Cranberry Meatballs

This cranberry meatball recipe is perfect for the holidays! Delicious served as part of a main dish or as an appetizer. 

This is such a great recipe to change things up a bit. Combine the familiar – meatballs – with something a bit unique – cranberries on meatballs. This recipe is unique in that it’s entirely homemade. Instead of using canned cranberry jelly, we use homemade cranberry barbecue sauce. No ketchup, no chili sauce, no jellied cranberry sauce. All homemade.

I love to cook, but some days, it’s hard to come up with ideas for dinner. I’m a big fan of serving the tried and true on repeat. Sometimes, it’s nice to change it up a little – especially for seasonally appropriate dishes like this.

It’s both savory and a little sweet. It is such a great protein-rich dish!

Delicious served over polenta (as shown in the photos), rice, or mashed potatoes. These are excellent as party appetizers as well, served on a toothpick.

I love to make these between Thanksgiving and Christmastime when Cranberries are on sale everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, these are still good all year, but you’ll need to visit your grocery store’s frozen section to find cranberries.

Ingredients Used for Cranberry Meatballs

These meatballs are made with pretty simple ingredients – the first one being meat. With the fruity nature of these meatballs, I prefer to use ground pork or turkey and leave ground beef for more traditional meatball recipes like these gluten-free meatballs.

Here’s the ingredients list:

• Ground pork or turkey
• Evaporated milk
• Egg
• Breadcrumbs (I use gluten free bread crumbs)
• Parsley
• Oil
• Shallots
• Garlic
• Cranberries
• Brown sugar
• Maple syrup
• Apple cider vinegar
• Dijon mustard

Ingredient Substitutions

This is a pretty straightforward recipe. Most of the substations you might make would affect the flavor and the moisture level but not make or break your recipe per se.

• You could swap brown sugar for white or coconut sugar
• Use agave instead of maple syrup
• Onions instead of shallots

And things like that. But again, keep in mind the flavor will change with every substation.

How to make the meatballs

The first step to making cranberry meatballs is making the meatballs themselves. If you’re in the mood for quick and easy, feel free to use frozen meatballs and skip making the sauce.

For the rest of us, This is fairly simple. You can see in the photos that I’m making turkey meatballs. 

Combine your ground pork or turkey, evaporated milk, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, and salt and pepper. You can do this using a sturdy spoon, your hands, or a stand mixer.

Roll mixture into tablespoon-sized balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 22-25 minutes to cook through, remove them from the oven and set aside when they’re done.

How to make the Cranberry Barbecue Sauce

While the meatballs are baking, work on making the sauce. This is where the cranberry action happens.

Dice the shallots, and sauté in oil in a large skillet until soft.

Add the garlic, and sauté, stirring for another 30 seconds.

Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients, and stir to combine, then finally, add the cranberries and simmer until they’re soft and begin to burst.

Transfer (carefully! since they’re hot) to a blender, or use a stick blender to blend the sauce smooth, then pour them back into the pan.

Simmer sauce until nice and thick.

Add the cooked meatballs and stir to coat.

That’s it! Serve the meatballs over rice, polenta, mashed potatoes, or grits, and garnish with green onions or fresh parsley.

It is so good during the winter months to serve at family gatherings or especially as a party appetizer. 

Frequently asked questions

Can I make these meatballs on the stovetop?

Yes. Instead of putting them in the oven, you can put them in a well-oiled skillet and cook them over medium heat, turning them over 2-3 times while cooking until they are cooked through.

Can I make these in the slow cooker?

For me, I would cook them first, then add them to the slow cooker to stay hot.

How to Store leftover cranberry meatballs

To store leftovers or make meatballs ahead of time to serve later, mix them with the sauce and let them cool. Transfer the combination to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to five days.

To reheat:

• In the oven: Place in an oven-safe dish and cover. Place in 350º oven for 20-30 minutes until heated through.
• On the stovetop: Place in a skillet with a bit of water. Cover, and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
• In the microwave: Place in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat, stirring at thirty-second intervals until heated through.
• In the crockpot: Transfer meatballs to the crockpot and heat on high heat for about an hour.

Can meatballs be frozen?

You can freeze leftovers in the sauce in a freezer container or ziplock bag. For the best flavor and texture, though, I would recommend freezing only the meatballs and making the sauce later.

Other recipes you’ll enjoy

• Barbecued Meatballs
• Gluten-Free Cranberry Kuchen
• Homemade Cranberry Jam

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