It’s officially cozy comfort food time! These BBQ Meatballs with Cheese Grits are the perfect mix of tangy BBQ sauce, juicy meatballs, and rich and creamy cheese grits to create all those cozy vibes. And if you’ve never had cheese grits before, definitely go check out my cheese grits blog post because they’re a delicious southern staple that can be topped with all sorts of delicious goodies. And today’s delicious goodies are BBQ meatballs. ;)
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What to Serve with BBQ Meatballs and Cheese Grits
This is a pretty rich bowl of deliciousness on its own, so I highly suggest pairing it with something green to balance out the weight of the meal. I paired my BBQ Meatballs and Cheese Grits with Jerk Seasoned Collard Greens. The jerk seasoning pairs perfectly with the tangy BBQ sauce. You could also pair this dish with Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Vegetarian Mustard Greens, or Braised Red Cabbage.
Can I Use a Different Meat?
Yes, if you do not eat pork you can definitely substitute with a different type of ground meat. Ground beef or turkey will both work great for this recipe. I highly suggest using ground meat that has a slightly higher percent fat to keep the meatballs moist and tender.
What Kind of BBQ Sauce Do you Suggest?
I’m an equal opportunity BBQ sauce lover, so I don’t really have a favorite. For this particular dish, I’d probably go for something smoky or honey flavored, both of which will pair well with the cheddar cheese in the grits. I would probably avoid anything pineapple or teriyaki flavored.
If you want to try making your own BBQ sauce, check out my Homemade BBQ Sauce recipe.
BBQ Meatballs with Cheese Grits
Servings 4Ingredients
BBQ Meatballs
- 1 lb. ground pork ($3.49)
- 1 large egg ($0.21)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs ($0.07)
- 1 cup BBQ sauce, divided ($0.54)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
Cheese Grits
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
- 2 cups milk ($1.25)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1 cup quick cooking grits ($0.49)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.18)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar ($1.15)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the ground pork, egg, breadcrumbs, 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce, salt, smoked paprika, and garlic powder to a bowl. Use your hands to mix the seasoning into the pork until everything is well combined.
- Divide and shape the pork mixture into 16 meatballs about the size of ping pong balls. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Transfer the meatballs to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until browned and cooked through.
- While the meatballs are baking, prepare the cheese grits. Combine the chicken broth, milk, and garlic powder in a medium saucepot. Place a lid on top and bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching.
- Once boiling, stir in the quick cooking grits and salt. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the grits simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the grits from the heat and stir in the butter and pepper. Next, stir in the shredded cheddar, one handful at a time, until fully melted into the grits.
- Once the meatballs have finished baking, add them to a clean bowl and pour the remaining BBQ sauce over top. Stir to combine. The heat from the meatballs will warm the BBQ sauce. If your BBQ sauce is cold from refrigeration, you may want to heat the meatballs and sauce in a saucepot over low for a few minutes.
- To serve, place about one cup of the cheese grits in the bottom of a bowl. Top with four meatballs and some of the BBQ sauce. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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How to Make BBQ Meatballs with Cheese Grits – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 1 lb. ground pork, 1 large egg, ¼ cup breadcrumbs, 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp smoked paprika, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper to a large bowl. Mix the ingredients together until well combined.
Divide and shape the pork mixture into 16 meatballs roughly the size of ping pong balls. Transfer the meatballs to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
While the meatballs are baking, prepare the cheese grits. Add 2 cups chicken broth, 2 cups milk, and ¼ tsp garlic powder to a medium sauce pot. Bring the liquid up to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
As soon as the liquid reaches a boil, stir in 1 cup quick cooking grits and ¼ tsp salt. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the grits simmer for about five minutes, or until thickened.
Remove the grits from the heat and stir in 2 Tbsp butter and ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper.
Finally, stir in a handful of the shredded cheddar at a time until fully melted, repeating until all of the cheese has been added (1 cup total).
Remove the baked meatballs from the oven and transfer them to a large bowl.
Pour the remaining BBQ sauce (about 1 cup) over the meatballs and stir to combine. The heat from the meatballs will warm the BBQ sauce. If your BBQ sauce was cold from refrigeration, you may want to do this in a sauce pot over low heat to help heat the sauce.
To serve, place about 1 cup cheese grits in a bowl and top with 4 meatballs plus some of the sauce. Enjoy!
So delicious and easy to make. My store didn’t have ground pork so I used sausage. It tasted great!
These meatballs are the only way my toddler will eat ground meat of any kind… so thank you! These are permanently in our meal rotation.
I’m gluten free – could I substitute oats for breadcrumbs in this recipe? Or would GF breadcrumbs be the way to go?
I would probably go with the GF breadcrumbs just because there will be no change in taste or texture. Oats taste quite different and may absorb a different amount of moisture, so I hesitate to recommend it without trying it first. :)
This meal was a nice surprise. Perfect 👍 for Summer.
This was so good! Go ahead and make a double batch!
My husband and I love this and I don’t even really like grits.
I only have regular grits, not quick-cooking. Do I need to make any changes, aside from the grits taking longer to cook?
Hi, Heather! Since the grits cook separately, you shouldn’t need to make any adjustments other than cooking them longer. Consult the package instructions for a recommended cook time — and then continue to follow the recipe as written. ~Marion :)
This was fabulous! Everyone loved it!
Do you think I could freeze this into individual portions?
Hi, Polly! I imagine both would freeze well separately, but not together. ~Marion :)
This was AWESOME!!! I told everyone about it & how they should definitely try it! We will put this on our weekly rotation 😊
Could you do this with polenta? I know it takes a little longer to cook. That’s what I’ve got in fridge.
Go for it! XOXO -Monti
Since I’m using polenta, would I still use the chicken broth and milk as mentioned in the recipe? Thanks, Monti.
