It’s that time of year again! Holiday parties and gatherings are upon us. Whether you’re hosting a party or are bringing a dish as an attendee, these Cranberry Meatballs are a great addition to the menu. I may even start making meatballs for pasta dishes this way (without the cranberry sauce, of course).
I’ve seen several recipes online for these; Accidental Happy Baker, Carlsbad Cravings, Jo Cooks… they all have great recipes! This recipe is inspired by different recipes all put together to create the taste and flavor that I was looking for. I didn’t want them to be too sweet or too overpowering and I think there is a good balance to this recipe. If you do enjoy a bit of heat, you can add more of your preferred hot sauce or hoisin sauce to bring the flavor profile from sweeter to spicier.
Cranberry Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
2 lbs Ground Beef or Pork
1 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
1 Small Onion, grated
Up to 1/4 cup chopped Parsley
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Cranberry Glaze
1 (14oz can) Whole or Jellied Cranberry Sauce
3/4 cup Ketchup
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbsps Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsps Brown Sugar
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
Optional: 1 Tbsp Hot Sauce of your choosing, 1/4 Hoisin sauce, 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F. Then, either place a baking rack on top of a baking sheet or line a baking sheet with foil/parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients, and mix until well combined. Roll meat mixture into desired meatball size. This recipe makes approximately 70 meatballs using 1″ cookie scoops or 35 meatballs using 2″ cookie scoops. Place meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.
In the meantime, whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. If you are including the hot sauce and cayenne, add just a little bit at a time to ensure that not too much is added.
Line the bottom of your slow cooker with meatballs, then a layer of the sauce, then the remaining meatballs followed by the remaining sauce.
Cover and cook on low heat for 2-4 hours (depending on the size of the meatballs) or until cooked through. Very gently stir meatballs an hour after cooking.
Taste and stir in additional hot sauce if you wish.
Keep warm until serving. Or, transfer them into a container for storage in the fridge and reheat before serving.
Enjoy!
