These easy and delicious Honey Sriracha Meatballs are glazed with a spicy, sweet, garlicky sauce. They can be made on the stove top, in your slow cooker, and with store bought or homemade meatballs.
It is great as an appetizer, your main dish, or for meal prepping.
Kick this meatball recipe up another notch by using my easy Hot Honey Sauce!
I NEVER get tired of eating meatballs, especially these Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs. I make this recipe for every holiday get together starting at Halloween and ending with New Year’s day. Everyone always raves about them because they are hearty, sweet, and have just the right amount of spice.
They are such a simple appetizer, but they are also great for a quick dinner and even meal prepping. For this recipe all you have to do is simmer the sauce, add the meatballs, and cook until hot. Easy peasy!
If you are craving more meatballs, try these Grape Jelly Meatballs or Swedish Meatballs. Or if you like sriracha as much as I do, you might like my Sriracha Aioli and Cheesy Ground Beef Sliders. Or make these from my friend Cindy!
Why You‘ll LOVE This Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs Recipe
- Two easy cooking methods: Make them in the slow cooker or on the stove top. There is also instructions for making these meatballs ahead of time which is great for the holidays.
- The sauce is SO DELICIOUS! It is sweet, spicy, thick, and only 4 ingredients. I like to make extra and use it on chicken wings or roasted Brussel sprouts. So yum!
- Great for holiday entertaining: This is a unique and super flavorful meatball, plus you can easily double or triple it to feed a large amount of people. Step aside Grape Jelly Meatballs, there is a new favorite in town!
Watch This Short Video Tutorial and Make Them With Me!
Ingredients in Honey Sriracha Meatballs
This recipe is 6 simple ingredients. Most of them you will have in your pantry right now, guaranteed.
- Meatballs: I use pre-cooked homestyle meatballs you get in the frozen section. They are quick and require less effort. You can always make homemade meatballs too. I like these baked chicken meatballs.
- Honey: Buy and use local honey whenever possible. I use honey from our bees to capture all the healthy properties of honey. You can use my Hot Honey for even spicier meatballs.
- Sriracha Sauce: Use your favorite brand. I like Sky Valley for the price point and flavor (not sponsored).
- Ketchup: I recommend sugar free ketchup because the honey adds just the right amount of sweetness.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic cloves results in the best flavor. You can also use garlic powder, or jarred minced garlic in it’s place.
- Green Onion: Used as a fresh garnish and completely optional.
How to Make Honey Sriracha Meatballs 2 Ways!
You are going to love the versatility of this recipe. It makes it easy under any circumstances. Make them on the stove top in 20 minutes, or let them cook low and slow for 2 to 4 hours. Prep the meatballs ahead of time to reduce the amount of work on the day you plan on serving.
Below are basic instructions, the recipe card will have more details.
Make Them On The Stove
For the stove top method you will need a large pot with a lid.
- Sauté the garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the honey, sriracha, and ketchup. Stir well and let the sauce come to a boil
- Add the meatballs and stir them into the sauce so they are well coated.
- Cover and cook until warmed through.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and serve!
Make Them In The Slow Cooker
For the slow cooker method you will need one that holds at least 3 to 4 quarts.
- Add the honey, sriracha, ketchup, and minced garlic to the slow cooker.
- Add the meatballs and stir until they are well coated in the sauce.
- Cover and set slow cooker to low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours, or until warmed through.
- Serve chopped green onions on the side for garnishing and serve!
Making Ahead of Time Information
These meatballs are the perfect option if you are needing to make an appetizer or dinner in advance.
For making them on the stove ahead of time, have the sauce mixed up your garlic minced and the meatballs unthawed (if you are using frozen) or fully cooked (if they are homemade). When you are ready to make them all you have to do is follow the cooking directions and cook them until warmed through. You can have everything prepped up to three days in advance.
If you are making them in the slow cooker ahead of time, have everything mixed together and refrigerate it. Remove the slow cooker from the refrigerator and set to low or high and cook until warmed through. This can be done up to three days in advance.
Storing Information
Any leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They can also be frozen for up to three months. Just reheat them on the stove or in the slow cooker until thawed and warmed through.
