Slow Cooker Party Meatballs with Raspberry Balsamic Glaze

5 from 1 vote

Slow Cooker Party Meatballs with Raspberry Balsamic Glaze

The meatballs can be frozen until needed. Just add to the ingredients for the raspberry glaze in a slow cooker when ready to make. The recipe makes about 60 bitesize meatballs, about 4 per person as an appetizer.

Prep Time10

Cook Time4

Total Time15

Course: Appetizer

Keyword: appetizers, meatballs, slow cooker

Servings: people

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Good Dinner Mom

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
¾ pound ground pork
2 large eggs
¾ cup milk
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¾ teaspoon onion powder
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the Raspberry Balsamic Glaze:

1 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 teaspoon sugar
3 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 ½ Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ½ Tablespoon ginger, freshly grated, or 1 tsp ground ginger
sliced scallions, for garnish
sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Make the meatballs:

Pre-heat your oven to 450F degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.
Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Use your hands to mix everything together. Don't over mix; this will result in tough meatballs.
Shape the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs. To speed this process, using a small cookie scoop is very helpful, but the bottoms of the meatballs will be flat, if that matters to you. Place the meatballs close together (but not touching) on the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 450 for about 8-10 minutes, or until browned on the bottom.

To Freeze:

Let the meatballs cool. Place the meatballs on the same pan that you just baked them on, without the tin foil. Place the pan in the freezer and set a timer for 45 minutes to an hour. Transfer the meatballs to a large ziplock bag, seal, and return to the freezer for up to one month.
Makes about 60-65 meatballs, depending on the size you make.

Make the raspberry balsamic glaze and finish the meatballs in the slow cooker:

To a slow cooker, add 1 cup raspberry preserves, 2 teaspoon sugar, 3 Tablespoons vinegar, 1 ½ Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and stir together, using a whisk if you want.
Once combined, remove ½ cup of the mixture and set aside. Add the meatballs (it's okay if they are frozen) and stir to coat. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for 2 hours. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs and set aside.
Pour the sauce through a sieve into a small sauce pan. The sieve ensures the sauce is smooth. Some bits of the meatballs just naturally break off into the sauce during cooking in the crock pot. Add reserved ½ cup sauce.Turn the heat to medium-high and let sauce come to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, let sauce cook until thickened and slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. This will take longer if you doubled the sauce quantities for serving as a main dish.
If you want the sauce a little more spicy, add a dash more red pepper flakes to the glaze at this point.Once sauce has thickened, add the meatballs back in and stir gently until all meatballs are covered.Garnish with scallions and/or sesame seeds.

Notes

Meatballs may be made and baked, then frozen for up to a month before placing in the slow cooker with the sauce. You can add them frozen and they'll be just fine by the end of 4 hours on low.
Alternately, you can shape the meatballs and freeze before baking. To bake the frozen meatballs, defrost them overnight in the refrigerator and then bake according to the directions.

Nutrition