check the label on the ketchup that it is gluten free and on apple cider vinegar.
- Storing: Make sure to keep the meatballs in an airtight container, in the refrigerator. Stored properly, they will be good for up to 4 days. You can reheat them in the microwave until warmed through.
Nutrition
Calories: 794kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 204mg | Sodium: 1145mg | Potassium: 875mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 287IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 4mg