When the list comes around the office, or your mom calls, or the neighborhood evite goes out and someone needs to sign up for appetizers you can be the first to raise your hand and jump up and down yelling “me, me!!”. Or whatever less embarrassing way you might go about it, just make sure you sign up. Because everyone will think you are pretty awesome when you show up with these Crock Pot Pork Meatballs in Chili Apricot Sauce.
I really like the unexpected flavors in these meatballs. The pork is seasoned with just a little thyme and sage but the sauce is what really seals the deal. It’s just a little sweet but also a little tangy. Just a little update on the usual frozen meatballs in BBQ sauce (which are also really yummy, by the way). But to me this just turns it up a notch and gives you something a little different to try.

So go ahead, throw these meatballs in the crockpot the morning of your event and then don’t stress over anything except just getting yourself ready! Which reminds me I think I’m going to put a travel slow cooker on my Christmas list. It sure would save a lot of headache in transporting my food to the party 🙂
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup chili sauce
- 1/2 cup apricot preserves
- 1 teaspoon deli mustard
- Spray crock with nonstick cooking spray
- Gently mix all meatball ingredients in bowl until just evenly combined
- Form meat mixture into rounds around the size of ping pong balls and place in single layer in crock
- Mix together sauce ingredients in separate bowl and then pour over meatballs
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours
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Can you use frozen italian-style meatballs with this recipe?
yes, that should work just fine!
Thank you.
Hi! What size crock pot did you use for this? it sounds delicious!
I’m pretty sure I used my 3.5 quart oval crock although sometimes I sometimes use my 5 quart oval crock for meatballs. The larger the slow cooker the faster they will cook, typically.