Cranberry Sauce Meatballs (Holiday Party Recipe)
These Homemade Cranberry Meatballs are the perfect holiday appetizer! An easy appetizer recipe that can be made in the oven or slow cooker. If you're interested in ingredient substitutions, I have a comprehensive list above. For slow cooker or frozen meatball instructions, check the notes section below.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 pound mild country sausage
- 1 cup quick oats
- ½ cup onion, finely diced
- 1 egg
- ⅔ cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ground
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
For the Cranberry BBQ Sauce:
- 14 ounces cranberry sauce, jellied
- 12 ounces chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, or soy sauce
Garnish (optional):
- fresh parsley or rosemary
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs. Mix well.
- Shape the meatball mixture into 1 ½ inch balls and place in a single layer on large baking sheet greased with non-stick cooking spray. You can also make smaller meatballs if you want them to stretch further.
- Bake the meatballs for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until browned and cooked through.
- While the meatballs are baking, prepare the cranberry BBQ sauce. In a large saucepan, combine the ingredients for the sauce, then cook over medium heat until the sauce begins to simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer on low for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- When the meatballs are finished baking, remove them from the baking sheet and arrange into a 9×13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon the BBQ sauce over the meatballs.
- Return the meatballs to the oven to bake in the sauce for an additional 10-15 minutes, until bubbly.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Slow Cooker Cranberry BBQ Meatballs: If you want to make crockpot cranberry meatballs, follow the recipe instructions through step 3. Then, transfer the meatballs into a slow cooker. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook on low for 1 hour. After cooking the meatballs and sauce on low for on hour, be sure to switch the crockpot to “warm.”
Using Store-Bought Meatballs: Yes, you can absolutely use frozen meatballs for this recipe! If you want to save time by using frozen, pre-cooked meatballs, I recommend combining the frozen meatballs with the cranberry sauce ingredients in the crockpot and cook meatballs on low for 2-3 hours until warmed through.
Serving: 1, Calories: 123kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 353mg, Potassium: 175mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 126IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 1mg
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