Grape Jelly Meatballs (2024)

FAQs

Why do people put grape jelly in meatballs? ›

To make these sweet and tangy meatballs, you'll need: Grape jelly: For a sweetness that balances the chili sauce, and to provide a glossy finish to the sauce. Chili sauce: Tomato paste, spices, and garlic give this sauce its depth. Barbecue sauce: Thickens the sauce while complementing the jelly and chili sauce.

Combine grape jelly, chili sauce, and cayenne pepper in a saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until warm, 5 to 10 minutes. Place meatballs in a slow cooker and top with grape jelly mixture. Cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours.

Replace the Grape Jelly with apricot preserves, orange marmalade, canned cranberry sauce, raspberry preserves, or hot pepper jelly. Replace the Ketchup with Heinz chili sauce or barbecue sauce. If swapping the ketchup for chili sauce, it is not a spicy sauce.

To thicken runny grape jelly meatball sauce, mix up a teaspoon of cornstarch (or even two depending on how thick you want things) with an equal amount of water. Stir this into the bubbling meatball mixture during the last hour they're in the slow cooker.

Grapes, the main ingredient in grape jelly, are known for their antioxidants, particularly resveratrol, which has been linked to various health benefits. While grape jelly may contain these antioxidants, it's important to note that they might be in lower amounts than in fresh grapes.

There is probably no other dish that is so connected to Swedish cuisine, as meatballs with cream sauce and lingonberry jam.

You can brown the uncooked meatballs in a sauté pan before adding them to the sauce. You can brown them in the oven. Or you can skip browning altogether and put the raw meatballs straight into the sauce to cook.

The Key to Tender Meatballs

Here, we're soaking fresh or dried breadcrumbs in a little milk until the bread becomes soggy, then mixing that right into the meat. This binder (aka panade) helps add moisture to the meatballs and also prevents the meat proteins from shrinking and becoming tough.

Jelly is made from just the juice of the fruit. Sauce is made from mashed fruit but uses less pectin than jam and is less jelled.

Add a lightly beaten egg, but not too much. Egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, but you only need a small amount. One small egg will do for one pound of minced meat. Alternatively, if you're following an egg-free diet, you could soak fresh bread in milk, squeezing out any excess milk, to use as a binder.

Is grape jelly made from grapes? ›

Quick refresher on what jelly actually is: Jam is made by mashing or cutting whole fruit and cooking it down with sugar. Jelly is made with juice or by straining out the solids (like pulp and skins). So having grape juice in your jelly isn't a cop-out, but rather crucial to its identity.

The main difference between jam and jelly is that jam is made with fruit whereas jelly is made with fruit juice. As a result, jam and jelly have different characteristics: Texture: jam has a semi-firm consistency, and the cooked-down fruit lends it a chunkier texture.

Can confirm it works great to sweeten meat and help keep it moist. The old co*cktail meatball or weenie “sauce” that's one bottle chili sauce and 8oz grape jelly.

Pairing the sweet with savory as well as mixing textures is key to experiencing Swedish meatballs as they are meant to taste. The mild flavor of Ikea's meatballs comes from allspice, (a spice similar to cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg), which the sweet and slightly tart lingonberry jam goes with perfectly.

Add a lightly beaten egg, but not too much. Egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, but you only need a small amount. One small egg will do for one pound of minced meat. Alternatively, if you're following an egg-free diet, you could soak fresh bread in milk, squeezing out any excess milk, to use as a binder.

DEAR JENELLE: You can add grape jelly to smoothies, yogurt, pancakes, French toast, waffles, cottage cheese, oatmeal, ice cream or muffins. Or add it to cream cheese to top a bagel, cornbread, biscuit or toast.