Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs
Homemade beef meatballs baked, then tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce of cranberry sauce and Huy Fong chili garlic sauce and kept warm in the slow cooker.
Servings: 40 meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef grass fed if available
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley minced
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup onion minced; a small onion usually gives about 1/2 cup
Sauce
- 1 cup cranberry sauce homemade or canned whole berry, not jellied
- 1/4 cup Huy Fong chili garlic sauce use less for milder meatballs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
Before you begin: have your cranberry sauce ready, homemade or canned whole berry
For the sauce
- Stir the cranberry sauce, chili garlic sauce and lemon juice together in the slow cooker. Cover and turn it to low, so the sauce warms while you make the meatballs.
For the meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the ground beef, egg, parsley, bread crumbs and onion in a bowl and mix with your hands just until everything comes together.
- Roll the mixture into bite-size balls about the size of a large walnut (you'll get about 40) and space them out on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are browned on top and 160°F in the center.
To serve
- Add the hot meatballs to the slow cooker and gently toss them in the sauce. Leave it on low until heated through, then switch to warm for serving.
Notes
Make ahead: bake the meatballs up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate them. Reheat them to 165°F in the oven or microwave (not in the slow cooker), then add them to the warm sauce.
Freezing: freeze the baked, cooled meatballs and use them within 2 to 3 months.
Serving size is one meatball.
Nutrition
Calories: 66kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg
