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

Are you having fun with the simple recipes I’ve been sharing recently?
There may be completely a time and place for making recipes from scratch. I do know—I do it all the time!
However as of late, straightforward recipes are my go-to. And I really feel like lots of you might be most likely feeling the identical.
When 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 bought tons of tangy taste packed into one super-simple slow-cooker recipe.

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

Find out how to make my straightforward cranberry meatballs
You possibly can have these straightforward cranberry meatballs simmering away in your sluggish cooker in nearly 5 minutes. Able to see how easy they’re?
Substances 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 selfmade cranberry sauce)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 kilos frozen meatballs
- salt and pepper to style

I promise that you just do NOT have to get tremendous fancy together with your elements right here. I usually make these with Authentic Candy Child Ray’s barbecue sauce and the Rosina Angus Beef Meatballs you could seize at Walmart.
Costco additionally has some nice frozen pre-cooked meatballs. Be at liberty to make use of your personal selfmade meatballs for those who’d like, although! Simply be sure that they’re cooked earlier than you add them to the sluggish cooker.
My household loves beef meatballs, however turkey meatballs are an awesome choice if your loved ones doesn’t eat purple meat.
For the cranberries, jellied cranberry sauce, complete cranberry sauce, and even selfmade cranberry sauce all work nice. Use no matter you will 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 can 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 via and the sauce is bubbly, give them a style and season with salt and black pepper as desired.
I wish to sprinkle the meatballs with a little bit of chopped recent parsley earlier than serving, however that’s completely non-compulsory.
In case your crockpot has a “hold heat” setting, that is good for holding the cranberry meatballs the proper temperature throughout a celebration.
Serving recommendations
These cranberry meatballs make for the proper appetizer alongside different straightforward recipes reminiscent of marinated cheese, cheese boards, and bacon-wrapped little smokies.
For a vacation celebration, I wish 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 choice.
You would 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 may also freeze them for 2-3 months.
Extra festive appetizers
Love these festive cranberry meatballs? Attempt a few of these different seasonal appetizers:

Often requested questions
If you wish to make these on the range, add all the elements to a really massive saucepan or a dutch oven. Simmer, lined, on low warmth till the meatballs are warmed via 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 complete 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
Vitamin data is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.



