One of my kid’s new favorite dinners is Slow Cooker Teriyaki Meatballs. It’s a fun and simple recipe to throw in the slow cooker. It comes out perfect every time. It’s a meal that no one complains about eating. Yay! They’re pretty big fans of anything teriyaki. You may have noticed I have a lot of teriyaki recipes on the site. They are also big fans of meatballs which makes this a winning combination in their book! I use frozen meatballs in the recipe. If you’d rather make a meatball recipe from scratch, these homemade meatballs are the best.
My favorite way to make teriyaki sauce is a simple, three-ingredient recipe that I got from a friend a long time ago. To make that sauce work in this recipe, it needs to be combined with some water and cornstarch and cooked on the stove for a few minutes.
We love serving Slow Cooker Teriyaki Meatballs with jasmine rice and a side of broccoli or peas. The flavor of the meatballs is so good they can even stand on their own as an appetizer–perfect for New Year’s or other holiday parties.
Delicious Teriyaki Recipes
- Sticky Teriyaki Baked Chicken Thighs
- Teriyaki Garlic Chicken Stir Fry
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Easy Three-Ingredient Teriyaki Sauce
step-by-step pictures on how to make slow cooker teriyaki meatballs
Frequently asked questions about how to make Slow Cooker Teriyaki Meatballs
can I use any type of meatball?
I have not tried it with turkey meatballs yet. I can’t see why they wouldn’t work. The flavor might be a little different. I’ve used store-bought Italian meatballs (see picture above) and homemade meatballs. If using homemade meatballs, brown the meatballs before adding them to the slow cooker.
can I use a store-bought teriyaki sauce instead of homemade?
Yes. If you have a favorite store-bought teriyaki sauce, you can definitely use it. You need 1 1/2-2 cups of sauce, depending upon how many meatballs you are using. I suggest diluting it with 1/2 cup water.
should I cook the meatballs on high or low in the slow cooker?
Either temperature will work. It depends on how much time you want/need it to cook. On low in the slow cooker, it will be 6-8 hours and on high 3-4 hours.
is this recipe gluten-free?
Depending on what meatballs you use, it can easily be gluten-free. If you have a gluten-free store-bought meatball that you use, great! If not, you will need to make homemade gluten-free meatballs. You will also need to use a gluten-free soy sauce.
can I use honey in place of sugar in this recipe?
Yes, but I would use a little less than what is called for because honey is so sweet.
cook’s tools:
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- 1½ - 2 lbs meatballs
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup Italian salad dressing
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1½ cup water
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- Put frozen meatballs into the slow cooker.
- In a 1-quart sauce pan, combine the sugar, Italian salad dressing, soy sauce, water, and cornstarch. Whisk together and bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
- Once boiling, turn down heat to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Sauce will thicken.
- Pour the thickened sauce over the meatballs in the slow cooker. Toss meatballs until evenly coated.
- Put the lid on slow cooker, and turn heat to low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- When meatballs are done cooking, serve with jasmine rice or coconut rice.
- Enjoy!
Desserts Your Family will Love!
This sounds delicious!
I’ve saved this recipe and will definitely make this soon!
Thank YOU!
So good and easy for a family my meal! #julygiveaway
Thank you for this recipe – I love it and it is so easy even if you make and freeze your own meatballs ahead of time. It’s so easy when the family come for the weekend. Love your teriyaki chicken recipe as well.
Awesome! I Love hearing this! Thank you so much Jenn.