Meatball Appetizer Recipes

Turn classic chicken parm into meatballs with this easy load-and-go appetizer recipe with a cheesy surprise inside. Making meatballs for a party? Switch your crock pot to warm for serving all party long.

In this healthy turkey meatball recipe, a base of sautéed mushrooms, celery and garlic adds flavor and helps keep calories in check and portions hearty. Serve these meatballs with marinara as an appetizer, on top of spaghetti or on a roll for a healthy meatball sub.

Sautéed mushrooms, celery and garlic add flavor and help keep calories in check and portions hearty in this easy Buffalo chicken meatball recipe. Serve these meatballs as an appetizer with carrot and celery sticks and blue cheese or ranch-style dressing for dipping, or make them into a Buffalo chicken sandwich.

Chicken meatballs called tsukune are a Japanese-restaurant favorite--they're essentially a chicken sausage mixture flavored with garlic and ginger. Use flat sword-shaped skewers instead of traditional round bamboo skewers to keep the meatballs from slipping when you try to turn them. Serve with bowls of steamed rice on the side.

These mini meatballs are made with a tasty mixture of ground turkey breast and pork. Each serving of six meatballs has under 200 calories.

These bite-size sweet-and-sour meatballs, drizzled with a pineapple- and soy-based sauce, make a great appetizer. Shredded carrot and finely diced pineapple keep the meatballs moist, while fresh ginger and Chinese five-spice powder amp up the flavor.

This is a famous dish along the Yangtze, with regional variations. In Shanghai, the sauce will be sweet and sour. In Chongqing, it will be hot and spicy. And in Wuhan…well, it will depend on the season and the mood of the chef.

Sautéed mushrooms, celery and garlic add flavor and help keep calories in check and portions hearty in this easy Asian beef meatball recipe. Serve as the base for lettuce wraps or on top of steamed brown rice with baby bok choy for a quick dinner.

These homemade sausage balls are a healthy riff on the original--we add riced cauliflower for moisture and a veggie boost, whole-wheat flour stands in for prepared biscuit mix, and sharp Cheddar adds flavor. Serve these sausage balls for brunch, as an appetizer, or mix them with your favorite marinara for dinner.

Sweet, smoky and savory, these sausage appetizer bites are a cinch to throw together at the last minute. Just throw some smoked sausage on the grill, slice and toss with the fresh homemade raspberry barbecue sauce for the ultimate crowd-pleaser.

Use your slow-cooker to make this tasty appetizer.

Mix chopped dried cranberries together with your meatball mixture to add a hit of sweetness in every bite. These meatballs start in the skillet but finish in the slow-cooker, making them an easy make-ahead meal.