If you love the Mississippi pot roast flavor — that tangy, buttery, savory thing — these slow cooker meatballs are going to be your new go-to. Just a handful of pantry ingredients, a few hours on low, and you’ve got a rich, saucy dinner that tastes like you worked way harder than you did.
Why You’ll Love This
Basically effortless — dump everything in the slow cooker and walk away for a few hours
That signature Mississippi flavor — tangy, buttery, savory sauce you’ll want to eat with a spoon Try our Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak Meatballs next.
Feeds a crowd — works as a weeknight dinner over mashed potatoes or as a party appetizer with toothpicks
Pantry-friendly — two seasoning packets, frozen meatballs, butter, and pepperoncinis is all you need
Not actually spicy — the pepperoncinis add flavor and brightness, not heat
A Few Notes on the Ingredients
The meatballs: I’ve used a few different brands and they all work fine. I’ve seen recipes that call for Italian-seasoned meatballs and I would genuinely steer you away from that — the Italian flavoring fights with the ranch and au jus and you end up with something muddled. Homestyle or plain. That’s the move. If you like this, you'll love our Chicken Bacon Ranch Pinwheels.
The au jus mix: Some people use brown gravy or onion soup mix instead, and I don’t think that’s wrong exactly — it’s just a different thing. The au jus gives you something a little more savory and less sweet. If you’re watching sodium, grab a low-sodium version. The packets already bring a lot of salt to the party and you probably don’t need to add more.
Ranch dressing mix: I make my own sometimes, from a recipe I’ve had scribbled on a notecard for years — I honestly don’t remember where it came from, probably the internet in 2012 or so — but the packet works perfectly fine. Don’t use the creamy ranch dressing from a bottle. That is a different thing and it will not do what you want it to do.
The pepperoncini juice: This is the liquid from the jar of pepperoncinis. I want to say this clearly because the first time I made a Mississippi recipe I almost skipped it, thinking it was just brine and didn’t matter. It matters. It gives the whole thing that signature something that you can’t really name but you’d notice if it was missing. If you genuinely can’t do any kick at all, swap in beef broth. But try it at least once with the juice.
Butter: Unsalted, sliced into pats. Don’t skip the butter. I know it seems like a lot. Do it anyway.
Ingredients
32 ounce bag frozen homestyle meatballs — don’t thaw them
1 packet au jus gravy mix (low sodium if that’s your thing)
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1 packet ranch dressing mix
½ cup water
¼ cup pepperoncini juice (from the jar)
½ cup unsalted butter, sliced into about 8 or so pats — I eyeball this honestly For another easy option, see our Slow Cooker Ribeye Steaks with Rich Gravy.
8 pepperoncini peppers, just the whole ones right from the jar
How to Make It
Pour your frozen meatballs into the slow cooker. I use a 6-quart and they fit just right — you want them in a single layer or close to it so the sauce can get around them.
In a measuring cup, mix together the au jus packet, the ranch packet, the water, and the pepperoncini juice. It’ll look a little thick and murky and that’s fine. Pour the whole thing over the meatballs and give them a stir so they’re all coated. It won’t be a ton of liquid and you might wonder if it’s enough — it is. More liquid comes as things cook down.
Scatter the butter pats across the top. Then tuck in the pepperoncini peppers. I usually just kind of nestle them down in between the meatballs but you can leave them on top, it doesn’t really matter. They’re going to soften and slump no matter what you do.
Put the lid on and set it to low. Cook for three to four hours. Do not try to speed this up on high — I did that once, early on, because I got impatient, and the edges burned and the sauce got weird. Just give it the time it needs.
Every thirty minutes, take off the lid and give everything a stir. This is the part that keeps it from scorching on the bottom. I set a little timer on my phone so I don’t forget. The butter will melt into the sauce and it’ll start smelling incredible somewhere around the one-hour mark, which is the moment when I have to actively stop myself from just eating it then.
Serve it immediately, with whatever’s underneath to catch the sauce. Do not skip serving the drippings. That sauce is the whole point.
Variations
You can add a little Worcestershire sauce to the liquid mix — maybe a tablespoon. I tried it once and I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think it needs it. You might also like our Slow Cooker Amish Kielbasa Potatoes.
You can use homemade meatballs if you really want to, but I’d suggest going lean on the meat since extra grease in the sauce gets a little heavy. I haven’t tested it enough to give you exact times, so you’d be winging it a little. Which honestly is how most cooking goes anyway.
Some people do this with frozen turkey or chicken meatballs and it works fine. A little lighter, a little different flavor. Good if that’s your preference.
Leftovers
They keep in the fridge for about three days in a covered container. Reheat them in a pan with a small splash of water or broth — or back in the slow cooker if you’ve got time. They tend to thicken up in the fridge so don’t be alarmed by that, they loosen up again once they’re warm.
You can also freeze them for a couple of months. I’ve done it. It works. I just usually don’t have leftovers to freeze, is the thing. Try our Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes next.
There’s something I keep meaning to say about these and always forget until someone asks — you can absolutely serve these as an appetizer at a get-together. Set out some toothpicks, keep the slow cooker on warm, done. They disappear fast. Not bragging. Just mentioning it in case you need something easy for a crowd and you’ve been overthinking it like I always do. If you like this, you'll love our Rotel Cream Cheese Sausage Balls.
Slow Cooker Mississippi Meatballs
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Ingredients
- 32 oz frozen meatballs homestyle
- 1 packet au jus gravy mix
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix
- 0.5 cup water
- 0.25 cup pepperoncini juice
- 0.5 cup unsalted butter sliced
- 8 whole pepperoncini peppers
Instructions
- Place frozen meatballs in the slow cooker in an even layer.
- Mix au jus mix, ranch mix, water, and pepperoncini juice.
- Pour mixture over meatballs and stir to coat.
- Add butter pats and pepperoncini peppers.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3–4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
- Serve hot with sauce spooned over.
Notes
Nutrition
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Nutrition values are estimates based on the listed ingredients and serving count. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion sizes.
