For frozen, fully cooked meatballs in a crockpot, plan on about 4–6 hours on LOW or 2–4 hours on HIGH , depending on your sauce, meatball size, and how full the crockpot is.

Quick Scoop: Core Timing

  • Standard method (most reliable):
    • LOW: 4–6 hours until heated through and tender.
* HIGH: **2–4 hours** if you’re in a hurry.
  • Food-safety check: Internal temp should reach at least 160°F for beef meatballs.
  • “All day” option: Some recipes safely stretch LOW to 6–8 hours if there’s plenty of sauce and the pot isn’t on “keep warm” for too long.

Mini Guide: By Situation

  • Party appetizer (BBQ, jelly, marinara, etc.):
    • Add frozen meatballs + at least 3 cups of sauce for a medium crockpot.
* Cook on LOW 4–6 hours or HIGH 2–3 hours, then hold on WARM **up to about 2 hours** before chilling leftovers.
  • Weeknight dinner over pasta:
    • Aim for 4–6 hours on LOW so they get time to soak up sauce without getting rubbery.
  • Very large batch (2–3+ pounds):
    • Time is often similar if your slow cooker isn’t overfilled and meatballs are mostly in a single or double layer, but start checking toward the 5–6 hour mark on LOW.

Simple Step-by-Step

  1. Pour in meatballs
    • Place frozen meatballs straight into the crockpot; no need to thaw.
  1. Cover with sauce
    • Use enough sauce (BBQ, marinara, grape-jelly mix, Swedish gravy base, etc.) to at least mostly coat or partially cover them—usually 3–4 cups for one bag.
  1. Set time and temp
    • LOW: 4–6 hours (best for texture).
 * HIGH: 2–4 hours (check around 2.5–3 hours so they don’t get overcooked).
  1. Check doneness
    • Stir and check one meatball in the center: it should be hot all the way through and at least 160°F.
  1. Serve or keep warm briefly
    • Switch to WARM for serving, ideally no more than about 2 hours before cooling leftovers.

Little Story-Style Example

Imagine tossing a bag of frozen meatballs into your slow cooker on a busy Sunday morning, covering them with a sweet-and-tangy BBQ and grape jelly mix. By late afternoon—about 4–5 hours on LOW —you lift the lid to tender meatballs bubbling in thick sauce, ready to serve on toothpicks for the game or spooned over rice for dinner.

Safety & Texture Tips

  • Always cook with enough liquid or sauce ; dry heat can lead to uneven cooking and dry, tough meatballs.
  • For very long cooks (approaching 8 hours), keep it on LOW with plenty of sauce rather than HIGH, to avoid spongy or overcooked edges.
  • When in doubt, test one meatball from the center of the crock, not the edge.

TL;DR: For “set it and forget it,” frozen meatballs in a crockpot usually need 4–6 hours on LOW , with 2–4 hours on HIGH as the quick route, plus a quick temperature or cut-open check before serving.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.