Two magic words in my book: honey bourbon.
I love making honey bourbon chicken, honey bourbon pulled pork, and honey bourbon truffles (that recipe is coming soon too, just in time for Valentine’s Day!) . I’ve also been working on making honey bourbon meatballs, experimenting with different ingredients over the past couple of years, and my last recipe turned out SO delicious that I could not stop eating them.
Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Meatballs
This is a great recipe to serve at holidays, family gatherings, and to bring to potlucks. You”ll need a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker in order for the meatballs to cook well using the cooking times in my recipe. I love my 6-quart slow cooker. If you have a smaller slow cooker, try increasing the cooking time and be sure to stir the meatballs regularly to ensure they all get an equal chance to soak up some of the lovely honey bourbon sauce.
You can make your own meatballs (I love the Manchego Cheese-Stuffed Meatball recipe), but if you’re in a pinch, as I usually am, this recipe works SO well with pre-packaged meatballs found in the frozen section of your grocery store.
Dinner vs Party
This recipe makes a LOT of meatballs and is meant for large parties and gatherings. If you are making this for your family dinner, you can always freeze a portion for later. I recommend making the entire recipe, and taking half to serve for dinner. Then divide the remaining half into two separate freezer safe containers or ziplock bags. You can freeze those two servings for up to a month. Thaw out in the fridge before reheating.
Dinner Serving Suggestions
If you are making this for dinner for you and your family, here are some serving suggestions:
* Serve over yakisoba noodles with a side of cucumber salad.
* Enjoy over rice with a side of steamed broccoli.
* Include in meatball sandwiches, with traditional slaw fixings.
To serve these Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Meatballs as a party appetizer, simply put toothpicks in each one and serve on a tray. Then watch them get gobbled up quickly!
Ingredients
- One PARTY SIZE package of frozen Italian-style meatballs about 96 meatballs
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup bourbon use less if you prefer!
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together ketchup, honey, bourbon, brown sugar, and lemon juice.
- Place frozen meatballs in your slow cooker.
- Pour sauce mixture evenly over the meatballs. Stir to coat the meatballs as evenly as possible.
- Cook on high for one hour.
- Check on the meatballs and stir them occasionally, to evenly coat the meatballs with the sauce.
- After one hour, turn down the temperature to low and cook on low for 2 hours.
These look so good! I’ve pinned it so I can pull this recipe out the next time I need to bring an appetizer somewhere!
Melinda recently posted..CD Review: “The Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection” by the Laurie Berkner Band
I feel quite convinced there is NO better flavoring for meatballs! These sound fantastic.
Toni | BoulderLocavore recently posted..Cold Cucumber Noodle Salad with Watercress, Mint and Toasted Sesame-Ginger Dressing
I am totally with you on Team Honey-Bourbon! These look great – I’m pinning them to my Party Food board. And honestly, thank you for being real and using premade meatballs: prepping for a big gathering is the last place I want to have to spend an hour and a half forming perfect little OCDballs. (Thought you’d appreciate that, Marlynn.)
Renée recently posted..Bird in a {Grilled Cheese} Nest
Also on Team honey Bourbon!
Pech recently posted..Bing Mi Food Cart
Just visiting from Portland Bloggers. Thanks for sharing!
Emily recently posted..Enjoy the Journey There is No Final Destination
Great idea! Perfect for Super Bowl parties!
Sarah recently posted..One Pot Pasta e Fagioli
OMGOSH! These look AMAZING! I need to try these asap. Thanks for sharing. I am so pumped.
Rachel recently posted..New Year: New Beach Trip (Lincoln City, OR)
What an absolutely awesome sounding honey sauce for covering meatballs in!!! It would disappear so fast here!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life recently posted..Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal
omg. This is great! I love meatballs and I love your suggestion to serve with yakisoba noodles.
I love my 6 quart slow cooker too! I love the idea of serving these over noodles with a cucumber salad – yum!
pam (Sidewalk Shoes) recently posted..Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Burrito Bowls
So simple! Perfect for so many things!
Kayla Whittington recently posted..Looking Forward:2015
Looks delicious! Nice photos too.
Tracy recently posted..Beginner’s Guide to Butternut Squash (with Recipes to Try!)
These look perfect for lazy Sundays watching football!
Kimberly Ann @ Bake Love Give recently posted..skillet s’mores pudding dip
Honey and bourbon. Together with savory meatballs. Wow, I can taste that from here. I have a slow cooker somewhere and really must locate it. What a lovely and easy dinner dish.
Susan@LunaCafe recently posted..Asian Pantry: Korean Red Pepper Powder & Threads
help! I cannot get the recipe for the slow cooker honey bourbon meatballs to load. I have the ingredient. List but what next?
Hi Kathy! Sorry about that – it looks like the recipe for this one wasn’t loading properly, so I appreciate you letting me know! Try refreshing the page now and the recipe should come up for you. Thank you!
Marlynn Jayme Schotland recently posted..Food Bliss: Vegan Chocolate Cake That Everyone Will Love!
Aww what a bummer! I am sorry to hear these didn’t turn out to your liking, A. I actually made these three times in the past month for parties (they’re one of my Go To party recipes, especially during the busy holidays!) and they’ve been gobbled up quickly and happily at each one. The meatballs are supposed to soak up the bourbon sauce, but if the bourbon flavor is too strong for your personal preference, you could always try adding a little less bourbon. Thank you for trying this recipe!