These Crock Pot Cranberry Meatballs take only a few minutes of prep and have a delicious sweet and tangy taste with a little bit of spice.
Great Holiday Appetizer
Just about every southern Holiday Party I’ve gone to has had a crock pot full of party meatballs. And there’s always a swarm of people huddled around them. Cocktail Meatballs are an absolute crowd pleaser.
The typical party meatball is made with a jar of grape jelly and those are plenty delicious, but I sometimes like to change things up. I’ve added cranberry sauce and pepper jelly to give the meatballs a holiday flair. The flavor is predominantly sweet, but they are also a little spicy and tangy.
You see so many cocktail meatballs around the holidays for a reason. Not only are they amazingly delicious, they are super easy to make and economical for feeding a huge crowd. I use a bag of Farm Rich frozen meatballs for this Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs recipe.
Equipment Needed
You will need a 6-quart or larger slow cooker for this recipe.
The best way to get the most out of the holidays is to take a few short cuts here and there so that you spend less time in the kitchen and more time making family memories. Each year I try and get a little more efficient during the holidays and I’ve been researching all kinds of Holiday Hacks.
Some of them are pretty creative – others down right crazy!
Did you know that you can boil your potatoes whole with the skins on, shock them in ice water, and the skins will slip right off? I’m going to be trying that one for sure!
Save your empty boxes of plastic wrap and aluminum foil, paint them, and use them as holiday cookie gift boxes. Just be sure to cut off the serrated edge!
If you’re cooking corn for a large crowd, steam it in a cooler. Place the corn in the bottom of the cooler, add boiling water, close the cooler for 30 minutes. Pretty cool.
One of the most off the wall ones I’ve read is to run your potatoes through the dishwasher with no detergent in lieu of scrubbing them. Really???
Do you have any tips or shortcuts for the holiday season? Have you ever tried making Crock Pot Meatballs?
More Holiday Appetizers
- Crispy Cheese Wafers
- Wrapped Brie with Tomato Chutney
- Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies
- Crab Cake Stuffed Shrimp
Crock Pot Cranberry Meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (12-ounce) jar chili sauce
- 1 (12 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 (10.5-ounce) jar Red Pepper Jelly, I use Braswell’s
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- few shakes hot sauce
- 1 (32-ounce) bag Frozen Meatballs
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except for meatballs in crock pot.
- Add meatballs and stir to coat them well. Put in crock pot on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 2-2 1/2 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Want to Save This Recipe?
Note: If you have a newer crock pot, you can probably reduce the cooking time some.
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Originally published December 1, 2014.
Sharing with The Country Cook at The Weekend Potluck.
More Crock Pot Appetizers
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Making them tomorrow for New Year’s Eve party at my house! Can’t wait to try them!!
You might be able to find the red pepper jelly at a store that sells fruits and vegetables. These places sometimes carry foods made my the Amish or Mennonites, and are usually homemade.
I do have a question about the recipe though. Do you have any suggestions on how to make it without all of the spicy stuff?
The brand of Pepper Jelly I use- Braswell’s, really isn’t that spicy. But you could leave out the pepper jelly and maybe add some extra cranberry sauce.
Can you use homemade meatballs? My family is not a fan of pre-made. These look amazing!
Yes, you can use homemade meatballs. Hope you enjoy!
The meatballs I found on the product finder are turkey. Is that what you used? I also looked them up and found wheat in the ingredient list. I was wondering if you used a different blend?
I used the original meatballs which are a blend of beef and pork, but I am sure the turkey would be good too. The Farm Rich website says all their meatballs are gluten free. I will have to take a peak at the ingredient list next time I’m at the store.
I hate to ask this question but I would really love to make these for Christmas. Where do you find the chili sauce and the red pepper jelly please? I have never heard of red pepper jelly at all and not quite sure what chili sauce is. I guess you can tell I really need a lot of help in the kitchen! :0) Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Pam, I use Heinz chili sauce. It is located next to the ketchup in my local southern California markets. Sometimes, it gets moved to the seafood cooktail sauces.
Red Pepper Jelly is only sometimes in the jelly section of the grocery store. Not ever store carries it but Costco has very big jars of it and it come two jars together for $9.99.
I use the Heinz Chili Sauce too and like Ann said, I find it next to the ketchup. The red pepper jelly, if your store carries it will be by the jellies and jams. Sometimes you have to look really hard for it because there are so many different types of jelly. The kind I usually use is Braswell’s. Here is a link to it on amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Braswells-Natural-Pepper-Jelly-10-5/dp/B0043JD9DO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418568651&sr=8-2&keywords=braswells+red+pepper+jelly
Love the combination of flavors!
Don’t know what happened to my previous comment so disregard if this is a dupe! I love this brand of meatballs and I have lots of leftover cranberry sauce. Need to add this on to the menus!
YUM. That brand of meatballs is really good. I love this recipe and in fact have quite a bit of cranberry sauce left over. Thanks for the dinner inspiration!
You had me at “crock pot!” I love this idea! Yum!
Wow these meatballs look absolutely amazing especially because the cranberry sauce. Perfect appetizer for the holidays!
Looks good!
Meatballs are always a hit at a holiday party, and I love the sound of this tangy, spicy sauce! Very original…love it!
These look fabulous! I love the sound of the cranberry and chili sauce. Sounds so flavorful and perfect for all the holiday parties!
These look absolutely delicious!! Love that cranberry sauce. These sound like the perfect appetizer!
These meatballs sound amazing, Christin! I’ve never had a cranberry kind before. This sounds like the perfect appetizer for Christmas! Pinned!
Cocktail meatballs are DEFINITELY the first thing I go for at a party as well! They are just toooo delish to pass up and these, most definitely, look incredibly appetizing! I’m loving that cranberry sauce mix on these meatballs! Droooling!!!! and pinning! 😀
Crockpot meatballs are the best! I could eat a whole meal with just them. Love the cranberry flavor too!
I made something similar for our Friendsgiving we had a few weeks back! But I did not think to add the pepper jelly – man that’s a fantastic idea! These look delicious!
These meatballs look so rich and saucy! I’d love them over some rice, or on a sub roll! YUM!
These meatballs look delicious Christin! I am totally making them for a Christmas gathering I am hosting this weekend!! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂 Pinned.
Making them for New Year’s Eve party tomorrow! Can’t wait to try them!