The grape jelly doesn’t look much like a sauce when it first hits the chili sauce; it sits in soft clumps until you stir it through. I combine those two ingredients before adding the sausages, so the coating starts out even instead of leaving a pocket of jelly at the bottom of the slow cooker. That small order-of-operations detail makes these slow cooker Lil Smokies with grape jelly easy to serve straight from the pot.
This is a three-ingredient appetizer with a sweet-and-savory sauce that turns smooth as it warms. The cocktail-size smoked sausages need no slicing or browning, and the slow cooker handles the warming while you get the rest of the table ready. I keep the sausages whole, then spoon the glossy grape-and-chili sauce over them as I serve.
Kitchen Note
I keep the cocktail sausages whole. Their small, bite-size shape means there’s no extra prep before they go into the slow cooker, and each one is easy to pick up with a little sauce clinging to it.
Save these slow cooker Lil Smokies with grape jelly for an easy party appetizer with a smooth, sweet-and-savory sauce.
Why This Sweet-Tangy Sauce Doesn’t Need a Drop of Water
These sausages aren’t meant to simmer in a thin, broth-like liquid. The grape jelly and bottled chili sauce make the whole coating, and as they warm together, the jelly softens into the chili sauce. That gives you a sauce with enough body to cling to the sausages rather than running off them when you lift them from the cooker.
Adding water or stock would change that balance and leave the finished sauce thinner. The slow cooker is doing the warming, not reducing a pot of liquid on the stove, so there’s no need to loosen the sauce at the start. It may look dense before it’s heated through; what you’re looking for at the end is a smooth sauce, not a watery one.
Keep the three ingredients in proportion, and the sauce has a clear job: the jelly brings sweetness and body, while the chili sauce keeps that sweetness from taking over. A little patience as it warms is more helpful than adding anything to the pot.
What the Grape Jelly, Chili Sauce, and Sausages Each Bring
- Grape jelly — It gives the sauce its fruit sweetness and helps it turn into a cohesive coating as it warms. A standard grocery-store jar works; there’s no need to seek out a specialty brand. If you’re switching brands, choose grape jelly again for the closest match in sweetness and texture.
- Bottled chili sauce — This brings the savory, tangy counterpoint that keeps the jelly from tasting like a dessert glaze. A familiar grocery-store bottle is fine, and a different brand of bottled chili sauce is the easiest like-for-like swap. The exact seasoning varies by brand, so the finished sauce may taste a little more tangy or spiced.
- Cocktail-size smoked sausages — Their smoky, savory flavor gives the sweet sauce something substantial to coat. Use cocktail-size sausages so the batch warms as intended; turkey cocktail-size smoked sausages can stand in for the pork version at the same total weight, with a somewhat leaner result. No premium brand is needed.
Three Stages for Smooth Sauce and Evenly Coated Lil Smokies
Stir the Sauce Before Anything Else Goes In
Add the grape jelly and chili sauce to a 4-quart slow cooker. Stir until the two are combined before adding the sausages; this is easier than trying to work jelly clumps around the pot once it’s full. The mixture should look like one sauce, even if it’s still thick and cool.
Coat the Sausages in the Sauce
Add the cocktail-size smoked sausages and stir to coat them. Use a spoon that reaches the bottom so the sauce is mixed through rather than sitting in one area. The sausages should be covered in sauce before you put the lid on.
Cook Covered Until the Sauce Is Smooth
Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring once or twice. Keep the lid on between stirs so the slow cooker can hold its heat. They’re ready when the sausages are hot throughout and the sauce is smooth; use those cues along with the cooking-time range.
Two Simple Ways to Change the Heat and Sausage Flavor
Choose a Hotter Chili Sauce
For a sharper, spicier batch, replace the regular bottled chili sauce with a hot variety of bottled chili sauce and keep the quantity the same. The grape jelly still rounds out the heat, but the sauce won’t taste as mild or sweet.
Put the Heat in the Sausages
Use hot cocktail-size smoked sausages in place of the regular smoked sausages, keeping the same total weight. That shifts the heat into each bite while leaving the grape-jelly sauce as written.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in a shallow, airtight container and use them within 3 to 4 days. The sauce will thicken as it chills.
- Freezer: Freeze the sausages with their sauce in an airtight freezer container for up to 2 to 3 months for best quality. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheating: Warm gently in a covered saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, or microwave in a covered dish and stir partway through. Reheat leftovers to 165°F; high heat can make the sauce splatter before the sausages warm evenly.
Questions That Come Up Before the Slow Cooker Goes On
Slow Cooker Lil Smokies with Grape Jelly
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add the grape jelly and chili sauce to a 4-quart slow cooker.
- Stir until combined.
- Add the smoked sausages.
- Stir to coat.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring once or twice, until hot throughout and the sauce is smooth.
