43 Favorite Meatball Appetizer Recipes For A Party
posted byGina Dicksonon July 30, 2023 (last updated Jan 4, 2025)
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Do you need easy party food? Meatballs are always a hit, and they are easy to make before it’s time for guests to arrive. Browse through these meatball appetizer recipes for a party, and pick out a few saucy wonders. They’re perfect for groups and budget-friendly!
Meatballs go with more than just marinara sauce. The possibilities are endless. I’ve collected all my favorite easy meatball appetizer recipes for your next party in one place!
Along with great meatball recipes, I have also included simple tips for cooking meatballs to help you make the perfect tender meatball that is full of great flavor and holds together in your sauce.
After learning how to make the perfect meatball, scroll through the list of all the best meatball recipes I could find! Tap the recipe button to learn more and print the recipe card.
🎉 Party Meatballs
When it comes to planning parties, I’ve discovered quick and easy tips that will be helpful to you. I have some great budget-friendly meatball appetizer ideas for a party, such as a baby shower, engagement party, or birthday celebration. I like to serve meatballs as a hearty appetizer.
Meatball appetizers are easy to keep hot and serve no matter what size of party you are having.
Family-friendly appetizer that both kids and adults enjoy.
Meatballs are a freezer-friendly party food to keep on hand for last minute gatherings!
Meatballs are also great for Game Day Party food. You can stuff them into hoagies or serve them as bite-sized treats tossed in my bacon BBQ Sauce.They also work for holiday parties or any time you expect a crowd.
💰Budget-Friendly Tip: Because meatballs are made with ground meat, you can add them to a selection of other Budget-friendly Appetizer Ideas for a party that’s easy on the wallet. You can even serve them up for delicious budget-friendly meat for your weeknight dinner’s main course dish.
Tips For Making The Best Meatballs
With a few basic tips, you can cook delicious meatballs for your next party or dinner.
🤫 What’s the secret to tender meatballs?
Add Moisture with Day-Old Bread: Include day-old bread soaked in milk or water in your meatball mixture. The soft bread will create a light and tender texture to your meatballs.
Avoid Overcooking: When cooking ground beef, chicken, or pork meatballs, be be sure not to overcook them. Overcooking can lead to toughness, so keep a close eye on the cooking time to ensure your meatballs remain juicy and tender.
To help keep meatballs from drying out, serve them in a sauce after cooking. This not only makes them tasty but also helps retain moisture, keeping your meatballs delectably tender.
💡 What’s the trick to meatballs that don’t fall apart?
The number one thing to do is make sure you use a binder when making your meatballs. There are quite a few ways to do this including:
Add bread pieces soaked in milk or mix in dried bread crumbs and eggs.
Use crumbled Ritz crackers and egg mixture with the raw meat.
You can also use eggs as a binder.
🏆 Top Tip For Making Perfect Round Meatballs
Use a cookie scoop when forming the meatballs. This helps pack them together without overhandling the meatball mixture, which makes them tough.
How To Make Meatballs Without Eggs
Soft Eggless Meatballs
Learn how to make delicious egg-free meatballs that are packed with flavor. This easy-to-follow recipe will show you the secrets to creating mouthwatering meatballs without sacrificing texture or taste. This homemade meatball recipe is a great way to stretch your grocery budget and make meal prep easy.
Should meatballs be cooked before putting in sauce?
It is best to cook meatballs before putting them in the sauce. Browning meatballs until golden brown in a frying pan is best to add color to the outside of the meat, seal the juices, and also help them keep their shape. It also helps separate grease before putting the meatball in the sauce. After they’re browned, finish cooking them in the sauce.
This method gives the meatballs a light, crunchy outside, and a juicy, tender inside. It also infuses a flavor from the meatballs into the sauce.
Is it better to bake or pan-fry meatballs?
Pan fry or baking meatballs are both good ways to cook them. However, baking them allows any excess grease to be drained off.
How do I keep meatballs soft after cooking?
There’s no one way to achieve tender meatballs, but here are some tricks I’ve used, especially when they will be kept hot for an extended period of time.
