Cocktail Meatballs with Cranberry BBQ Sauce

Are you looking for a fabulously festive appetizer for your next gathering? These cocktail meatballs with cranberry BBQ sauce are the ultimate party food!

The homemade BBQ sauce is easy to make with fresh or frozen cranberries, balsamic and apple cider vinegars, orange zest and juice, brown sugar, honey, ginger and Dijon mustard.

The cocktail meatballs are plump, juicy and flavorful, and when tossed with the cranberry BBQ sauce, your guests won’t be able to stop popping!

How to make cocktail meatballs with cranberry BBQ sauce

Featured Ingredients

For the cranberry BBQ sauce:

• Cranberries: Grab a bag of fresh or frozen cranberries.
  • They are the base of this BBQ sauce recipe and provide beautiful color, that trademark tangy cranberry flavor and loads of nutrition!
• Oranges: Use 2-3 fresh oranges – the zest and juice – as the base liquid for the BBQ sauce. It provides immense flavor and pairs nicely with cranberries.
• Vinegar: I use both balsamic and apple cider vinegars with this recipe because they are perfect for the cranberry orange base.
  • You can use all of one or the other, but I recommend having both on hand because they can be used in a ton of recipes!
• Brown sugar: Dark brown sugar has a richer molasses flavor, whereas light brown is a little less intense. Either works here!
• Honey: I love the mixture of honey and brown sugar in BBQ sauce, and this recipe is no exception.
• Onion: The onion is a fabulous base flavor for any BBQ sauce. Yellow or white onion works well.
• Ginger: For a bit of tang and spice.
• Dijon: Provides flavor, body and tang.
• Worcestershire: An ingredient that should be found in every refrigerator!
  • Nothing provides depth of flavor like Worcestershire does.

For the cocktail meatballs:

• Ground beef and turkey: I like a mix of meats in my meatballs, and beef provides a little fat while the turkey is a bit more lean, making for the perfect meatball mix.
• Egg and breadcrumbs: Crucial binders for meatballs.
• Dijon: Flavor and moisture! I add it to every meatball recipe I make!
• Italian seasoning, onion and garlic: Flavor, flavor, flavor. Do you see a pattern here?!

Step-by-Step Instructions

To make the cranberry BBQ sauce:

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan to medium-low.
2. Add the onion and ginger and sauté 1-2 minutes or until slightly soft, stirring frequently.
3. Add the cranberries, orange zest and juice, vinegars, brown sugar, honey, Dijon, Worcestershire and salt and increase the heat to medium. Simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cranberries have burst.
4. Add water or additional orange juice if the mixture becomes dry. Remove from the heat and let slightly cool.
5. Transfer the BBQ sauce to a blender and puree until smooth (you can add additional water or orange juice here, if needed).
6. Set aside.

To make the cocktail meatballs:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Fit a wire rack inside a baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.
2. Add the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
3. Form the mixture into 2-inch balls and line them on the prepared wire rack, 1-inch apart.
4. Roast 15-18 minutes or until the meatballs are set.
5. Toss the meatballs with the BBQ sauce and serve immediately.

Storage Tips

Serving: Serve the meatballs immediately with the cranberry BBQ sauce for a delicious and easy dinner.

Storing: Store the meatballs and cranberry BBQ sauce (together or separate) in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days or the freezer up to 2 months.

Reheating: If thawed, microwave on high 30-90 seconds or until heated through. If frozen, let thaw in the refrigerator, then microwave on high 30-90 seconds or until heated through.

Recipe Substitution and Alterations

For the cranberry BBQ sauce:

• Instead of fresh onion: Use dried minced onion (½ to 1 tablespoons).
• Instead of fresh ginger: Try a tab of prepared horseradish or grated fresh horseradish for a bit of tang.
• For the cranberries: Use fresh from the produce section or frozen cranberries from the bag.
• If you don’t have oranges: Use water with a splash of fresh lemon juice instead.
• For the brown sugar: Use light or dark brown. If using brown, you can use a bit less since the molasses flavor is stronger in dark brown sugar.
• Instead of honey: Try pure maple syrup or use all brown sugar.
• Instead of Dijon: Try spicy brown mustard.

For the cocktail meatballs:

• Instead of beef: Try all ground turkey or a mix of ground pork and turkey.
• Instead of turkey: Try all ground beef or a mix of ground pork and beef.
• Instead of panko: Try regular breadcrumbs, soaked bread, quick oats or crushed crackers.
• Instead of minced onion: Try fresh or dried minced onion.
• Instead of garlic powder: Try minced fresh garlic (about 2-3 cloves).

Nutrition Considerations

• To make this gluten free: For the cranberry BBQ sauce, be sure all ingredients are gluten free. Worcestershire often contains gluten, so grab a brand of GF Worcestershire or use coconut aminos or tamari.
• To make this dairy free: This recipe is naturally dairy free.
• To make this nut free: This recipe does not contain nuts. Be sure all packaged ingredients are nut free.

Why we love cranberries

• Wisconsin grows more than half the world’s cranberries!
• Cranberries are a versatile fruit and can be consumed year-round, not just during the holidays (try them fresh, frozen, dried or in juice form in various recipes!).
• Cranberries are filled with fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, so you know this dietitian loves them for their health benefits!

Our favorite cranberry recipes:

• Cranberry Orange Mocktail
• Cranberry Chicken Salad
• Apple Cranberry Bread Pudding
• Cranberry and Goat Cheese Stuffed Pears
• Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce
• Brussels Sprouts Cranberry Salad
• Cranberry Ginger Muffins
• Beef Tenderloin with Cranberry Balsamic Compote
• Cranberry Maple French Toast Cups
• Cranberry Pecan Pie Bars

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