Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs Made in the Crockpot
We host poker night every Saturday night, and after three years I have accumulated a lot of great snack recipes. With having over 15 people each time, it's tough to make a lot of little snacks to feed such a big group, so I tend to look to the crock pot for simple solutions. This way, I can still enjoy the game while the snack is warming up getting ready to be eaten at break time. This is also a great snack to put in a big bowl in the middle and let everyone take bites as they play. This recipe is a play on the standard Grape Jelly Cocktail Meatballs but instead of jelly I like to use cranberry sauce.
Cocktail Meatball Recipe Using Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- 24oz of Frozen Meatballs (turkey meatballs work great as well)
- 18oz of BBQ Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 16oz Cranberry Sauce Jellied
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Instructions:
- Mix the BBQ Sauce, Soy Sauce, Cranberry Sauce and mustard together until you get a smooth consistency.
- Put frozen meatballs in the crock pot and pour the mixture over them. Stir so all of the meatballs are evenly coated.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours. If it starts to boil, reduce the heat to "keep warm" so that the BBQ sauce does not burn.
- Enjoy!
You can also do this with homemade meatballs. I have made homemade venison meatballs in this recipe and they were a big hit. If you are doing the homemade meatballs, just brown the meatballs on the outside and then add to the crock pot. Cook 6-8 hours or until thoroughly cooked through. Do not allow the mixture to boil too long as the BBQ sauce will burn.
Questions & Answers
Comments
- Author
Great to hear! Happy birthday and enjoy!
I'm going to have this at mine and my daughters birthday party tomorrow!!!
This looks delish! I've always wanted to make my own meatballs but they seem to fall apart. Do you have a good recipe for those? And when you Brown your meatballs, is it in the oven or in a skillet?
Cranberry jelly, where I'll I find that. Can I replace something else like a different kind of jelly?
Wow...those look good and I'll bet that flavor combination is delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe with us. Will pin this so I can find it easily when I wish to give this a try.
O yeah...crock pots are the best. It is like my Momma's cast iron pot back in the day. She would put goodies in and they simmered on the back burner all day.
Now we have these new fangled doodads that get the job done for us too.
I will have to give your recipe a try. Meatballs are always a hit. Thanks for sharing
Angels are on the way
I just remembered this recipe (similar) last week. Used it years ago and thought it might work for an upcoming event. Thanks much for the updated details on it!
- Author
it adds a great flavor - but it doesn't really taste like mustard. I have seen some people use a mild mustard like honey mustard as well. Dijon works really well too, but if you don't like mustard I wouldn't recommend plain yellow mustard.
These look great I never really like mustard in to many thing
But I'm seeing that a lot of people use in sauces I may
Have to give another try
These actually look amazing. I will be making these next time we have a party. Thanks! Voted up!
- Author
I like to use Sweet Baby Rays sauce. I do tend to stay away from the brown sugar recipes because I find that it burns a little bit quicker in the crock pot if it's not stirred.
I love simple recipes that you can make in a crock pot. This recipe looks like it will be very easy to make. I can see how it would be a big hit at my next party. Which BBQ sauce do you use with this recipe?
- Author
If you keep it on the lowest cooking setting on the slow cooker and make sure there is a little extra sauce in there so it doesn't burn on you I think it would be ok.
If you have one of the slow cookers that you can program, I would do 4 hours on low and then put it on keep warm until you get home to tend to it.
I have a bout an 8 hour window where I will be gone. Could these cook for 8 hours?
- Author
As a snack / appetizer about 8 people.
How many does it serve??
What an ideal recipe if you have guests in, thanks for sharing.
- Author
No problem! They are definitely a big hit and very tasty too. If you choose to make your own meatballs ground turkey really works well.
this is a beautiful picture and probably is really awesome
Yum! These sound and look delicious. Thanks for sharing this!
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