For the CLASSIC BBQ meatball appetizer, you can use homemade or store-bought meatballs. Just make sure you use the unbelievable homemade barbecue sauce from the recipe below.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Whether you start with homemade meatballs (like our basic (delicious!) meatballs or these baked turkey meatballs) or buy them frozen. Another quick hack is to use uncooked Italian sausage meat like this to make super-quick meatballs, which are amazing in BBQ sauce. And yes, the secret to making the best barbecue meatballs is the sauce. This homemade barbecue sauce is slightly sweet and smoky and just perfect!
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Making homemade barbecue sauce is not hard AT ALL. And it makes such a difference to these meatballs. All you do is add ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and spices in a skillet and bring it all to a boil.
Use 1/2 cup of brown sugar instead of 1/4 cup if you like your sauce sweeter.
How Long To Cook Meatballs in Sauce?
The recipe below calls for meatballs that are fully-cooked. You can buy them fully-cooked and frozen, or you can cook them yourself by either baking them, pan-frying them, or air-frying them. Once they’re fully-cooked, the times for simmering in the sauce are below.
So, once you bring the BBQ sauce to a boil, you’ll add the meatballs. Then bring it all up to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and then let them cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are heated through. That will take a different amount of time if your meatballs are warm from having just been cooked, versus if they’re still frozen. It also depends on the size of your meatballs.
Assuming the meatballs are about the size of a golf ball, then here’s how long they take to heat through:
- 5 minutes for meatballs that were recently cooked and are still warm.
- 10-15 minutes for meatballs that are cold from the fridge.
- 15-20 minutes for meatballs that are frozen.
I’ll just say that I know these are thought of as a party appetizer, but you can serve ’em to your family for dinner too. They go great with rice or mashed potatoes. I know you’re all going to love them.
If you’re like me and you’re obsessed with meatballs, then you have to check out all of our meatball recipes over here. And our whole collection of beef recipes is here.
Podcast Episode: Making BBQ Meatballs
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
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BBQ Meatballs
You can’t go wrong with BBQ Meatballs as a party appetizer any time of year.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 55 meatballs 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 32 oz. fully-cooked meatballs (store bought or homemade)*
Instructions
- To a large skillet add the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
- Add meatballs and stir often until the sauce comes back to a gentle. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until heated through, 10-15 minutes.
Notes
*If the meatballs are frozen, thaw them according to package directions or overnight in the fridge. You can totally add frozen meatballs directly to the sauce for the above recipe. Then you will just simmer them for longer, until heated all the way through.
This post originally appeared in January 2018 and was revised and republished in August 2025.
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