Cranberry Meatballs

These insanely delicious Cranberry Meatballs can be made in a crockpot or on the stovetop, simmered in a sweet and spicy cranberry sauce. Serve them with picks as a festive appetizer for family gatherings and holiday parties, or as an entrée for family dinners. Both crockpot and stovetop instructions included!

Ingredients to Make Cranberry Meatballs

During the holidays, we’re all looking for fun party food to serve. I can’t image hosting a party without some sort or flavor of meatballs on the appetizer menu. It’s one of those hearty two-bite starters that everyone gravitates to. These meatballs are equally delicious served with rice or mashed potatoes as a main dish, too. Enjoy them for fall potlucks, New Years Eve and Christmas snacking. Ingredients to make Cranberry Meatballs: (Scroll down for the full printable recipe card.)

Meatballs: One 48-52 ounce package of frozen meatballs. You can use chicken, beef or pork meatballs.
Cranberry Sauce: One can whole berry cranberry sauce.
Jelly: One jar hot pepper jelly for spice.
Chili Sauce: One bottle of chili sauce i.e. Heinz or similar.
Teriyaki: Teriyaki sauce or soy sauce for acidic notes to balance the sweetness.
Garlic: Granulated garlic or garlic powder.
Garnish: Fresh parsley for garnishing.

What’s the Secret to Making Tender Meatballs?

While this recipe uses premade meatballs, I love making meatballs from scratch, as well. When doing so, I recommend keeping an eye on the ratio of bread crumbs to ground meat, don’t overwork the meat mixture and don’t overcook them, or they’ll dry out. Milk and eggs add moisture to the meatball mixture and should always be included as an ingredient for the most tender and juicy meatballs.

How to Make the BEST Cranberry Meatballs

Prepare the Slow Cooker: Spray the insert of a large crockpot with cooking spray. Pour the frozen meatballs evenly into the crockpot, there’s no need to thaw.
Make the Sauce: In a medium bowl, stir together the cranberry sauce, pepper jelly, chili sauce, teriyaki sauce and granulated garlic. Pour over the meatballs.
Cook: Lock the lid firmly in place. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
Stir and Serve: Uncover and stir to combine. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

Tips for Making Crock Pot Cranberry Meatballs

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need: 6 quart or similar size crockpot, medium bowl, whisk or large spoon, measuring cups and measuring spoons.
Start with Frozen Meatballs: There’s no need to precook or thaw the frozen meatballs. Arrange them in the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the sauce on top. This literally takes 5 minutes of prep time and the crockpot does the rest!
Thicken the Sauce: At the end of cooking, if you’d like to thicken the cranberry sauce, you can. You can use cornstarch dissolved in cold water or tomato paste. Start with 1:2 ratio of cornstarch to water and mix it into the sauce, then repeat, if needed.
Know How Your Slow Cooker Performs: Crockpots are much like ovens, in that they can vary wildly in how they cook. This depends on several factors, including the age of the crockpot. Adjust the cooking time based on how your appliance performs.
How to Serve: These party meatballs are perfect served straight from the slow cooker with picks. You could also enjoy them served over rice as an entrée.
Make-Ahead Tip: You can speed up the crockpot cooking time by precooking the meatballs. Bake them on a baking sheet per the package instructions, then drop them into the sauce and simmer on low until serving.
When to Serve Cranberry Meatballs: You can enjoy these as a starter for game day, Thanksgiving, as a Christmas appetizer or New Year’s Eve party snack.

Stovetop Cranberry Meatballs

Sauce: Combine the sauce ingredients in a 6 quart Dutch oven or large heavy bottomed pot.
Simmer: Simmer the sauce on medium heat for 5 minutes or until the ingredients have melded together and the jelly has melted.
Meatballs: Add the frozen meatballs. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes or until the meatballs have thawed and are fully heated through. Stop and stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
Serve: Uncover, stir and garnish with fresh parsley, then serve.

Recipe Variations

Meatballs: This recipe is designed to keep things simple using frozen pre-cooked meatballs. You can of course, make homemade meatballs, instead. See my recipe for Buffalo Chicken Meatballs and Easy Homemade Meatballs here.
Cranberry Sauce: I recommend using whole berry cranberry sauce for this recipe. That being said, you can use jellied cranberry sauce, it will just be a bit sweeter.
Protein: You can use ground chicken meatballs, ground turkey meatballs, ground pork meatballs or ground beef meatballs.
Chili Sauce: The chili sauce used in this recipe isn’t spicy Asian chili sauce. It’s usually found near the ketchup and comes in many brands with the most well known made by Heinz. You can use any brand that you enjoy, I used Walmart’s chili sauce. It’s not quite as sweet as ketchup but you could use ketchup instead. You’ll need 1 1/2 cups.
Herbs: You can garnish with fresh chives or thinly sliced green onions.

Storage and Leftovers

Leftovers: Store cooked Cranberry Meatballs in an airtight container chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating: You can reheat them in the microwave in individual servings, in s slow cooker on low heat or in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat.
Freezer: You can freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat just before serving.

More Meatball Recipes to Make

Creamy Swedish Meatballs are a retro favorite.
Slow Cooker Party Meatballs feature homemade meatballs cooked entirely in the crockpot.
Italian Meatball Subs make a family pleasing meal.
My recipe for Jamaican Jerk Meatballs is a fan favorite!
Asian inspired Teriyaki Meatballs.
Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs is comfort food any night of the week.
Homemade Meatball Pizza can be enjoyed as an appetizer or a main dish.
Vegetarian Meatballs from Food Network.

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