Sweet and Smoky, this oven BBQ Meatballs recipe is a dream come true. It makes a large batch, perfect to feed that party crowd. Baked and slathered with the best homemade bbq sauce you’ll find, they’re pot-luck perfect.
If you’re a big fan of meatballs like we are, don’t miss this recipe for gingery Ground Pork Meatballs. Unique with flavor and made with peaches, it’s a keeper.
I’m very excited to share this oven BBQ Meatballs Recipe with you, as I suppose I’ve had it all my life. I remember my mom making this very early in my youth.
It’s truly our favorite meatball recipe of all times and the best bbq meatball sauce you’ll find. It’s a crowd pleaser.
It makes a large batch and baked in the oven on baking sheets with BBQ sauce poured over to caramelize into a sticky flavorful glaze.
The best part about this meatball recipe is the sauce. It’s easy and it’s incredible with flavor. Simply The best bbq sauce you’ll ever taste. So good, I wonder why I ever grab a bottle of at the store.
You’ll love the flavor combination of ketchup, brown sugar and liquid smoke. It’s my kind of BBQ flavor. A Kansas City style bbq sauce, if you will. And it’s easy.
Last Saturday night our cul-de-sac held a pre-Winter-hibernation block party. I brought these bbq meatballs and the crockpot was empty on that return trip home. One neighbor commented that he had eaten about 20 of them.
Don’t you love hearing comments like that about your food? I most certainly do.
Let’s take a look:
Table of contents
Ingredients To Make BBQ Meatball Sauce
Just 5 ingredients to an incredible smoky, sweet, sticky BBQ sauce.
- Liquid Smoke: Some barbecue snobs may turn up their noses at Liquid Smoke, but it’s a natural product made by condensing smoke from burning wood. It gives this bbq sauce just the smoky punch it needs.
Ingredients To Make The Meatballs
- Ground Beef: Choose an 80-20% lean ground beef for the ideal meat to fat ratio for both flavor and that “juicy” factor.
- Evaporated milk: Is condensed milk where the water has been evaporated by 60%. I like using evaporated milk for meatballs, it just makes everything creamier.
- Eggs and Saltine Crackers: The binder that brings these beautiful meatballs to their perfectly round meatball glory.
Ingredient Substitutions
Evaporated Milk: You can use cream, half and half or whole milk. I don’t like using 2% or skim milk. You need that fat for flavor and binding.
How To Make BBQ Meatballs In The Oven
- Step 1 Make The BBQ Sauce: In a sauce pan, mix catsup, onion, garlic, liquid smoke, brown sugar and over medium heat, bring to a boil. Done. Turn off the burner, leave the pan on the hot burner to keep the sauce warm while you make those meatballs.
- Step 2 Mix the Ingredients for the meatballs: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grab your favorite large bowl and add all the ingredients for the meatballs. Important: use your hands to mix the ingredients together. A spoon or other large utensil will simply smash the ingredients together and will cause the meatballs to become too dense and mushy in texture.
- Step 3 Roll the meatballs: Again, use your hands. Grab a chunk of the mixed meat mixture and using the palms of your hands roll into 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter. About 15 gentle rolls will form a good solid meatball. As you roll the meatballs, place them on a sheet pan lined with foil or sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Step 4, Cover the meatballs with bbq sauce and oven bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes (depending on what size you made them). And be generous with that sauce.
Remove the bbq meatballs to your favorite serving platter and dig in.
FAQ’s
A food processor works best. Just use the pulse feature until the crackers are fairly fine and even in size. If you don’t have a food processor, place crackers in a gallon sized zip-lock bag and remove air. Use a rolling pin to crush the crackers.
Not really, but here’s what I’ve done. Make Ahead: Bake the meatballs first. When you’re ready to serve them, scoop them into a slow cooker. Pour the prepared sauce over the meatballs. Cook them on low for a couple of hours. This works great for making this recipe in advance and if you’re transporting them to a pot-luck.
I know what you’re thinking, a leaner blend of hamburger sounds like a healthier option. However, the 80-20 blend has just the right amount of fat to make the meatballs tender and juicy.
Tips for Success
- Practice your knife skills and chop those onions as small as you can. If the chunks are too large, it may cause the meatballs to separate or worse, fall apart.
Pro Tip Knife Skills: Always keep the hand that’s gripping the knife clean and dry. A wet hand could cause slips resulting in nicks or worse a nasty slice on your hand.
Storage
- These bbq meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. The best way to re-heat them is to use the microwave. Using your 50% power setting, heat them in 30 second increments until nice and steamy. This recipe also freezes well. It works best if you separate the meatballs before freezing. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
What To Serve With BBQ Meatballs
So many wonderful comfort food options. Here are some of our favorites.
- Ever tried Old Fashioned Pea Salad? It’s a hearty popular pot luck side dishl
- Classic Old Fashioned Potato Salad
- Or for a lighter option, serve them with a nice big tossed salad.
Recipe for Oven Meatballs In BBQ Sauce
I hope you give this Barbecue Meatballs Recipe a try. They’re simply perfect for entertaining and pot-lucks. This simply is a very popular recipe.
If You’re A Meatball Fan, Check These Out
- Homemade Baked Italian Meatballs
- Honey Sriracha Party Meatballs
- Buffalo Chicken Ground Chicken Meatballs
- Mexican Meatballs with Queso
- Authentic Swedish Meatballs Recipe
- Albondigas en Chipotle, Mexican Meatballs
And if you ‘re looking for more appetizer recipes, don’t miss my Appetizer Category. You’ll find lots of fun finger food ideas, including the most popular on my site for Shrimp Campechana, an authentic Mexican appetizer chock full of tomatoes, jalapeno, cucumber and more.
