Homemade Barbequed Meatballs (slow cooker or baked)

These barbequed meatballs are made from scratch and can be done in the slow cooker or baked! The sweet and tangy barbeque sauce is delicious over these savory meatballs and the extra effort of making them from scratch versus grabbing a prepackaged bag of meatballs is totally worth it! You may also enjoy my recipes for slow cooker Swedish meatballs or slow cooker stuffed mozzarella meatballs.

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Homemade barbequed meatballs (slow cooker or baked)

marilynpeight

These savory meatballs with a homemade barbeque sauce are a great dinner entree that can be prepped ahead and enjoyed with your favorite dinner sides such as mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and more!

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Slow cooker time: 5 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 5

Equipment

• 4 quart crockpot (linked below)
• Mixing bowl (linked below)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, diced optional

For the Barbeque sauce:

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce or barbeque sauce of your choice
• 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

Instructions

 

Preheat oven to 375. (Baked version.)

• Mix ground beef, egg, diced onion, milk, seasonings and fresh parsley (optional), then add bread crumbs until you can form a ball with the beef mixture. Shape the beef mixture into 9-12 balls *See note below.
• Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish or 3-4 qt. crockpot with cooking spray or olive oil and place the meat balls inside. In a small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients, then pour the barbeque sauce over the meat balls.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven, or cook in the crockpot for 3.5-5 hours on low until the internal temperature reaches 165. Allow to cool slightly then serve and enjoy!

Notes

Step by step photos and notes below. 

Keyword Meatballs, barbequed, from scratch, slow cooker

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Equipment for these barbequed meatballs from scratch:

• Crockpot I personally use a 2.5 quart crockpot for these barbequed meatballs, but to ensure you have plenty of space you may wish to use a 3 quart instead.
• Mixing bowl I like to use a stainless steel mixing bowl for mixing up these barbequed meatballs in. A smaller mixing bowl is useful to have on hand for the sauce too!
• Measuring cups Measuring cups are needed to measure out the milk, onion and bread crumbs needed for the meatballs, and for the ketchup and barbeque sauce needed for the barbeque sauce.
• Measuring spoons Measuring spoons are nice to have to get an accurate measurement of the seasonings and herbs in the meatballs, as well as the mustard and brown sugar needed in the barbeque sauce.

Ingredients needed for these barbequed meatballs: Egg, milk, fresh parsley, ketchup, barbeque sauce, mustard, brown sugar, Italian style bread crumbs, diced onion, ground beef, salt and pepper.

Freezing tip:

These meatballs freeze well and can be made ahead of time. Simply pull them out of the freezer and allow them to thaw for an hour or two (or you could defrost them in the microwave to save time), then toss the meat balls and sauce into a crock pot (remember to save 1/4 cup of sauce for after they have cooked) or slow cooker to enjoy later for dinner after a busy day!

Step 1-2 (slow cooker method): Combine the ingredients for the meatballs and then form the meatballs to size of your preference.

Step 2: Place the meatballs into a greased 9 by 13 inch baking dish or a 2.5-4 quart slow cooker.

Can I use a smaller slow cooker such as a 2.5 quart or 3 quart?

Yes, you can. If using a 2.5 or 3 quart slow cooker, you may need to stack a few meatballs on top. This doesn’t cause an issue with the meatballs cooking through, but if you want to ensure the top ones get cooked as soon as the bottom meatballs do, then you can move them down halfway through slow cooking.

Step 2: Combine the sauce ingredients and pour the sauce evenly over the meatballs in the crockpot (or baking dish if baking these meatballs).

Step 3: Cook the meatballs on low for 3.5-5 hours or bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (Fahrenheit). Allow to cool/rest for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy with mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, or sides of your choice!

Feel free to pin for later and tag me on Instagram to show off your own creation of these barbequed meatballs from scratch!

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