Christmas Meatballs
These festive Christmas Meatballs feature a savory-sweet blend of ground beef, dried cranberries, and orange zest, baked until tender and simmered in a spiced cranberry glaze. Effortlessly prepared in a single batch, they are the perfect make-ahead appetizer to keep warm in a slow cooker for easy holiday entertaining.
Picture these glistening meatballs as the centerpiece of your holiday spread, served alongside other seasonal favorites like baked brie and spiced nuts.
The entire dish comes together in a simple 3-step process: mix and bake the cranberry meatballs, whisk together the quick cranberry sauce, and let them meld for 10 minutes on the stovetop before serving with pretzel sticks for a playful and delicious presentation!
What are Christmas meatballs?
These meatballs with cranberry sauce are a festive holiday appetizer that transforms this classic party food with seasonal flavors like tangy cranberries, zesty orange, and aromatic spices.
They’re made by baking homemade savory ground beef mixture and then glazing the cooked meatballs in a sweet and tart cranberry-based sauce on the stovetop for a quick 10 minutes.
Of course, you could just as easily make the meatballs and sauce ahead of time, ready to be combined in the crockpot and left to heat through and meld for incredible flavor just before the guests arrive!
Ingredients needed to make Christmas meatballs
For the Meatballs
- Eggs: Act as a binder to hold the meatball mixture together. Bring the eggs to room temperature for easier mixing with the rest of the ingredients.
- Onion soup mix: Provides a concentrated, savory depth of flavor.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavor of the meatball mixture.
- White onion: Adds a sharp, aromatic pungency to the meatballs.
- Red onion: Offers a slightly sweeter, colorful onion flavor.
- Bread crumbs: Helps to soak up excess moisture and provides structure to the meatballs so that they don’t crumble.
- Dried cranberries: Provides sweet, chewy pockets of fruity flavor.
- Orange zest: Infuses a bright, citrusy aroma that pairs beautifully with the dried cranberries and the cranberry sauce.
- Fresh parsley: Adds a fresh, herbal note and a pop of green color.
- Lean ground beef: I’ve used 90% lean ground beef to reduce the fat content.
For the Sauce
- Whole-berry cranberry sauce: The main component to this sauce, creating a sweet, tart, and chunky base. Use store-bought or homemade cranberry sauce.
- Ketchup: Adds a familiar tomato-y sweetness and tang.
- Beef broth: Thins the sauce to a perfect, spoonable consistency while adding deep meaty flavor.
- Dark brown sugar: Contributes a deep molasses-like sweetness that balances the acidity in the sauce mixture.
- Onion: Provides a subtle, savory texture in the sauce.
- Ginger: Lends a warm, spicy kick that complements the cranberry flavor.
- Cider vinegar: Introduces a sharp, acidic tang to balance the sweetness.
How do you make Christmas meatballs?
Make the meatballs:
- In a large bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients and gently mix with your hands until barely combined.
- Shape the meatball mixture into 1-inch balls.
- Place the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with either foil or parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
Make the sauce:
- About 5-10 minutes before the meatballs are done in the oven, start to make your sauce.
- In a large pot on medium heat, mix the sauce ingredients, cooking (and stirring) for 5 minutes.
Combine and serve:
- Turn the heat down to low, and add the baked meatballs.
- Cook the meatballs in the sauce for 10 minutes, gently stirring a couple of times to ensure that they cook evenly all over and are fully coated with the flavorful sauce.
Serving
Right before serving these Christmas meatballs, pull each meatball out of the sauce and stick a pretzel stick in each one. As an alternative, you can serve these meatballs with toothpicks, but where’s the fun in that?! Or, just serve the meatballs with a slotted spoon from the slow cooker!
Enjoy these delicious holiday appetizers alongside a glass of Holiday Sangria, Christmas Sangria, or Pear Martini Cocktail.
They can also be added to a Christmas charcuterie board or served alongside other fun holiday appetizers, such as pull-apart Christmas Tree Appetizer, Brown Sugar Baked Brie with Pecans, Crispy Prosciutto Crostini with Fig, or Cranberry Cheese Ball.
