Meatballs in a slow cooker? Groundbreaking. No truly, these sweet and sour slow cooker chicken meatballs are everything you want in a meatball, with the addition of a tangy, tart, and sweet sauce all made in just one vessel: the slow cooker.
What I love about this sauce is the sweet, tangy, sour flavors, and when paired with homemade chicken meatballs, it's a satisfying meal for any day of the week. Plus, it's one of the dishes you can throw together, set, and forget until ready to eat.
Just like my pepperoncini slow cooker pot roast sliders, delicious hearty turkey and sweet potato chili, or my beef and bean dutch oven chili, this slow cooker meal is a game changer, and tastes incredible!
TL; DR Recipe Summary
- 👩🏼🍳 Cook Level: Easy
- ⏱️ Cook Time: 5 hours
- 😋 Taste: A little tangy, a little sweet, with a whole load of other savory and tart flavors.
- 🍽️ Best Served With: Make these meatballs along with creamy garlic herb red bliss mashed potatoes, atop of bed of bone broth rice or oven roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
Jump to:
- TL; DR Recipe Summary
- Trusted Tips and Key Meatball Reminders
- What are the ingredients for these slow cooker meatballs?
- Simple Recipe Swaps and Substitutions
- How to make sweet and sour slow cooker meatballs
- Looking for more slow cooker or dutch oven recipes, check these out!
- Sweet and Sour Slow Cooker Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Trusted Tips and Key Meatball Reminders
- Using a cookie scoop for making meatballs keeps them relatively uniform instead of estimating them with your hands.
- When rolling the meatballs after you scoop them, add a little oil to the palms of your hands to avoid the meat sticking.
- Use the "rake" method when combining the ingredients together by using your four fingers and tucking your thumb, turning and "raking" the meat and other ingredients together instead of clumping. This prevents over-mixing which then causes the meatballs to be tough and chewy.
What are the ingredients for these slow cooker meatballs?
- Ground Chicken - I like to use a combination of dark and light meat to add additional fat and flavor.
- Egg - binds the meat and other ingredients together.
- Worcestershire Sauce - a little smoky flavor is added when we use this sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese - helps with flavor and moisture.
- Breadcrumbs - we use breadcrumbs to help bind and form the meatballs.
- Seasonings/Herbs - I like using spices such as dried oregano and basil, but also garlic powder for added flavor.
For the Sauce:
- Tomato sauce - the base of the sauce is made from either crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce.
- Ketchup - adds additional sweetness and tomato flavor.
- Honey - adding honey gives both the sweet and sour taste to the sauce.
- Light brown sugar - to add to the sweet flavor. Brown sugar has molasses, which also aids in amplifying the flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce - a little smoky flavor is added when we use this sauce.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for more information about quantities, measurements, and specific cooking instructions.
Simple Recipe Swaps and Substitutions
- Meat: Swap out ground chicken for beef, pork, or even ground turkey. A nice blend of beef and pork would yield very juicy, tender meatballs and with this sauce, it's actually kind of perfect.
- Herbs: If you would rather stick with just garlic powder and one other seasoning like basil, go for it. No need to complicate it if you don't want to add everything I used.
- Brown Sugar: The brown sugar gives the recipe it's sweet flavor, but if you don't want to use light brown, go with dark brown, or swap in coconut sugar instead.
How to make sweet and sour slow cooker meatballs
Step 1: In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, Worcestershire Sauce, parmesan, seasonings, and breadcrumbs. Rake with your fingers to mix the meat together. Stop when everything is just combined to prevent overmixing.
Step 2: Using a cookie scoop, scoop the meat into meatballs, then roll in your hands to create a round shape, then place into the basin of the slow cooker. Repeat until all the meat is used. This will yield approximately 19-20 meatballs.
Step 3: In another smaller bowl, add in the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, ketchup, honey, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk to combine.
Step 4: Pour the sweet and sour sauce over the top of the meatballs evenly. Cover and set on low cook setting for 5 hours, stirring occasionally.
Yes! The best part about using a slow cooker is that the entire recipe cooks altogether at once. There is no need to sear or bake the meatballs ahead of time. We go "low and slow" to give the meat enough time to cook through while also retaining moisture and juiciness.
These meatballs can be stored in a tightly sealed container for up to 4-5 days. I also suggest adding a batch to the freezer for a day where you just don't feel like being in the kitchen. Be sure to label the freezer batch for the date in which they were made, and they will be good for up to two months in the freezer.
Looking for more slow cooker or dutch oven recipes, check these out!
Did you love this recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you're just as in love with this recipe as I am, please share a comment below and rate it! Better yet, share this recipe with family and friends!! Thank you!
Sweet and Sour Slow Cooker Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Equipment
- slow cooker
- Cookie scoop
- large bowl
- spatula
- measuring cups
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 ½ lb ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
For the Sauce
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup ketchup
Instructions
For the Meatballs
- In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, Worcestershire Sauce, parmesan, seasonings, and breadcrumbs.
- Rake with your fingers to mix the meat together. Stop when everything is just combined to prevent overmixing.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the meat into meatballs, then roll in your hands to create a round shape, then place into the basin of the slow cooker.
- Repeat until all the meat is used. This will yield approximately 19-20 meatballs.
For the Sauce
- In another smaller bowl, add in the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, ketchup, honey, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the sweet and sour sauce over the top of the meatballs evenly.
- Cover and set on low cook setting for five hours, stirring occasionally.
Jill Frutkin says
So excellent! Love that it all cooks in the crockpot. Meatballs were so tender and delish. My son hasn’t touched a meatball in ages and he ate his up happily!