Add moisture when making the meatballs. This could be from veggies, barbecue sauces, or a little bit of ice water.
Don’t over-mix or pack them into balls too tightly.
Keep the meatballs larger than an inch in diameter. Smaller than an inch tends to dry out when cooking.
Pan-fry the outside of your meatballs first before adding to the sauce. This seals in the juices and keeps the inside tender.
Use a timer to prevent overcooking overcook the meatballs.
Use a mixture of meat with some fat. I like to use 30% high-fat meat to 70% lean ground beef for a soft meatball.
🧊 Can I cook frozen meatballs?
Yes, you can cook frozen meatballs. The big advantage of frozen meatballs is most are already cooked so they just need to be heated.
Cook them in a preheated oven at 350° F. Place the number of frozen meatballs you want in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and toss them into your sauce.
🏆 TOP TIP: Be sure not to have the meatballs too close together; there should be an inch or more space between them to allow air to circulate around them, which heats and browns them at the same time.
Should I thaw meatballs before going in a crockpot?
No, it’s not necessary. You can put frozen meatballs directly into your crockpot. It’s best to have them on the bottom so they will get the most heat.
Add the rest of your ingredients on top and follow the cooking time in the recipe.
How To Serve Meatballs At A Party
The trick to serving effortless meatballs at your next party is to make them ahead of time and, when the party starts, learn how to keep them warm throughout the party.
🔥 What’s the best way to keep party meatballs hot?
Stovetop: keep them warm over very low heat for up to 1 hour
Crockpot: After you have cooked the meatballs in sauce, transfer to a crockpot and set the temperature to a warm setting. They will keep for several hours. It is good to stir every hour to keep the sauce from sticking to the slow cooker.
Chafing dish: An affordable option for large parties to keep food warm is a chafing dish. Another perk is they make cleaning up after the party a breeze.
Crockpot Meatballs For A Party
Creamy Rich Meatballs and Gravy Recipe (Easy Slow Cooker)
Learn how to make tender meatballs with abundant rich flavorful gravy using a slow cooker. This step-by-step recipe will teach you how to create a delicious appetizer or satisfying meatballs and creamy gravy sauce meal sure to impress your family and friends.
Saucy Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe; Easy Slow Cooker
These sweet and sour meatballs are a mouth-watering combination of tender meatballs, juicy pineapple chunks, and colorful bell peppers, all simmered in a delicious blend of sweet BBQ and teriyaki sauce. Preparing them is a breeze; it only requires 10 minutes of prep time, and your slow cooker takes care of the rest. You can serve these delicious Hawaiian meatballs as a main dish over rice or as a simple appetizer at your next party.
3 Ingredient Sauce Ideas For Easy Crockpot Meatballs
When you need an easy appetizer, all you have to do is grab some frozen meatballs and pick your sauce combination. The best part is it will take you less than 5 minutesto prep these saucy meatballs.
If you’re looking for classic flavors that appeal to a wide variety of people then look no further. These meatballs make the perfect appetizer to serve large groups. They’re guaranteed to be a hit!
Here you will find meatballs in barbecue sauce, marinara sauce, buffalo sauce, and the famous grape jelly meatballs!
Homemade BBQ Meatballs Recipe Easy Slow Cooker
This easy BBQ meatballs recipe guarantees juicy, tender hand-rolled meatballs covered in a homemade smokey barbeque sauce and then simmered in a slow cooker. Perfect for easy entertaining or an easy home-cooked weeknight dinner.
Air fryer turkey meatballs are a juicy, flavor-packed appetizer that’s quick and easy to make. Made with lean ground turkey or chicken, celery, green onion, and tossed in a buffalo-ranch sauce, these meatballs are perfect for game day or casual gatherings. Serve them warm and watch them disappear!
Homemade pork and beef meatballs take this traditional meatball recipe to an unbelievable smoky BBQ treat! These cocktail meatballs are perfect for parties or a delicious dinner.
Let’s face it, sometimes we get pressed for time but that’s when it’s time to reach for kitchen tools that make life easier! The slow cooker meatballs are great because you can set them up and let them cook for hours with very little attention.
