Why you’ll love these cranberry sauce meatballs
These cranberry meatballs check all the boxes for a holiday appetizer. They’re festive, flavorful, and just fancy enough to feel special. They’re a riff on my favorite grape jelly meatballs, and I love to swap the grape jelly for cranberry sauce this time of year.
By making our own meatballs, we can make them a smaller snack-friendly size and we avoid the hidden dairy that’s in most store bought brands. If you want to really save some time, there are brands out there without milk. I typically buy Farm Rich, but always double check in case they’ve changed their ingredients list.
You can easily make them ahead of time, and store them until you’re ready to serve. They also transport really well, making them a perfect dish to pass at your next holiday party.
More holiday appetizers: fried pickle dip / air fryer crab cakes / pork rillettes / baked scallops
Ingredient notes:
- Ground meat – This recipe uses a combination of ground beef and pork (one pound of each). To balance out the fat of the pork, I like to use a leaner ground beef, usually 90/10. Feel free to use what you have or what you prefer. You can also use only ground beef.
- Panko breadcrumbs – These are typically dairy free, but always check your labels.
- Egg – If you can’t have eggs, you can substitute 3 tablespoons of your favorite unsweetened dairy free milk.
- Cranberry sauce – I like to use whole berry cranberry sauce from a can for this. You can use homemade or jellied cranberry sauce if you want though.
- Barbecue sauce – I like to use a sweeter BBQ sauce for this recipe to balance out the flavor of the cranberry. You can also substitute a jar of chili sauce instead.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Melissa’s tips + tricks:
- Be gentle with your meatballs. If you handle them too much, they will become tough. To make sure they’re tender, keep the rolling to a minimum.
- Make ahead tip: You can make your meatballs up to 4 days in advance and store them in the fridge. If you want to prep them further ahead, try freezing them for up to 6 months. Then, pop them into the slow cooker with the sauce ingredients on the day you want to serve them.
Frequently asked questions
If you have leftover meatballs, they will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.
More appetizer recipes
Cranberry Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- Black pepper, to taste
For the sauce:
- 1 14-ounce can whole cranberry sauce
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Mix the meatballs. Preheat oven to 400˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, pork, breadcrumbs, egg, onion powder and salt. Mix until well combined.Scoop mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place on prepared baking sheet. Transfer the meatballs to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Make the sauce. In the slow cooker, combine the cranberry and barbecue sauce. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt & pepper.
- Slow cook the meatballs. When the meatballs come out of the oven, transfer them to the slow cooker along with any juices from baking. Stir to coat with sauce and set the crockpot to low for a least 1 hour.When ready to serve, switch the slow cooker to the warm setting, or transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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