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Appetizers are what I want for every meal. I like to snack, pick, and choose small bite-sized items. When someone asks me to bring an appetizer, or I need to make one at home… I freeze. All of a sudden, I feel like I have absolutely zero ideas of what to make. Appetizers really are best when someone else makes them.
Enter these meatballs! First, who doesn’t love a bite-sized meatball? Second, if you are going to have a meatball, it better have a lot of flavor and be utterly memorable. And let me tell you: these meatballs deliver.
This is the appetizer I always crave and can easily transform into an entire meal. Plus, the cranberry flavors are perfect for the holiday season!
Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs Ingredients
- Bread. This is an essential ingredient that no one will ever taste. Bread is the secret ingredient that, when mixed with milk, becomes the glue that provides a perfect texture and keeps the meatballs juicy.
- Milk. In these meatballs, I prefer to use whole milk. The flavor from whole milk will always give more richness to any dish and that holds true with this recipe.
- Onion. Grating the onion into the meat mixture allows the flavor to evenly distribute throughout the meatballs and melt into the meat.
- Garlic. A little garlic goes a long way, but is needed to round out the flavors.
- Worcestershire sauce. This is the ingredient that no one can ever place, but is needed to bring a dish’s flavor to stardom territory.
- Egg. The egg binds everything together and gives a lightness to the meatball.
- Ground beef. Lean ground beef offers both great flavor and texture.
- Ground pork. Pork offsets the beef to provide a lighter meat flavor along with a slight sweetness.
- Barbecue sauce. Your favorite jarred barbecue sauce will work great. If you love it already, this recipe will only make it better.
- Orange marmelade. This has a sweet and sour dicotomy going on and lends a welcome citrus undertone to the sauce.
- Cranberries. Fresh or frozen cranberries are the perfect festive ingredient. As they cook, their sour juice melds with the sweet marmelade and barbecue sauce to create a sweet, tangy, and sticky sauce that coats the meatballs.
These meatballs go together quickly, can be made a few days ahead, and stored in the refrigerator. I’m now making these often and find they are great added to a salad or just made into a meal. Really, these are the best meatballs that also happen to be a great holiday appetizer!
More Meatball Recipes
- Festive holiday meatballs
- Meatballs with spaghetti
- Cranberry chicken meatball sliders
- Chicken zucchini meatballs
- Sausage meatball kale soup
- Holiday pesto meatballs
- Meatloaf meatballs with Parmesan polenta
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!
Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 2 slices bread (approx. 3 oz)
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp grated onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
For the sauce
- 12 oz bottled BBQ sauce
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup orange marmalade
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, tear up the bread into pieces and add the milk. Mash the milk and bread together to form a paste. Add in the salt, pepper, grated onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and egg. Mix to combine. Add in the ground beef and pork.2 slices bread (approx. 3 oz), ¼ cup whole milk, 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 2 tbsp grated onion, 1 clove garlic, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 large egg, 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork
- Use hands or an electric mixer to combine until all the ingredients are completely combined and smooth. Use a scoop or spoon to make 20 meatballs.
- Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs. Allow the meatballs to brown on two sides, about 3-5 minutes. Once browned, place the meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until they reach 160°F, 15-20 minutes. While the meatballs are roasting, prepare the sauce.
For the sauce
- In the same skillet in which the meats were browned, add the barbeque sauce, marmalade, and cranberries. Over low heat, bring to a simmer. Continue to cook over a low simmer until the cranberries begin to burst and are softened, 12-15 minutes.12 oz bottled BBQ sauce, 1 cup orange marmalade, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- Once the meatballs are baked and fully cooked, remove them from the oven and add them to the prepared sauce. Spoon the sauce over the meatballs coating them completely. Serve directly from the skillet or set on a platter.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
Gorgeous! Thank you!
I just made these meatballs to freeze for our family christmas in a week and a half. Not sure how to preserve the sauce. I will have to freeze it as well.
I rolled the meatballs in bread crumbs which helps maintain the shape for browning and roasting.
Perfect! Amazing taste, texture, and tummy satisfing!! These meatballs are easy to make, cost-effective and delectable to eat and serve. Enjoy and surprize your guests with this phenominal dish. You will be the star, competing with your own meatdalls!
Made for a NYE party
Were a big hit
i notice in the recipe it says to brown first on the stove top than add to oven but you only bowned in oven which is best.
I’ve made Kaleb’s cocktail meatballs twice now, once for a New Year’s Eve party and again yesterday for a Super Bowl party. Both times they were a big hit. The first time I made the recipe exactly as written and both the meatballs and the sauce were delicious! For yesterday’s party I had to slightly alter the recipe because my husband, who is presently going through cancer treatment, cannot eat sausage or orange marmalade. For the meat mixture I used 2 lbs of 85% grass-fed ground beef and 1/2 cup whole milk, and for the sauce I used 12 oz chili sauce and 10 oz organic Concord grape jelly. I made everything on Saturday and then put it in a slow cooker yesterday to heat through. Even with using all beef, the meatballs were so tender and the sauce turned out great, too! Thank you, Kaleb!!
Kaleb, I made these for my family at Christmas time and THEY WERE A HIT! So delicious! I’m making my grocery list tonight for the upcoming week and I’ve decided its time for these meatballs again. No party, just good eatin!
Thank you! I LOVE your videos, and website. Thank you, thank you!!!
These were the best meatballs I’ve ever made. Delish! I’m trying to determine what other sauce I’d like them with. I can’t imagine them with traditional marinara. What else have you served them with?
Thank you so much for this recipe. It is terrific and now the one everyone asks me to bring to potlucks. It’s a bonus that it’s easy to make
What would you suggest as a substitute for the cranberries, as my husband is allergic to them. Thank you and Merry Christmas!