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This speedy recipe turns simple ground beef into a bright, festive appetizer in under 30 minutes of hands-on time. It uses pantry staples plus fresh or frozen cranberries for a tart pop that pairs perfectly with a glossy sauce. Busy hosts will appreciate how easy these meatballs are to shape, bake, and serve warm to a crowd. If you love set-and-forget crowd pleasers, compare textures with our crockpot BBQ meatballs for another fast entertaining idea.
Christmas Cranberry Meatballs
A quick and festive appetizer featuring ground beef and tart cranberries, perfect for holiday gatherings.
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup cranberry sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- In a mixing bowl, combine ground meat, breadcrumbs, chopped onion, parsley, egg, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix until well combined.
- Form the mixture into small meatballs and place them on a baking sheet.
- In a separate bowl, mix cranberry sauce and soy sauce together.
- Brush or spoon the cranberry mixture over the meatballs.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and browned.
- Serve warm as an appetizer.
Notes
For faster prep, use frozen cranberries and a cookie scoop for uniform meatballs. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to three days.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 550mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 18g
- Cholesterol: 70mg