3 Tips For The Best Honey Sriracha Meatballs
Alter the spice to suite your taste buds. This recipe is for medium heat Honey Sriracha Meatballs which is great for those who like spice and those who do not. It is just enough! I recommend testing the mixture before adding your meatballs. If you need more spice add 2 tablespoons of sriracha at a time, and less spice add 2 tablespoons of ketchup at a time.
Make the meatballs homemade! I love this recipe for meatballs from Lynn’s Way of Life using lean ground beef or use ground turkey and make Turkey Meatballs from Fit As A Mama Bear. You can also use your own recipe.
Double or triple this recipe. This is great if you are trying to feed larger crowds or have leftovers for meal prepping. I like to serve leftover meatballs for dinner over rice, on a fresh salad, or with roasted veggies.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Partially. I recommend prepping the sauce, garlic, and meatballs up to three days in advanced. This makes cooking them in the slow cooker or pot even easier and quicker.
Yes! It will take longer for the meatballs to cook if you decide to do so. On the stove top it takes around 25 minutes and in the crockpot it can take an extra hour than specified. I do want you to know that the sauce may be thinner from the water in the meatballs that is being sweat off.
More Appetizer Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Thanks for dropping in! Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter for fun NEW CONTENT and CONVERSATION delivered to your inbox. If you love this recipe save it now so you can find it later. Thank you for your support!
Honey Sriracha Meatballs
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lbs meatballs - pre-cooked*
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup sriracha sauce - I use Sky Valley
- ½ cup ketchup - sugar free
- 4 cloves garlic - minced (or 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
- ¼ cup green onions - chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
On The Stove Top
- To a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the honey, sriracha sauce, and ketchup. Bring it to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add the pre cooked meatballs. Stir until the meatballs are well coated.
- Cover the pot with it's lid and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until warmed through.
- Garnish with chopped green onion and serve.
In The Slow Cooker
- To a slow cooker, add honey, sriracha sauce, ketchup, and minced garlic. Stir to combine.
- Add the pre-cooked meatballs and stir until well coated.
- Cover the slow cooker and set to low for 4 hours, high for 2 hours, or until warmed through.
- Serve chopped green onion on the side for garnish.
VIDEO
RECIPE NOTES
Storing Information:
- Refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days.
- Frozen, in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.
- REHEAT Honey Sriracha Meatballs in a pot, slow cooker, or microwave until warmed through.
Make Ahead Information:
- For the Stove Top Method: Mince the garlic and store in an airtight container, combine the sauce and store it in another airtight container. Have the pre-cooked meatballs thawed or homemade meatballs prepared. Store up to 3 days in advanced.
- For the Slow Cooker Method: Mix all the ingredients together (except for the garnish) in the slow cooker and refrigerate up to 3 days in advance.
- Cook both as specified in the recipe card above when you are ready to make and serve.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
Absolutely love these meatballs. Will definitely be making a batch for our holiday party this year. Thanks!!
We had some friends over this weekend, so I got the party started with these meatballs. They were a huge hit! So simple to make and that honey-sriracha sauce was absolutely delicious.
The sweet, sticky sauce on these meatballs was sheer perfection. Wicked for a snack or dinner!
I recently tried out the Honey Sriracha Meatballs recipe for a game night appetizer and it was a huge hit! The flavor was a perfect balance of sweet and spicy and the texture was absolutely delicious. My boys loved it so much that I had to make a second batch, and they were all gone by the end of the evening!
One of the best parts about this recipe is how easy it is to prepare. The instructions were clear and concise, and the steps were easy to follow. I also love that I was able to make them ahead of time and keep them warm in my slow cooker until we were ready to serve. This made it easy to focus on enjoying time with friends and family instead of worrying about keeping the appetizers warm.
Overall, I would highly recommend the Honey Sriracha Meatballs recipe to anyone who is looking for a tasty and easy-to-make appetizer. It’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser, and it’s perfect for any occasion – from game night to dinner parties. Thanks to this amazing recipe, my game night was a huge success and I can’t wait to make it again soon!
I made these for family game night and they were such a hit!!! Everyone loved them. I had some little mini meatballs that I had bought from a little deli across town. So I used those and boy did it all taste good!
The sauce was yummy!!
And it was so easy to make in the slow cooker! I just left them in there on the food table so that the stayed warm 🙂
These meatballs were sweet, savory and so flavorful! Such a great dish to meal prep.