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    You are here: Home / Appetizers / Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

    Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

    November 1, 2016 by Danelle 22 Comments

    Jump to recipe

    QUICK CRANBERRY GLAZED MEATBALLS — Cocktail meatballs in a sweet and savory cranberry glaze. The perfect holiday appetizer!


    Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

    The holiday season can be so hectic. That’s why I always like to have a few quick and easy appetizer and dinner ideas up my sleeve for those busy week nights or unexpected guests.

    And one of my family’s favorite, fast holiday season meals is these Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs.

    These cranberry glazed meatballs have been a holiday tradition at our house for almost 20 years! One of my favorite things about the holiday season is the chance I have to serve appetizers.

    It’s just not something I do much during the rest of the year, but we love to break out the finger food on Christmas Eve, as well as during all of those holiday season football games.

    Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

    Usually, I make these meatballs in the slow cooker, but I decided to adapt the recipe to be ready in about 20 minutes as a fast and easy dinner.

    The secret to getting these tasty meatballs ready fast is Farm Rich Meatballs. They’re gluten-free and have 12-13 grams of protein per serving, which is important when you’re feeding three growing boys!

    farm-rich-collage2wb

    For the sauce, you simply combine a can of cranberry sauce with a jar of chili sauce, along with some lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

    I mix everything up right in a skillet or large saucepan. Why dirty extra dishes if you don’t need too?

    cran-meatball-saucewb

    I like to give the meatballs a head start in the microwave while I whisk together the sauce on the stove top.

    If you have a little more time, you can make the entire recipe on the stove top in about 35 minutes, but I’m sharing the 20 Minutes to Tasty version of the recipe below. Because sometimes that extra 15 minutes is the difference between getting to the middle school choir concert on time!

    After my meatballs have been in the microwave for about 10 minutes, I add them to the sauce and simmer everything for ten more minutes or so.

    cranberry-meatballswb

    That’s it! In just 20 minutes, you’ve got a delicious, savory appetizer ready for company, or the big game. And served over some quick-cooking rice, you’ve got a complete, hearty meal ready to go!

    cranberry-meatballs-skillet

    Let me tell you, these Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs are a life saver during the hectic holiday season!

    In fact, I like to keep a selection of Farm Rich products in my freezer for those days when life surprises me and I need to feed my family in a hurry.

    Or even have my teenage sons pop dinner in the oven for me! And since Farm Rich snacks are made with real ingredients, I feel good about feeding them to my family.

    Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs


    Be sure to save this Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.


    Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

    Continue to Content
    Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

    Quick Cranberry Glazed Meatballs

    Yield: 6 servings
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes

    Cocktail meatballs in a sweet and savory cranberry glaze. The perfect holiday appetizer!

    Ingredients

    • 1 (28 oz.) package Farm Rich Meatballs, any variety
    • 1 (14 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce
    • 1 (12 oz.) bottle chili sauce
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • Chopped green onions, for garnish (optional)

    Instructions

    1. Place the meatballs in a large, microwave safe baking dish. Add 1/4 cup water to the dish and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high power for 10 minutes.
    2. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan or skillet, combine the cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to simmer.
    3. Remove the meatballs from the microwave and add them to the sauce, stirring to coat evenly. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
    4. Sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving, if desired. Serve alone, as an appetizer, or over rice for a quick and easy meal.
    Nutrition Information:
    Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 173mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 3g

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please leave a comment, or tag @LetsDish on Instagram.

    © Danelle
    Cuisine: American / Category: Appetizers

    This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #20MinutesToTasty #CollectiveBias

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Grace

      November 01, 2016 at 7:53 am

      Quick question: where do I find chili sauce? This is exactly the kind of food I like to have out for everyone while I’m working on Thanksgiving dinner. 🙂

      Reply
      • Danelle

        November 01, 2016 at 8:11 am

        It’s usually in the condiments aisle, near the cocktail sauce (the red stuff for shrimp cocktail). It actually looks a lot like cocktail sauce, and comes in a similar bottle.

        Reply
        • Gloria

          November 11, 2016 at 8:18 pm

          What brand of chili sauce do u use? I have a company pot luck coming up and this woukd be perfect to make

          Reply
          • Danelle

            November 12, 2016 at 8:52 am

            I used a store brand. But I think Heinz also makes it.

            Reply
    2. Renee - Kudos Kitchen

      November 02, 2016 at 5:33 pm

      These look like the perfect appetizer meatball. I just adore that cranberry glaze!

      Reply
    3. Alice at Hip Foodie Mom

      November 02, 2016 at 7:34 pm

      I just saw a recipe for homemade apple cranberry sauce. I’m going to have to combine it with this! Can’t wait.

      Reply
    4. MegUnprocessed

      November 03, 2016 at 7:40 pm

      Love the cranberries in there, so much extra flavor!

      Reply
    5. Gloria

      November 11, 2016 at 8:22 pm

      What brand of chili sauce do u use? I have a company pot luck coming up and I think these wiuld be perfect.

      Reply
      • Danelle

        November 12, 2016 at 8:52 am

        I used a store brand.

        Reply
        • Gloria

          November 15, 2016 at 7:36 pm

          Ok thank you so much.

          Reply
    6. Judy

      November 12, 2016 at 2:41 pm

      These would make cute sliders!!

      Reply
    7. Kayt0803

      December 14, 2016 at 8:53 am

      If you were to cook these in the crockpot would you just add everything in at once? How long would you set it for?

      Reply
      • Danelle

        December 14, 2016 at 10:08 am

        Yes, add everything at once. Frozen meatballs are usually fully cooked, so you’d only need to heat things through. I usually do about 4 hours on low.

        Reply
        • Kayt0803

          December 14, 2016 at 11:09 am

          Thank you so much! I will be trying this recipe for my upcoming holiday party!

          Reply
        • Mel proper

          December 23, 2018 at 3:14 pm

          Do I out in the crockpot frozen or thawed?

          Reply
          • Danelle

            December 23, 2018 at 4:08 pm

            I always put them in frozen.

            Reply
    8. Victor

      December 31, 2016 at 11:18 am

      So when I go to store, all I see are hot chilli sauces, like siracha, and sweet chilli sauces. I have yet to see just, “chilli sauce.” I looked by the cocktail sauces and near the Heinz product and still no luck. Help PLEASE!

      Reply
      • Danelle

        December 31, 2016 at 2:01 pm

        I think you could use cocktail sauce….it’s pretty similar. Or maybe even ketchup. The cocktail sauce might be just a little spicier.

        Reply
      • Elsie

        September 02, 2017 at 6:41 pm

        Try making homemade sauce if it’s not available at the store: http://www.food.com/recipe/heinz-chili-sauce-copycat-457947

        Reply
    9. Leah

      October 20, 2019 at 6:57 am

      Has anyone tried these with vegetarian meatballs? My hubby is vegetarian and we are going to a birthday potluck, and he usually gets the short end of the stick as there are typically not a lot of options brought that he can eat. I was thinking of trying these, but adjusting to him 🙂

      Reply
    10. Gigi

      November 27, 2019 at 7:28 am

      Appreciate your endeavor to feed your family well but why would you use the microwave if that’s the case?

      Reply
    11. Monica Flott

      December 27, 2019 at 6:32 pm

      Just won a crockpot cook off with these in the appetizer category.

      Reply

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