Super Bowl LI came and went. I intended to make vegan cocktail meatballs for the big game but somehow never got around to it. Ever since I saw the recipe on the blog House Vegan, I’ve been curious to try veggie balls in the two ingredient sauce – made from store-bought cocktail sauce and grape jelly.
Grape jelly!
With an ingredient like that, I still wanted to try out the recipe but instead of a potful of vegan cocktail meatballs, I made a single serving version. It’s a delight! The sauce cooks down into a savory and sweet lacquered coating for the veggie balls. Serve with rice or pasta noddles and a side vegetable to turn it into a full-fledged meal for dinner.
If cooking for a party, see the original Crowd-Pleasing Vegan Cocktail Meatballs recipe on House Vegan here. I adapted the recipe by reducing the sauce ingredients to the single serving size listed for each item – 1 tablespoon grape jelly, 2 tablespoons cocktail sauce and a couple of tablespoons of water to thin out the sauce a bit.
Vegan Cocktail Meatballs Dinner
Serves 1 or 2 as part of a meal
9 veggie balls (I used Ikea GRÖNSAKSBULLAR Veggie Balls)
2 tablespoons cocktail sauce
1 tablespoon grape jelly
2 tablespoons water
If serving with rice or pasta noodles, start that first as the rest of the dish comes together fairly quickly once you get started.
In a small bowl, combine the grape jelly, cocktail sauce and water. Heat the veggie balls following the directions on the package and set aside.
Pour the sauce ingredients into a wok or pan and heat to a boil. Turn down to medium heat and stir to break up any remaining chunks of grape jelly. Add the veggie balls and stir to coat in sauce. Partially cover the wok and let simmer for 2-3 minutes (the longer it goes, the thicker the sauce) stirring occasionally. Serve on top of rice or pasta noodles. Add a side vegetable if desired.
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Yay! I’m so glad that you tried and liked them. It sounds so strange, but they’re good! And yours look gorgeous <3
Thanks for the recipe! It is strange but that’s also its appeal. ;-)
This is amazing. Long, long ago my aunt used to make meatballs (actual MEATballs) exactly like this. She made the same sauce with grape jelly and cocktail sauce. It was hard to believe such a tasty sauce could be made this way, but even harder to believe the recipe is still going around! I’d like to try it with sriracha. .
I knew cocktail meatballs have been around for a long time but I didn’t know the sauce was so easy. Sriracha sounds like a great idea.
Yum! I have a recipe for sweet n’ spicy ones made with grape jelly and hot sauce… so kinda similar. I love the idea of mixing with pasta for a meal tho :)
Awesome, I’m trying a spicy version next. It’s a fairly quick and easy meal at that.
Wow, grape jelly! Now that is certainly a unique approach. I’ve made stranger pairings myself so who am I to judge? I’d be very curious to try it.
Cocktail anything automatically becomes awesome – tininess equates to tastiness. I don’t know if you can get grape jelly in the UK though – I wonder what I could use as a sub? Ingenious recipe though – I love the shine on it.