Not Too Sweet & Sour Meatballs (Crock Pot)

Submitted by dave huffman

"Here is something I came up with after makeing a Apple butter that came out to sweet and didn't want to throw it away and this is what I came up with And it will be my standard meat ball recipe from now on I hope you try it"

 

• Ready In: 6hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 10-12

ingredients

• 28 ounces of your favorite pasta sauce
• 16 ounces apple butter
• 20 ounces diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt & pepper
• 64 ounces frozen meatballs (or use your own)

directions

1. Add first 8 ingredients to crock pot and stir.
2. add meat balls.
3. cook on high for two hours turn down to low for four hours.
4. serve over rice.

Reviews

[Some1sGrandma]

These are absolutely delicious. I used ground chicken and ground pork. As one reviewer recommended I added a little ground ginger and a little orange zest. Used 3 lbs. of meat and only doubled the sauce. The ratio of sauce and meat was just about right. The sauce is sooooooo good!

 

[LawyerMom]

Wow! I was looking for a variation on the standard sweet meatball recipe -- it seems like everything on here calls for grape jelly & chili sauce or cranberry sauce and chili sauce. But that was just too sweet for my taste. Using the apple butter was perfect! Very sweet -- my 2 year old loves it -- but not disgustingly so that adults run the other direction. I didn't have any liquid smoke, so I added some worcester sauce instead. I also added a bit of leftover marinara sauce and used a can of chopped tomatoes instead of fresh ones. But the meatballs I made from scratch, using ground beef, chopped onion, rice, egg, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. LOVE IT! Thanks so much for posting this recipe.

 

[DeliciousAsItLooks]

With such an unusual ingredient list, I wasn't sure how these would turn out, but they are delicious! I cut the recipe in half, but used only 1 28 oz. package of meatballs. It was a good ratio of sauce to meatballs.

 

[mailbelle]

We really enjoyed this! I cut the recipe in half. Goes together in a snap! Omitted the liquid smoke. Made for Zaar Chef Alphabet Soup Game.

 

[yogiclarebear]

Great! I skipped the liquid smoke...just didn't have any. Used more tomatoes and pasta sauce to make it a bit more saucy for spaghetti. Thanks dave!