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Meatball storage: Properly stored in an airtight container, your leftover Christmas meatballs will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezing and reheating: You can store these appetizer meatballs with sauce in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. To reheat, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then warm them gently in a saucepan on the stove or in a slow cooker.
- Make ahead: You can make the sauce a day or two ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The meatballs can also be made, cooled, and then frozen until ready to use. On the day of your party, add the frozen meatballs and the sauce directly to a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. It’s as easy as that!
- Reuse leftovers: Leftover Christmas meatballs can be added to freshly boiled spaghetti with extra sauce or another pasta sauce, loaded into soft bread rolls for a tasty lunch option or added to grain bowls for a boost of protein!
- Don’t Overmix: Use your hands and mix just until the ingredients are combined as overmixing can lead to a tough and dense texture.
- Adjust the quantity: This recipe makes 3 dozen Christmas meatballs. You can easily reduce this, but from experience, it’s the perfect amount for an average-sized gathering, especially when pairing with other appetizers.
- Uniform sized meatballs: Use a small cookie scoop to portion the meat mixture. This ensures all the meatballs are the same size, so they cook evenly and look professional on a platter. Roll them gently between your palms to smooth them out.
- Simmer, Don’t Boil the Sauce: Once the meatballs are in the sauce, keep the heat on low. A gentle simmer for 10 minutes is all you need to let the flavors meld. A rolling boil can cause the meatballs to overcook and fall apart.
- Baking time may vary: This recipe calls for 1-inch homemade meatballs which will take 20-30 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees F. Since all ovens differ, it’s best to keep a watch towards the end. You may also need to reduce the baking time for smaller meatballs or increase the time when assembling larger meatballs.
Variations:
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs and ensure your onion soup mix and broth are certified gluten-free.
- Spicy kick: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce for a gentle heat.
- Ground meat: Substitute the ground beef with an equal mix of ground pork and turkey for a different flavor profile.
- Cranberry-barbeque sauce: Replace the ketchup and brown sugar in the sauce with an equal amount of your favorite barbeque sauce.
For more holiday-inspired appetizers to pair with your Christmas meatballs, try these Pear and Cranberry Bites, Cranberry Pistachio Brie Appetizer, and Cranberry Jalapeno Dip!
More meatball appetizer ideas you may want to try:
- Avocado Cheeseburger Meatballs Appetizer
- Easy Sweet and Sour Meatballs Appetizer
- Cranberry-Barbecue Sauce Turkey Meatballs
- Cocktail Meatball Recipe
- Easy Meatball Crostini Appetizer
Get the Recipe:
Christmas Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ package onion soup mix
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup chopped white onion, finely diced
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion, finely diced
- ½ cup breadcrumbs, seasoned
- ¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1-2 tsp orange peel, finely zested
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
- 1-½ pounds lean ground beef, 90% lean
For the Sauce:
- 1 14 ounce can whole-berry cranberry sauce
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ½ cup beef broth, or any broth
- 3 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
- ½ tsp ginger
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- 1 pkg Pretzel sticks
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the eggs, onion soup mix, salt, both onions, breadcrumbs, dried cranberries, orange zest, fresh minced parsley, and the ground beef. Gently mix together using your hands, until barely combined. Mix lightly but thoroughly. The secret to good meatballs is to not over mix! Shape into 1-inch balls.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with either foil or parchment paper, and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs.
- In a large pot on medium heat, mix the sauce ingredients, cooking (and stirring) for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to low, add the meatballs, and cook for an additional 10 minutes, gently stirring a couple of times.
Notes
- Meatball storage: Properly stored in an airtight container, your leftover Christmas meatballs will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezing and reheating: You can store these appetizer meatballs with sauce in the freezer for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. To reheat, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then warm them gently in a saucepan on the stove or in a slow cooker.
- Make ahead: You can make the sauce a day or two ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The meatballs can also be made, cooled, and then frozen until ready to use. On the day of your party, add the frozen meatballs and the sauce directly to a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. It’s as easy as that!
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free breadcrumbs and ensure your onion soup mix and broth are certified gluten-free.Ground meat: Substitute the ground beef with an equal mix of ground pork and turkey for a different flavor profile.
- Spicy kick: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce for a gentle heat.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
