This Crock Pot Meatball recipe with cranberry sauce garnished with fresh cilantro is an easy frozen meatball Crock Pot Recipe. These cranberry meatballs are slow-cooked with jellied cranberry along with other pantry staples for an easy holiday appetizer.
When it comes to the sauce to cook your meatballs in, you’ve got options! The classic choice is a can of jellied cranberry sauce. It melts down into a glossy, sweet-tart glaze that clings perfectly to the meatballs. If you’re feeling bold, try homemade cranberry sauce (like my bourbon cranberry sauce) for a richer flavor and you have more control over the ingredients.
It is really difficult to mess up this recipe so you can have whatever you have on hand.
With a couple of pantry staples—cranberry sauce (jellied, whole berry, or homemade) and frozen meatballs, like I use in my grape jelly and sweet chilli meatballs recipe—you can have this dish ready in just 2–3 hours.
Whether you serve these as a hands-off dinner or a festive party appetizer, you’ll have a dish everyone will be talking about.
Ingredient Highlight: Frozen Meatballs
Frozen meatballs are the real time-saver here. You don’t even need to thaw them. Just drop them straight into the slow cooker, pour over the sauce, and let the Crock Pot do the work.
I like to keep a bag of beef meatballs in the freezer for quick meals and appetizers, and this recipe is a great reminder of why. They soak up flavor beautifully and hold their shape during slow cooking.
You can use any kind you like just make sure they’re fully cooked before freezing, since this recipe is designed for reheating rather than raw meatball cooking.
More Crockpot Meatballs Recipes
If you love this recipe and love meatballs, this is the blog for you!
Your frozen meatball adventures don’t have to end here! Try out my bourbon slow cooker meatballs recipe and how to make Crock Pot Meatball Subs.
- Crock Pot Swedish Meatballs
- Escarole and Bean Soup with Meatballs
- Best Bourbon Frozen Meatballs in the Slow Cooker Recipe
- Crockpot Meatball Subs with Frozen Meatballs
How Long to Cook Crockpot Cranberry Meatballs
You can cook these Crock Pot Meatballs with cranberry on high or low. It does not affect the flavor one way or the other, so pick whichever works best with your plans.
- Cook on High for 2 Hours
- Cook on Low for 3 Hours.
Party Supplies
If you are serving this party meatball recipe you may want to consider some supplies. They are sticky and delicious which means that napkins and some kind of skewer is definitely a good idea (especially if there are some kids around and you don’t want them to use the tablecloth to clean their hands).
Here are some recommended supplies:
Storing Leftover Crock Pot Meatballs
Remove cranberry meatballs and sauce from your crock pot and transfer them into an airtight container and refrigerate. They are good for up to 4 days.
These meatballs also freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container or heavy-duty zip-top bag along with the sauce. Freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the slow cooker on low or on the stovetop until warmed through.
Crockpot Cranberry Meatballs Appetizer Recipe
Delight in this easy crockpot cranberry meatballs recipe. The perfect homemade meatball pantry-staple holiday appetizer, that you can put together in 2-3 hours with minimal prep time needed.
Ingredients
- 1.25 pound frozen beef meatballs
- 1 14 oz. can jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- garnish fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place meatballs in your slow cooker
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the cranberry jelly, ketchup, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Really break up the jelly. You should have a semi-chunky sauce. Pour sauce over meatballs. With a spatula spread the sauce evenly over the meatballs.
- Cook on High for 2 hours or Low for 3 hours.
- Serve warm.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 2 meatballsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 232Total Fat: 9gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 233mgCarbohydrates: 27gSugar: 21gProtein: 14g
