Crock Pot BBQ Cocktail Sausage (Printable)

Tangy, sweet soup with smoked sausages, BBQ sauce, and apricot jam simmered in a slow cooker for comfort meals.

# What You'll Need:

→ Meats

01 - 1 pound smoked cocktail sausages, sliced into bite-sized pieces

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
03 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Liquids and Bases

05 - 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
06 - 1 cup BBQ sauce, tangy-style
07 - 1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves
08 - 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained

→ Seasonings

09 - 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
10 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
11 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional for heat
13 - Salt to taste

# How To Make It:

01 - Add sliced cocktail sausages, chopped onion, red bell pepper, and minced garlic to the slow cooker.
02 - Pour in chicken broth, BBQ sauce, and apricot jam. Stir until the jam dissolves completely and ingredients are well combined.
03 - Add drained diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper if desired. Stir gently to distribute seasonings evenly.
04 - Cover and cook on low setting for 4 hours until vegetables are tender and flavors have fully melded together.
05 - Taste and adjust salt as needed. Serve hot, optionally garnished with fresh chopped parsley.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It genuinely tastes like you spent hours fussing when the crock pot does all the work while you do literally anything else.
  • The apricot jam is your secret weapon—it balances the smokiness with just enough sweetness that even people who claim they don't like sweet-savory get converted.
  • Everything comes together in one pot, so cleanup is a breeze and you can actually enjoy your guests instead of being stuck at the sink.
02 -
  • Do not drain the sausages before adding them—that rendered fat carries flavor and helps create a silkier broth texture.
  • The apricot jam dissolves better if you stir it in while the broth is still warm, so add it in step two before everything gets too cool.
  • Four hours on low is the sweet spot; going longer starts to turn the vegetables to mush, but three hours leaves them slightly firmer if that's your preference.
03 -
  • Use a quality BBQ sauce you actually enjoy eating straight from the jar—it's the foundation of flavor, so this is not the place to grab whatever's on sale.
  • Let your crock pot finish cooking before you taste and adjust salt, because flavors concentrate during those four hours and you'll almost always need less salt than you'd expect.
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