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Cranberry meatballs are a candy and tangy appetizer, good for your entire vacation events and game-day gatherings. This recipe makes use of only a handful of components and is made within the sluggish cooker for the simplest occasion appetizer ever!


Are you having fun with the straightforward recipes I’ve been sharing recently?
There’s completely a time and place for making recipes from scratch. I do know—I do it the entire time!
However as of late, straightforward recipes are my go-to. And I really feel like a whole lot of you’re most likely feeling the identical.
In the event you’re needing extra straightforward Thanksgiving recipes so as to add to your menu for subsequent week, these cranberry meatballs are the proper appetizer. They’ve acquired tons of tangy taste packed into one super-simple slow-cooker recipe.


What are cranberry meatballs?
These cranberry meatballs are simply in regards to the best appetizer ever.
Meatballs get sluggish cooked in a tangy sauce created from cranberry sauce, barbecue sauce, and orange juice. The result’s a candy, tangy, and savory chew which you could serve at nearly any occasion.
These are good for serving as a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner appetizer, whipping up for a New 12 months’s Eve occasion, and even making for the large sport.
Plus, they solely take a couple of minutes to throw into your sluggish cooker, making them a should in your subsequent gathering.


The way to make my straightforward cranberry meatballs
You may have these straightforward cranberry meatballs simmering away in your sluggish cooker in nearly 5 minutes. Able to see how easy they’re?
Components you’ll want
To make my cranberry meatballs, you’ll want:
- 1 (18-ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
- 1 (14-ounce) can cranberry sauce (or 1 ½ cups home made cranberry sauce)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 kilos frozen meatballs
- salt and pepper to style


I promise that you just do NOT must get tremendous fancy along with your components right here. I usually make these with Unique Candy Child Ray’s barbecue sauce and the Rosina Angus Beef Meatballs which you could seize at Walmart.
Costco additionally has some nice frozen pre-cooked meatballs. Be at liberty to make use of your personal home made meatballs for those who’d like, although! Simply ensure that they’re cooked earlier than you add them to the sluggish cooker.
My household loves beef meatballs, however turkey meatballs are an awesome possibility if your loved ones doesn’t eat crimson meat.
For the cranberries, jellied cranberry sauce, entire cranberry sauce, and even home made cranberry sauce all work nice. Use no matter you may have readily available, particularly when you have leftovers from Thanksgiving!
Making this recipe
Seize your favourite sluggish cooker. Mine is a 6 quart, however you might most likely make these in a 3-quart sluggish cooker, too.
Add the barbecue sauce, cranberry sauce, and orange juice. Stir to mix.
Add the meatballs and ensure they get coated within the sauce. Cowl and prepare dinner on the low setting for 3-4 hours.
When the meatballs are warmed by way of and the sauce is bubbly, give them a style and season with salt and black pepper as desired.
I prefer to sprinkle the meatballs with a little bit of chopped contemporary parsley earlier than serving, however that’s completely optionally available.
In case your crockpot has a “preserve heat” setting, that is good for retaining the cranberry meatballs the proper temperature throughout a celebration.
Serving options
These cranberry meatballs make for the proper appetizer alongside different straightforward recipes corresponding to marinated cheese, cheese boards, and bacon-wrapped little smokies.
For a vacation occasion, I prefer to set out some festive cocktail picks to make consuming the meatballs simpler for company, particularly in the event that they’re standing and mingling. Mini bamboo appetizer forks are additionally a pleasant possibility.
You might additionally set out some slider buns or Hawaiian rolls and let folks flip the meatballs into slider sandwiches.


Storage
Retailer leftover meatballs in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. You too can freeze them for 2-3 months.
Extra festive appetizers
Love these festive cranberry meatballs? Strive a few of these different seasonal appetizers:


Often requested questions
If you wish to make these on the range, add the entire components to a really massive saucepan or a dutch oven. Simmer, coated, on low warmth till the meatballs are warmed by way of and the sauce is bubbly.
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Add barbecue sauce, cranberry sauce and orange juice to the sluggish cooker and stir to mix.
1 bottle barbecue sauce, 1 can jellied or entire berry cranberry sauce, ¼ cup orange juice
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Add in meatballs and stir to coat the meatballs within the sauce.
2 kilos frozen meatballs
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Cook dinner on low for 3-4 hours. Style and season with salt and pepper as wanted. If desired, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley earlier than serving as an appetizer.
salt and pepper to style
Energy: 327kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 13g, Fats: 16g, Saturated Fats: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g, Monounsaturated Fats: 7g, Ldl cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 676mg, Potassium: 335mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 125IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 1mg
Diet data is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.



