Slow cooker honey garlic meatballs
Frozen meatballs go into the slow cooker with a sticky honey garlic sauce and come out glossy, with no stove at all.
- 205 min total
- 10 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 12
- About $1.40 a serving
- 420 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 12 servings.
- 3 lb 4 oz frozen meatballs
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup ketchup
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
From your pantry
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water, cold
Each serving has about 420 calories, 18 g protein, 30 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $1.40 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No honey? Maple syrup works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the garlic, then it in the slow cooker with the honey, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Add the frozen meatballs straight from the bag and until they’re coated.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: No need to thaw them. They cook in the sauce.Cover and cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours or High for 2, stirring once halfway, until the meatballs are steaming hot in the middle.
Timer: 180 min
Dolly’s tip: Cut one in half to check. It should be hot all the way through.Food safety: Frozen dumplings, meatballs and fish sticks are done when they’re steaming hot all the way through, 165°F. Cut one open to check the middle.
the cornstarch into the cold water until smooth to make a .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Slurry. A slurry is cornstarch or flour stirred into a little cold water until smooth. Stirred into a simmering sauce, it thickens it within a couple of minutes without lumps.
How you’ll know: It looks like milk with no lumps, and the sauce turns glossy and thick once it bubbles again.
the into the slow cooker, cover, and cook on High 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick and glossy.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Slurry. A slurry is cornstarch or flour stirred into a little cold water until smooth. Stirred into a simmering sauce, it thickens it within a couple of minutes without lumps.
How you’ll know: It looks like milk with no lumps, and the sauce turns glossy and thick once it bubbles again.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Made ahead? Chill them up to 2 days, heat them on the stove or in the microwave until they’re steaming, then keep them warm in the slow cooker.Turn it to Warm, scatter the green onions and sesame seeds on top, and serve with toothpicks.
Dolly’s tip: On Warm they hold safely for hours, so there’s nothing to watch.Food safety: Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, 165°F.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
