This is one of those little recipes that I just assume everyone knows about. Then I make it for some gathering and inevitably find out that there are people in the world who have never heard of such a thing. I you are among those who have never before seen this recipe then you are in for a treat. There are only two ingredients in this sauce: grape jelly and chili sauce. If that sounds weird to you- don’t knock it ’til you try it! It’s the perfect sweet and sour glaze for meatballs or cocktail sausages (little smokies) and SO easy!
Ingredient Notes
- Meatballs or Little Smokies – This easy sauce can be used with both meatballs or little smokies cocktail sausages. For meatballs, keep it simple with precooked frozen meatballs. You could certainly make your own as well, just precook them before adding to the sauce. My personal favorite is Little Smokies!
- Chili Sauce – Chili Sauce can be found in the grocery store near the ketchup. It kind of looks like a small bottle of ketchup. It’s tangy, sweet, and tart all at the same time and full of spices. There are no substitutions here.
- Grape Jelly – The grape jelly adds sweetness and flavor and the result is a wonderful and quick sweet and sour sauce. Regular, generic grape jelly is great!
How to Make Sweet and Sour Little Smokies or Meatballs
1. Pour grape jelly and chili sauce into a medium sauce pan, or your slow cooker. Whisk together until smooth. It’s okay if there are some lumps, they will melt out when the sauce heats.
2. Add frozen meatballs or cocktail sausages. There is no exact science to the cook time. On the stove top I simmer on low for 15-20 minute until the sausages are plump or meatballs are cooked through. In the slow cooker, you can set it to low for a few hours. They get better with time! You could even cook them in the oven in a pan. I’d do it at about 300 degrees for at least an hour.
FAQs
Can I make these ahead of time? Yes! I would recommend making them the day of serving, but they can sit in the warm crock pot for several hours before serving.
How do I store leftovers? Just pop them in a container in the fridge. They’re great reheated.
How do I reheat sweet and sour little smokies? You can reheat gently in the microwave, or simmer on low on the stove top.
Related Recipes
Looking for some other appetizer recommendations? Check out these Our Best Bites favorites:
- Bacon Wrapped Cocktail Sausages
- Cranberry Orange Goat Cheese Bites
- Honey Cranberry Orange Baked Brie
- Mini Pastry Wrapped Brie Bites
- Pastry Wrapped Asparagus With Prosciutto
- Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Did You Make This?
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Sweet and Sour Meatballs {Easy!}
- Total Time: 2-5 hours
Description
An easy, no fuss sweet and sour meatball recipe using chili sauce and grape jelly. Sure to be a crowd pleaser at any party or gathering.
Ingredients
1 12 ounce jar Chili Sauce
1 16-18 ounce jar grape jelly
2 pounds frozen meatballs or 2 12-ounce packages cocktail sausages*
Precise amounts for sausages or meatballs aren’t necessary, as long as they are covered completely by your sauce you are good to go.
Instructions
Combine jelly and chili sauce in a crock pot an stir until smooth. Heat the mixture if needed to combine. Add meatballs or cocktail sausages and set temperature to low. Cook for 2-5 hours. Serve with toothpicks.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2-5 hours
Questions & Reviews
We will definitely be making these for our superbowl party! 🙂
I also had a question about your sweet fruit salsa. Have you ever tried making it with frozen fruit? I'd love to make it (along with the cinnamon chips) for our party, but the fresh fruit is pretty sad this time of year. Trader Joe's has some interesting frozen fruit medleys, and just wondering if that would work as a substitution. Thanks!
We do this TOO!! BUT WE USE CURRANT JELLY AND MUSTARD. THEY ARE THE BEST.
Thanks for the post!!!
I use this same recipe but use linguica and at the very end I add in a can of pineapple chunks. Everyone always raves about it!
I serve these for appetizers at parties, and then if there are leftovers, I mix in some chunks of green pepper and pineapple, and serve over rice for a quick dinner the next day! 🙂
I love your recipes and you blog – I've given you an award – stop on over to get it!
This is almost the same with the recipe that my Mom keeps on making during Superbowl weekends.
dining table
Looking at this post made me nostalgic for a similar two ingredient recipe my mom used to make. She used red currant jelly instead of grape jelly and regular old prepared yellow mustard instead of chili sauce. It's great with cocktail sausages. I'll have to try this version and see how it compares.
Can you give me the ratio how much grape jelly. How much mustard how many meatballs
A friend I worked with a long time to go always brought little smokies made like this to potlucks. I was nuts for them. Thanks for reminding me!