The Instant Pot is great for cooking your favorite homemade meatballs recipe quickly and much easier than other methods! Or reach for the air fryer for smaller groups or to use when the oven is full of other appetizers.
Discover old favorites but also some exciting new ways to serve meatballs for any special occasion.
Saucy Crockpot Meatballs With Grape Jelly And Chili Sauce
Crock Pot meatballs with grape jelly and chili sauce are the easiest appetizer recipe I know. Beyond easy to make and cooked in the slowcooker, these cocktail meatballs are tender, juicy, and full of flavor – and you barely have to lift a finger.
Crockpot Meatballs with Blackberry Chili Sauce by Cook in Canuck
Crockpot meatballs are fantastic for holiday and game day parties. The sweet and slightly spicy blackberry chili sauce adds a ton of flavor to these light meatballs!
These Cranberry Meatballs are the perfect appetizer for your next get together! Make delicious party meatballs in a tangy sauce in just 10 minutes with 6 simple ingredients!
An easy recipe for instant pot cocktail meatballs. Delicious homemade meatballs cooked in a rich sticky sauce are juicy and flavorful. These pressure cooker cocktail meatballs are ready for serving in 30 minutes!
Give your easy cocktail meatballs a makeover by making them with an international flair! In many instances, it’s just a simple swap of a meatball sauce recipe that’s needed to change it up.
There are lots of ways to incorporate more diverse flavors into your party menu! Let’s look at a few ways that are some of my favorites!
Sweet Ginger Sesame Meatballs
These Sweet Sesame Ginger Meatballs are an Asian-style turkey meatball that can be served as an appetizer or on a bed of rice for a complete meal!
Tsukune, Japanese grilled chicken meatballs, with keto teriyaki sauce is sweet, salty, and absolutely delicious! This is the best low carb Tsukune recipe!
Sweet Gochujang Meatballs appetizer using frozen mini cocktail meatballs with garlicky maple gochujang sauce. Recipe for Instant pot, Regular and slow cooker.
If you’re looking for unique ways to serve up meatballs, then stop here! These are a little extra special, which makes them perfect for a fancier gathering. They’ll still work for football parties, too but they may involve a bit more work than some of the other meatball recipes!
Mini Spaghetti Nests and Italian Meatballs Appetizer
These Mini Spaghetti Nests and Italian Meatball Appetizers are made with creamy Alfredo angel hair pasta & Italian-style meatballs.
While beef or a combination of meats are most commonly used for meatballs, there are other meats you can shape into meatballs!
Cheesy Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs Recipe
This Cheesy Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs recipe is a delightful twist on the classic dish. These flavorful meatballs combine ground chicken, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasonings, all nestled in a rich marinara sauce topped with melted mozzarella cheese. Perfect for a family meal or when entertaining guests. These classic parm meatballs are sure to become a family favorite.
These BBQ Turkey Meatballs are small but pack a ton of flavor. Easily prepped in one bowl, they’re perfect as part of a weeknight dinner or as party food.
See how to make buffalo chicken meatballs with just 6 ingredients! This easy low carb keto buffalo chicken meatballs recipe is a mashup of wings + meatballs, with only 10 minutes prep.
These vegan meatballs make the perfect party food when you’re expecting vegans or vegetarians at a party! They’re tasty enough to appeal to everyone attending, but a great way to cater to friends and family who don’t eat meat.
Meaty Vegan TVP Meatballs
Vegan tvp meatballs that are meaty, flavorful & meat eaters approved. They are also quick & easy to make.
These delicious Vegan Swedish Meatballs are reminiscent of the classic IKEA version. They are perfectly textured and seasoned with warm spices. Then they are smothered in a rich and creamy gravy that is the epitome of comfort.
Would you like to have homemade meatballs stocked in your pantry for a quick and effortless party food? This simple canning meatballs in broth guide provides easy-to-follow steps on how to can meatballs safely.
Easy Step-By-Step Guide For Canning Meatballs In Broth
This simple canning meatballs in broth guide provides easy-to-follow steps on how to can meatballs safely.
This is so helpful for entertaining! Thank you!