BBQ Pineapple Meatballs
BBQ Pineapple Meatballs are an easy crockpot recipe made with just 3 ingredients: frozen meatballs, barbecue sauce, and crushed pineapple! Grab some toothpicks for the perfect appetizer or serve over rice for an easy dinner recipe for those busy weeknights.
You can also pop these frozen meatballs in the air fryer for a crispy meatballs recipe! After making my Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs (and looooving them!) I decided I needed more easy meatball recipes. You’ll also love my Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Meatballs recipe.
Why This Recipe Works
- 3 ingredient Hawaiian meatballs. I introduce to you, your new family favorite easy weeknight dinner! You only need 3 ingredients (meatballs with pineapple and bbq sauce) and a slow cooker. It takes about 5 minutes of prep time is all!
- Frozen meatballs. Because this pineapple meatballs recipe uses frozen meatballs, you don’t have to spend the time making your own!
- Crockpot Hawaiian meatballs. Since these Hawaiian meatballs are made in the crock pot. You don’t have to babysit anything! The crockpot does all the work for you.
- Crowd-pleasing appetizer. These tasty meatballs with pineapple and BBQ sauce creates the perfect tangy sauce for these slow cooker Hawaiian meatballs!
Ingredient Notes
- BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite kind! Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ meatballs are my favorite, so I use Sweet Baby Ray’s. You’ll use just shy of a 28 oz bottle of bbq sauce.
- Crushed Pineapple: If you want chunks of pineapple instead of the crushed pineapple, then you can use pineapple chunks instead.
- Meatballs: I recommend using the Italian style frozen meatballs from Costco! They are my very favorite.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add ingredients to the crockpot. Pour one 20-oz. can of pineapple into the slow cooker (don’t drain the juice!) and the 2 cups of BBQ sauce and stir. Place meatballs in the slow cooker and stir so the are covered in sauce.
- Cook the pineapple BBQ meatballs and serve. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4 hours. Then serve as an appetizer or over rice for a meal!
Recipe Tips
If using homemade meatballs, you will want to fully cook them prior to adding to the crock pot.
The flavor of the sauce comes down to the barbecue sauce you choose. Instead of making your own sauce with different sauce ingredients, we are simplifying it and just using your favorite bbq sauce and a can of pineapple!
Feel free to combine the bbq sauce and pineapple into a separate bowl and mix there, then add the meatballs to the crockpot, pour sauce on top and combine. I skipped the separate bowl to reduce dishes to wash!
This is a great appetizer to serve for parties or gatherings! Just grab some toothpicks and let your guests go to town.
Wondering what to serve with BBQ pineapple meatballs? You can make this a full meal by serving this Hawaiian meatballs recipe on a bed of rice! A side of roasted parmesan carrots and homemade rolls would be delicious too.
Variations: Some delicious variations would be adding diced bell peppers, serving with green onions, or topping with sesame seeds.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
You’ll definitely want to make these BBQ pineapple meatballs ahead of time because they’ll need a few hours in the crockpot to heat up.
Store any leftover Hawaiian meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Want to freeze pineapple meatballs? This is a great freezer meal! Just let everything cool down and then store in an airtight container or freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Remove and let thaw in the fridge, then warm up fully before enjoying.
Recipe FAQs
Yes you can! But you’ll want the meatballs to be cooked fully before adding to the slow cooker.
No it isn’t. But you can use a spicy barbecue sauce if you want some spice!
Definitely! You’ll want to cut it into pieces and save as much of the juices as possible. You may need to add a bit of water (maybe 1/3 cup) because canned pineapple has liquid in it.
Yes! The Italian style frozen meatballs from Costco are cooked meatballs. So the slow cooker isn’t needing to cook the meatballs, just warming them up!
More Meatballs Recipes
BBQ Pineapple Meatballs
Ingredients
- 50 frozen precooked meatballs
- 2 cups BBQ sauce - I used Sweet Baby Rays
- 1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple - don’t drain
Instructions
- To the slow cooker add the BBQ sauce and crushed pineapple. Mix until combined.
- Add the frozen meatballs to the sauce, mix until the meatballs have been fully covered.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours.
- Serve with rice or as an appetizer.
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9 Comments on “BBQ Pineapple Meatballs”
If making homemade meatballs, how many lbs. of meat would be needed?
Martha, depending on how large you make your meatballs, you need 2-3 lbs of meat. The Swedish Meatballs recipe, for instance, makes 45 one inch meatballs from 2 lbs of meat. I hope that helps!
Looking forward to making this recipe. Sounds delicious. DO you think I can cook slowly in a pot on the stove!Do
Hi Donna! You can definitely do it on the stovetop. It won’t need that many hours though — probably just 30 minutes or so.
Soooo easy and delicious!! Kids loved it.
There are so many different meatballs in Costco,would you please tell me which one you use? Thanks.
Hi Lisa! I use the Italian style meatballs from Costco.
can I use homemade meatballs in here and do I have to cook them first
Hi Nancy! Yes you can use homemade meatballs in this recipe. I would cook them prior to placing them in the slow cooker though.