So even though I am one of those people who has never heard of this recipe, I cannot believe there are people who have not heard of muddy buddies!!! LoL although it IS called Puppy Chow where I come from.
These meatballs look delicious, and I feel if I make them for my honey (he loves meatballs) he might just propose to me on the spot 😉
Cherie- okay I'm totally going to do a post about muddy buddies, I'm getting emails too! lol.
It's a wonderfully addicting snack made from chex cereal. It's covered in a chocolate peanut butter mix and doused with powdered sugar. Divine!
Okay, I've seen this recipe before and it is yummy! HOWEVER, I have never heard of Muddy Buddies! How about telling those of us who don't know…………..what they are! 🙂
Wow, my mom and I have been making these for years.. I didn't realize they're so popular! I love making them, they're always the first to go at get togethers. And no one ever believes me when I tell them the TWO ingredients.. heh heh.. genius.
I used to make this all the time with currant jelly, but it was getting harder and harder to find so I started using the grape. But I'm super lazy apparently, cause I always just dump the jelly in over the meatballs and then pour the chili sauce over that, put the lid on and walk away, lol! No premixing ever and it turnes out just perfectly 🙂
LOVE your blog, thanks so much for all the tasty recipes y'all post!
Wow. I've never heard of this!! Amazing. I guess I'll have to try it out since so many other people support this recipe haha.
I have never seen this recipe in my life, so there definitely are people out there!
We had both grape jelly/chili sauce meatballs AND lil' smokies in BBA sauce at our wedding reception!! LOL It was a great reception- I bought big dishes and asked about 10 different ladies if they'd make something to fill a dish, and then handed it to them. They all did it and it was awesome!
I just thought you might like to know that I sent a link to this page to my husband's email with the subject line "Go ahead & make these. I won't mind."
I've always wanted this recipe, so thanks!
Sara- Agreed. Any brand of jelly works great for this recipe. I have even combined a few flavors of whatever I had left in the jar. This is definitely a great and easy recipe to keep in your back pocket!
I have made these before and they are AMAZING!!! I don't use the Heinz chili sauce. Instead, I use Homemade Chili Sauce. It is sold in the same section as the Heinz. It comes in a plain glass jar with a white lid with black writing and a small white label on it (resembles something you'd find at a general store). I don't know if the Heinz is spicy but this one has a little bit of a kick to it. No matter what sauce you use, this is a definite MUST try!!!!
Perfect, perfect, perfect! I was just looking for a sweet and sour meatball recipe and here you posted one : ) Thank you!!
We always use this recipe…so simple and quick. I've seen a lot out there with many more ingredients but who has time?
I also use this recipe with cut-up kielbasa. It's a Christmas Eve tradition at my house.
Those are so sickeningly good. I remember the first time I had them and the cook told me the recipe . . . I was glad I had eaten them BEFORE I knew what was in it!
Jennifer, I agree about the chili sauce. I you'll see in the picture I used cheap-o Walmart jelly but I only use the Heinz chili sauce!
This is such a classic and yummy recipe! My mom would make something similar with hot dogs, grape jelly, and barbecue sauce. She would cook them in the crock pot for a couple of hours and take it to potlucks or family gatherings. I've never seen people eat that many hot dogs. They're super yummy!
I remember doing the hot dogs, too! There’s just something so fantastic about the sweet and tangy thing that is so unexpected if you’ve never tried it!
Love this recipe! My mom made these growing up- usually at Christmas/New Year's. She calls them "cocktail meatballs". I've made them using apple jelly, red plum jelly and apricot preserves. All are delicious. My only "must" is to use Heinz brand cocktail sauce. Store-brands just don't seem to compare.
I've heard of this recipe but never knew where to find the chili sauce so thanks for filling a girl in! I have a yummy sweet and sour meatballs recipe but it's very time consuming so it will be nice to have a go-to quick recipe that I bet tastes just as good.
This is my "go to" recipe for pot lucks and they are always a hit! However, I have never heard of muddy buddies (hanging head in shame)…
consider carefully if you wish to proceed… they are the ultimate “can’t eat just one” food. : )
My uncle made these one time and I couldn't believe it when he told me the sauce contained grape jelly. I was floored, really! But man were those meatballs delish.
🙂
ButterYum
I used a similar type recipe for my sweet and sours but it uses salsa and apricot preserves. Same idea but I think I will give yours a try!
I use salsa and apricot preserves to make my apricot, salsa chicken over jasmine rice. Delicious
My Mom always used this recipe when I was growing up. I think I will use it for a Super Bowl party this weekend. Thanks for the reminder and have a great day!