Wow! I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice in the last two weeks! Its really simple and tastes so, so good. I made it with brussels on the side each time and I ended up making some for my sister and her husband and they love it too! So simple and fast to make. I love when I find something that tastes this good and is so simple to make….Thank you so much! So many variations you can do makes this even better. Its one of my favorites.
I only made the meatballs, subbed beef, they are excellent. I will make them again, next time with the cheese grits!
This is such a wonderful recipe. I ran out of milk, what would be a good substitute, like heavy whipping cream or plant based milk?
I feel like heavy whipping cream would be too thick for the grits, but I’ve never tried a plant-based milk in cheddar grits, so I’m not sure how that would play out.
One of the best, easiest, quickiest meals for a busy family. I’m literally eating the grits out of the pan!
This was so easy, delicious and satisfying!
This is a weekly staple in our house as my 13 year old loves the meatballs (and he’s pretty picky)! I use ground beef, and leave out the egg because he’s allergic to it, and they’re amazing.
I love grits but usually make them with water. Turns out the correct way to make them is with milk and chicken broth. Omg this is SO GOOD
I used ground turkey, and they turned out great! I did use a thermometer to check for doneness just in case. The grits are rich and creamy. My hubby loved this combo. A winner!
I made this with impossible meat! Seriously life changing so many intermixing flavors. Served with sauteed bok choy because there has been a weather/pandemic run on groceries near me!
The flavors in this dish are amazing! My two year old gobbled it and said “tasty” and I can’t get him to eat much of anything these days so I will be making this weekly! Thank you BB team
I only made the meatballs because I had ground pork. These were a hit. I didn’t add as much bbq but they are delish!
Is it OK to use polenta instead of grits? My store doesn’t seem to carry them.
I’m sure you could probably do something similar with polenta. :)
I’m from the Midwest and never had grits until I read this blog, now I LOVE them. I served with sautéed beet greens leftover from another recipe. I didn’t need to use that much BBQ sauce to coat them at the end (maybe 1/4 cup), so just eyeball it.
The BBQ Pork Meatballs with Cheesy Grits is the bomb dot com! I wind up making 28 meatballs because I wanted some leftovers to hold my sister and me for a few days. My house smelled amazing as the meatballs were baking in the oven. We served this dish with some sautéed frozen spinach. Thank you so much for sharing, Miss Beth! My sister and I will be making this very delicious dish again!
Easy and Yummy!
So easy and flavorful!
For some reason my pork wasn’t that delicious. I’m guessing it’s the type of bbq sauce I used unless bbq sauce and grits wasn’t my cup of tea. But I will say the grits portion is amazing! I even grated my own cheddar so make sure it really had a good taste and melt factor. Yum!
I made a vegan version of this and it was outstanding! My daughter actually took her finger and went around her bowl to make sure she got all of the grits that were left behind from eating with a spoon.
I made this two nights ago. The family agreed it was a keeper. I used turkey instead of pork, and polenta instead of grits. I sauteed a bunch of spinach to go with.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was great! Easy enough that I’ll make it over and over. Good with a side of frozen peas.
Delicious, relatively quick and cheap. Awesome recipe, as usual! Immediately put into rotation for dinners.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! I can’t have dairy, so I subbed oat milk and So Delicious cheddar shreds, worked out great. I’m from the South and would have liked the grits a bit more garlicky, might add fresh minced garlic next time. But they were still very creamy and tasty. My husband said, “I would love to eat this all the time.”
How would substituting bar-b-q sauce with marina sauce to make Italian style meatballs work with this recipe?
For Italian meatballs I’d skip the BBQ sauce in the meat mixture and add some Italian seasoning blend, and maybe even some grated Parmesan.
This recipe is relevant to my interests.
EXCELLENT meat ball recipe. Grits so, so. Made regular grits next morning for breakfast. Liked those.
This dinner was absolutely scrumptious! I followed your instructions to a tee and had no problems. This will be added to our dinner line up regularly! Thanks!
Delicious! Easy! I used ground turkey and a flax egg, but otherwise followed the recipe’s ingredients. Served with steamed broccoli. Thank you so much!
Would the meat balls go well with mashed potatoes as well or would it be very different? I have never seen grits in my country haha.
They would be GREAT with mashed potatoes instead of grits. :)
Do you have any suggestions on how to adapt for grits that aren’t quick cook?
Usually, you just need to simmer them a bit longer before they thicken. Check the instructions on the package and then just replace the recommended amount of with half milk and half broth. :)
My husband doesn’t like grits lol Would rice be a good replacement? We also don’t get port. Was thinking of turkey or chicken? Did anyone try that before?
Some people eat meatballs over rice, yes. It will definitely be a lot different than the cheese grits, though. I’m not sure there’s anything really similar to cheese grits to substitute without it just being a totally different combo. Ground turkey, beef, or chicken is fine for the meatballs, just make sure to use one with a decent amount of fat so they don’t get dry. :)
How would substituting bar-b-q sauce with marina sauce to make Italian style meatballs work with this recipe?
Yes, I tried both turkey and served over rice. Drlicious.
I love grits…I will definitely try this recipe, it looks very tasteful. This is on my next shopping list…soon.
Looks yummy! I wonder how these meatballs would turn out using Impossible Burger or another ground meat replacement. Thoughts?
Unfortunately, I’ve never cooked with meat replacements, so I’m not sure how they’ll perform in a meatball recipe.
Do you ever make your own bbq sauce? If so, can you share the recipe? Thanks!
Never mind; I see you link above!
Would the meatballs freeze ok?
Yes, meatballs freeze great. I would freeze them without the BBQ sauce, though.
My wife and I hadn’t had grits before, but this sounded really good. Spoiler: it’s delicious!
Glad you liked it!! :)