Love Your Basil: Spicy Globe Basil Meatball Appetizer

Reader Contribution by Staff
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Ramona Werst has a love for growing and cooking with basil. Currently, she has more than 30 varieties in her collection and she is adding to it all the time. She creates basil-infused recipes and would love to teach you how to Love Your Basil! Visit her blog (www.ramonasbasilgarden.com) to download her free e-book,Love Your Basil.

These spicy globe basil party meatballs are so easy to make and are so delicious–they will be the hit of the party!

The holidays are approaching and are my favorite time of year. I love every part of the festivities and love to attend parties. I also love to take a special homemade dish when I go (armed with a copy of this recipe; people always ask me for it).

My Spicy Globe Basil Party Meatballs can be made in advance, frozen, and when I need them all I have to do is make the sauce, add some meatballs and cook in my crockpot. It’s so easy to transport them to the party, too. Just take them in the crockpot, plug it in at the party and watch them disappear!


Easy to make meatballs, but packed full of delicious flavor!
Photo by David Werst

Spicy Globe Basil Party Meatballs
To see detailed, how-to videos for this recipe, visit Love Your Basil.

• 1 pound hamburger meat
• 1 package Sloppy Joe mix
• 1 egg
• 1 bottle Heinz chili sauce
• 1 large jar of grape jelly or jam
• 1/4 cup fresh spicy globe basil, chopped
• Minced jalapenos, optional

1. Thoroughly mix the hamburger meat with the Sloppy Joe mix and your egg.

2. Form your meat mixture into bite-sized meatballs and place them on an olive oil-coated cookie sheet. Store in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

3. After your meatballs have been refrigerated, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake them for 15 minutes. Halfway through, turn them over so that they bake golden brown on both sides.

4. Take the meatballs out of the oven once they are a nice brown. You can freeze the meatballs for use at a later time. When you are ready, take the amount that you want out of the freezer.

5. Mix chili sauce and jelly (or jam) in a slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to high–we want the jelly to dissolve. Then add fresh basil.

6. Add jalapenos and meatballs to the slow cooker; turn to low. Cook for several hours. You can keep coming back to taste it–you’ll know when they’re ready.

I suggest bringing the meatballs to a holiday party in a crock pot. Leave the crock pot plugged in so the meatballs stay hot and warm. Your guests can use a toothpick to dine. (Or even those adorble toothpicks with flags at the end!)

The good news? You can do all this too!

I’m Ramona Werst, teaching you to Love Your Basil.


Please visit my Facebook Fan Page and visit my blog.

  • Published on Dec 2, 2010
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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