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    Home » Recipes » Slow Cooker Recipes

    Easy Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs

    Published: Aug 2, 2021 · Modified: Sep 11, 2021 by Kelsey Smith

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    Ready for a dump-and-go slow cooker recipe? Try these easy slow cooker Hawaiian meatballs made with pineapple chunks, sloppy joe sauce, and frozen meatballs. It's tangy and takes less than five minutes to throw together.

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Hawaiian Meatballs in a bowl with an Instant Pot.

    These were inspired by my Zesty Italian BBQ Chicken recipe (which has a great zing to the BBQ flavor) and a recommendation from a Facebook recipe group. A group member was looking for an easy meatball recipe that wasn't from scratch but also didn't use BBQ as its main sauce ingredient. A user recommended Manwich which I often have on hand.

    Manwich (or any sloppy joe sauce for that matter) is a tomato puree-based sauce with a great blend of seasoning. I love Hawaiian meatballs, but I'm not always the biggest barbecue sauce fan, so this is a great fit for me.

    This tangy tomato-based sauce would also taste fantastic over chicken or pork.

    These Hawaiian meatballs are versatile because they can be used as your main dish or make for a great party dish. Take your cook-and-carry Crockpot and a pack of toothpicks.

    Ingredients

    This recipe calls for just three ingredients.

    Frozen meatballs, sloppy joe sauce, and pineapple chunks.
    1. Frozen meatballs, fully cooked. I use Kroger brand homestyle meatballs.
    2. Sloppy joe sauce. I use Manwich or Kroger brand.
    3. Pineapple chunks. I use canned Dole Pineapple Chunks or fresh pineapple if I have it.

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    Directions

    Dump all three ingredients (meatballs, sloppy joe sauce, and drained pineapple chunks) into the bottom of the slow cooker. This recipe can be made with a slow cooker liner for easier cleanup.

    Frozen meatballs, sloppy joe sauce, and canned pineapple layered in the slow cooker.
    Add the ingredients to the slow cooker.

    Toss the ingredients so the sauce covers the meatballs.

    Frozen meatballs, sloppy joe sauce, and pineapple chunks tossed together in the slow cooker.
    Combine all of the ingredients, mixing together to cover the meatballs in sauce.

    Cook on high for 2–3 hours.

    Top-down view of Hawaiian meatballs in a bowl over rice.

    Cooking Tip

    Don't cook these meatballs for too long. With the slow cooker, it's tempting to let dishes cook for a long time, but this really only needs two hours to do the job.

    This recipe calls for precooked meatballs, so the goal here really is to fully warm through the meatballs and allow the flavors to come together. If you cook for longer (say, overnight) you'll possibly end up with burnt sauce and overcooked meatballs.

    Substitutions

    • Frozen meatballs: You can use any type of fully-cooked frozen meatball with this recipe (homestyle, Italian, turkey, etc.) but they must be fully cooked. The cook time here is not appropriate for raw meat. The 26 oz frozen meatballs from Kroger have about 27 meatballs total for reference.
    • Sloppy joe sauce: If you want a tomato-based Hawaiian meatball sauce similar to my sloppy joe creation, you can used BBQ sauce and a little bit of ketchup instead. Use a cup of BBQ and a half cup of ketchup (or go full barbecue with 1-½ cups BBQ sauce).
    • Pineapple chunks: You can used canned crushed pineapple instead, but I prefer the chunky pineapple in the finished dish. The chunks are also better if you plan to serve this potluck-style.

    To Serve

    You can serve this over rice or using toothpicks for a potluck or party.

    To garnish, I recommend cilantro (pictured) or green onions.

    Hawaiian Meatballs.

    Equipment

    My slow cooker is a Crockpot 6-Quart Cook-and-Carry, but this Easy Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs recipe is small enough for a 4-quart slow cooker.

    Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs

    Easy Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs

    Slow cooker meatballs in a sweet and tangy tomato-based sauce made with frozen meatballs, sloppy joe sauce, and pineapple chunks.
    Print Pin Email Rate
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours
    Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
    Calories: 498kcal
    Author: Kelsey Smith
    Servings: 5

    Equipment

    • Slow cooker
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 26 oz frozen meatballs fully cooked
    • 15 oz sloppy joe sauce
    • 8 oz pineapple chunks drained

    Instructions

    • Add meatballs, sloppy joe sauce, and pineapple to the bottom of the slow cooker. Toss ingredients so the sauce covers the meatballs.
    • Cook on high for 2-3 hours.

    Notes

    Nutrition was estimated using MyFitnessPal. 34 g fat, 26 g carbs, 24 g protein.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 498kcal

    Note: Nutrition was estimated using WP Recipe Maker.

    Tried this recipe?Tag @ByKelseySmith or use #bykelseysmith!
    Easy Slow Cooker Hawaiian MeatballsEasy Slow Cooker Hawaiian MeatballsEasy Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs

    More Slow Cooker Recipes

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    About Kelsey Smith

    I am a freelance content writer for college-level textbooks by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working on college textbooks, you might find me here, sharing recipes, social media tutorials, and more.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kelsey says

      October 17, 2021 at 11:06 pm

      5 stars
      The Manwich sauce is amazing with these meatballs.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Kelsey! I am a freelance content writer for college-level textbooks by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working, you might find me here, sharing easy family recipes.

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