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Oven BBQ Meatballs
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ground beef 80-20 blend
- 13 ounces evaporated milk *note below
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten with a fork
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups saltine crackers crushed. The crackers should measure 2 cups after crushed. About 1 ½ sleeves of saltines.
- 1 whole onion diced
- 1 clove garlic diced
- 3 teaspoons chili powder
- For the Sauce:
- 4 cups ketchup
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- 2 clove garlic diced
- 4 tablespoons Liquid smoke
- 3 cups brown sugar firmly packed
Instructions
- BBQ Sauce Directions:
- In a sauce pan, mix ketchup, onion, garlic, liquid smoke, brown sugar and using medium heat, bring to a boil. Turn the burner off but leave the pan on the burner to keep warm while you make the meatballs.
- To Make The Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix first 9 ingredients together in a large pan. Using your hands, gently mix the ingredient until well blended.
- Again, using your hands, form into balls about 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter.
- Place the meatballs on two 9 x 13 baking dishes, sprayed with no-stick spray or covered in aluminum foil.
- Cover liberally with sauce and bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until meatballs are done. (time depends on meatball size)
- This makes around 90 meatballs.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Oven BBQ Meatballs …They’re What’s for a Pot Luck.
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
I love neighborhood parties. Like you most of our neighbors are our age with just a couple of exceptions. We all live along the water so it’s always outside and everyone is always hungry. I’m going to bring your mother’s meatballs next time!
We’re very happy here Maureen. Always good to hear from you.
Wow! These meatballs sound wonderful, and just perfect for a potluck. Seeing Saltines as an ingredient makes me think of my mom. She always used Saltines in her meatloaf.
You’ve got a great point Adri. My mom always used saltines in her meatloaf too.
Love recipes like this one! Thanks for linking up with SNF! Pinned to our party board!
Thanks Jaren.
This might be it!!! the sauce I’m looking for. Every time I make meat loaf my kids brag about the sauce they have at school and how mom cannot make a sauce that is even CLOSER to their sauce at school. I’ll try your sauce next time.
P.S: Thank you for being there during my hard time, your words meant a lot to me.
So good to hear from you Amira. Let me know about the sauce.
I love tried and true recipes. They are THE best. This is especially nice because I am a meat ball fiend. I don’t make them often enough for myself, so they always seem a treat. Lovely recipe, thanx for sharing. A pre hibernation party?
I like it. Wonderful the weather cooperated.
I don’t make them often enough either. Only when I need to feed a crowd. Always good to hear from you Carol.
I like the idea of a pre-hibernation block party! We had a block party this past Saturday, but didn’t think of that theme. Next year we will! 😉 And I love these meatballs — loads of flavor. And who doesn’t like meatballs? Glad you enjoy your new neighborhood.
I thought it was very clever. My neighbor’s idea.
I’m still smiling over the “pre-hibernation block party”! Too funny. We always need a pot luck dish to take to parties….I usually stick with appetizers or a cake, but I’d love to make these. Two of those parties coming up in December. Your meatballs will be a big hit, Lea Ann. Love that photo…sticky and delicious!
That’s what I love about this recipe Barbara, is how the sauce “glazes” into a sticky treat. Good to hear from you.
We had a cul-de-sac get together recently too and I wish we had the toddler pool full of drinks! Instead we had toddlers : ) Not quite the same but still fun. I was going to make chili to share with neighbors before trick or treating but I may change my mind and make your meatballs instead. They sound great for a crowd.
I think I prefer the toddler pool of beer over the toddlers …. too funny.
YUM! These sound so delicious~ I’m always on the look out for party food and pot lucks!
Thanks Jess. And thanks for stopping in and the comment. Heading over to check out your blog.
What a wonderful place you’ve moved to, Lea Ann! Everyone sounds so friendly and outgoing. Your mom’s meatballs look perfect for a group gathering like that. They sound wonderful and the BBQ sauce looks delicious. Tasty little morsels!
Thanks Susan.
I love the idea of a pre-hibernation party!!!! I would love to hibernate with these.
And how lucky were we that we had mild weather?
I think that meatballs are the BEST pot luck food, EVER! Im a meatball fanatic! Thanks for sharing your recipe. Im always looking for a new way to make them! Yum-me!
Thanks Heather
Nom nom – what a coincidence. I actually just talked about meatballs party with my sister yesterday and this is an ultimate recipe.
Thanks Linda.
Yeah for a fun new neighborhood and your mom’s delicious meatballs! Now I see where you got your mad cooking skills! 🙂
I loved our little party Vickie. And yes, a great move for us.
Hi Lea Ann, sounds like you are located in a wonderful community. Great appetizer recipe!
Thanks Cheri.
Sounds like a good and quick cold weather dish. Anything that can be made ahead in the crock pot is great for winter ski suppers!
Wouldn’t that be a nice thing to come home to after a day on the slopes?
This is kind of like a party meatball recipe that I have been making for years too. Don’t you just love those community cookbook type recipes? I know I do. Yours sounds wonderful. I’m giving these a go during the holidays. They sound perfect for a potluck. So glad you are blending in with your neighbors. Sounds like you landed in a great community.
Thanks Karen.
That shot in the spoon is classic and makes me want to pop it in my mouth. I love it when a recipe included the words mom or grandma and this one sounds like it fits my image. I love the “pre-hibernation” party idea and it’s great you hit it off with your new neighbors – not at all a surprise though.
Thanks Larry.
This makes me want to do something like this in my neighborhood. And, I can bring your meatballs 🙂
I loved our little block party…. and those meatballs. 🙂
It sounds like your meatballs were a bit hit – and no wonder, they look delicious. I love it when that happens. So glad you like your new neighborhood.
Sam
I’m so glad we like our neighborhood too Sam. 🙂