Description
A bright, simple appetizer that balances sweet-tart cranberry sauce with savory, juicy meatballs. Ready in under 30 minutes with stovetop, oven, or air-fryer options.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20) or 50/50 beef/pork
- 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs (or panko, ground)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1/4 cup finely minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (plus extra for garnish)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce or Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice + 1 tsp zest
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
- 1 tsp cornstarch + 2 tsp cold water (optional thickening slurry)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and milk; let sit for 2 minutes. Add egg, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, Worcestershire (or mustard), and ground meat. Mix with your hands or a fork until just combined, avoiding overworking.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp scoop (or roll ~1-inch balls) to form 12–16 meatballs. For even cooking, keep all balls the same size.
- Choose your cooking method: stovetop sear + simmer, oven-baked, or air fryer. For stovetop, heat oil in a skillet, brown meatballs, and simmer with glaze ingredients until cooked through. For oven, preheat, place meatballs on a sheet pan, and bake until done. For air fryer, arrange meatballs and cook, shaking halfway.
- If glaze is thin, mix cornstarch and water, stir into sauce, and simmer until glossy.
- Serve meatballs on a platter, garnished with orange zest and parsley.
Notes
For turkey meatballs, add 1 tbsp olive oil to the mixture. Test-cook one meatball first to correct seasoning and glaze balance before cooking the whole batch.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking, Stovetop, Air Frying
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3-4 meatballs
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 500mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 70mg
Keywords: meatballs, cranberry, Christmas, holiday appetizer, quick recipe