These homemade BBQ meatballs are classic meatballs slathered with delicious homemade barbecue sauce. They are the perfect combination of savory, sweet, and smokey, making it impossible to eat just one.
This recipe makes a large batch, which is perfect for a potluck or to feed a party crowd. Or perhaps you like to do some make-ahead meal prep.
This Amish meatball recipe freezes well, so you can have homemade meatballs in the freezer for a handy meal on a busy night. Amish meatballs are easy to make and loved by all.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Ground Beef: Forms the base of the meatballs, providing protein and flavor. (I prefer a mixture of ground chuck and ground round.)
- Evaporated Milk or Half & Half: Adds moisture to the meatball mixture, keeping them tender and juicy.
- Crushed Saltine Cracker Crumbs: Serve as a binder, helping to hold the meatballs together. They also add texture and absorb some of the moisture, preventing them from becoming too dense.
- Quick Oats: Another binder ingredient that helps absorb excess moisture and gives the balls a softer texture.
- Eggs: Act as a binding agent, helping to hold the mixture together and providing structure during cooking.
- Chopped Onion: Adds flavor.
- Salt, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper: Seasonings that enhance the flavor profile. Salt brings out the natural flavors, chili powder adds warmth and depth, garlic powder adds savory notes, and black pepper adds a subtle spicy kick.
- BBQ Sauce Ingredients:
- Ketchup: Forms the base of the BBQ sauce, providing sweetness and tanginess.
- Brown Sugar: Sweetens the sauce and caramelizes during cooking, adding depth of flavor and richness.
- Chopped Onion or Dried Onion Flakes: Adds flavor, providing a savory base note.
- Liquid Smoke: Mimics the smoky flavor of traditional barbecue cooking, enhancing the overall flavor profile of the sauce.
- Garlic Powder: Adds savory depth, complementing the other flavors.
How to Make BBQ Meatballs in the Oven
Mix all the seasonings, crumbs, oats, eggs, and milk. Then add the hamburger and shape the meatball mixture into about 1 ½" balls. Overmixing will result in tough meatballs.
Place the meatballs in a single layer in a cake pan or baking sheet with sides. Mix the BBQ sauce ingredients and pour it over the top of the meatballs.
Bake the meatballs in BBQ sauce for about 40 minutes.
Baked BBQ Meatballs for our Amish/Mennonite Wedding Dinner
I was a member of the Beachy Amish/Mennonite church when my husband and I got married almost twenty-one years ago. The Beachy group does not consider themselves Amish, but they are still very conservative with a lot of rules.
We invited between three and four hundred people to our wedding. Thankfully the Beachy groups have a church house, so we didn't have the wedding on our farm, as the Amish do.
(You can read more about Amish wedding customs in another post I wrote.)
I sewed my wedding dress, which was white, and in the same dress style that we always wore.
We had a two-hour church service with the ceremony at the end. Then we served a large family-style dinner afterward. A lot of prep went into the meal, and that's usually about the biggest expense for a plain wedding. Family and church friends pitched in to help prepare and serve the meal.
Everyone seems to love homemade barbecue meatballs. And we had gotten a cow butchered several weeks before the wedding, so we had plenty of ground beef. Therefore, we decided to serve homemade BBQ meatballs, scalloped potatoes, peas and carrots, coleslaw, buns with honey butter, and berry cheesecake desserts for our wedding meal.
This is still one of my favorite go-to meals. Scalloped potatoes and barbecued meatballs make a meal that most people seem to enjoy.
Frozen Meatballs in Oven with BBQ Sauce
Since we had the freshly ground hamburger from butchering the cow, my mom decided that we should go ahead and make the meatballs right away and freeze them for the wedding. It was several weeks till the wedding, but these meatballs freeze well. So this allowed us to get some wedding meal prep done in advance.
You can make this big batch of barbecued meatballs and freeze some (unbaked) for handy meals at a later date.
Mix the meatball ingredients, shape them (Affiliate links - a cookie scoop or meat baller are handy tools for the job), and place them in a single layer on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Freeze them until solid.
Then store the frozen meatballs in freezer bags until ready to use. They should be fine in airtight freezer bags for several weeks and even up to a couple of months.
Baked Meatballs
You don't need to thaw the meatballs before baking. Place the frozen meatballs, single-layer, in a baking pan. Cover with the BBQ sauce and bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for another 30 minutes.
You could also prebake these homemade meatballs on a large baking sheet at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes until browned. Cool completely and freeze. Remove from the freezer, slather with bbq sauce and bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
If you want to take them to a potluck, you could even warm them in a crockpot. If the meatballs are prebaked they can be piled on top of each other. Pour the sauce over the top.
What to Serve with Homemade Barbecue Meatballs
These oven meatballs in barbecue sauce pair well with many different sides for dinner.
Of course, Scalloped Potatoes are a great side dish with meatballs. Creamy Amish Mashed Potatoes, as well as Crispy Parmesan Potatoes, are great options.
Barbecued Meatballs go well with Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Filling, Buttered Noodles, Amish Potato Salad, and the list goes on, as you will see in my post on what to serve with meatballs.
A Few Things I Love About This Barbecue Meatball Recipe...
#1. They are great as a main dish for dinner. Or you can serve them as an appetizer.
#2. They are a crowd-pleaser. Everyone comes back for more.
#3. These meatballs are easy to make, and you can make them in advance. You can freeze them for an easy dinner on a busy night.
If you're like me, I don't like getting up extra early on Sunday mornings to prepare lunch before church. So I make the meatballs on Saturday, refrigerate them overnight, and put them in the oven (on Delay Start) before church.
More Amish Recipes with Beef
I hope you enjoy these delicious, oven-baked, homemade BBQ meatballs. If you try this recipe, I'd love it if you left a comment and star rating below. Thank you!
📖 Recipe Card
Homemade Oven-Baked BBQ Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lb. ground beef
- 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (or 1 ½ c. half & half)
- 1 c. crushed saltine cracker crumbs (about 28 crackers)
- ¾ c. quick oats
- 2 eggs
- ½ c. chopped onion
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- ¾ tsp. black pepper
BBQ Sauce:
- 2 ½ c. ketchup
- ¾ - 1 c. brown sugar
- ¼ c. chopped onion, or 2 tsp. dried onion flakes
- 1 tsp. liquid smoke
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Combine the seasonings, milk, oats, crumbs, and eggs. Mix well.1 c. crushed saltine cracker crumbs (about 28 crackers), ¾ c. quick oats, 2 eggs, ½ c. chopped onion, 2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. garlic powder, ¾ tsp. black pepper, 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (or 1 ½ c. half & half)
- Add the hamburger and mix only to combine. Overmixing will create tough meatballs.3 lb. ground beef
- Roll the mixture into 1 ½" balls and place single-layer into a baking dish.
- Spoon the barbecue sauce over the top of each meatball and bake, uncovered, for approximately 45 - 50 minutes.
- If you want to freeze some of these meatballs for later use. Shape the meatballs and place them in single-layer on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Freeze until solid. Then store the meatballs in freezer bags until ready to bake. Place frozen meatballs in a baking dish, pour the sauce over them, and bake for approx. 1 hour.
Barbecue Sauce:
- Combine all the ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved. Spoon the sauce over the top of each meatball.2 ½ c. ketchup, ¾ - 1 c. brown sugar, ¼ c. chopped onion, or 2 tsp. dried onion flakes, 1 tsp. liquid smoke, 1 tsp. garlic powder
Notes
Nutrition
Check out my YouTube channel at My Amish Heritage
Anna
We love these!