Cranberry Wine Meatballs is the best holiday appetizer.
Baked and tossed in a tangy, sweet, and savory sauce. It will be a big crowd pleaser. It’ll be HUUUGE. Meatballs are always the best appetizer to serve for a party. It’s finger food and filling. Pair with this cranberry wine sauce and it’s super festive.
I’m a big meatball fan when it comes to parties, I think it’s the perfect little ball of flavor and fun. Fun being finger friendly and flavor packing a punch. You could make these meatballs ahead of time and freeze them them, combine the sauce and frozen meatballs in a crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours for an easy appetizer. This sauce is tangy and sweet, it reminds me of a BBQ sauce but has the flavor of the holidays with the cranberries.
This is definitely an appetizer type recipe, I wouldn’t make this for the main meal, but if you have leftovers I would consider making this into meatball slider. A little arugula or slaw, chipotle aioli, and on a Hawaiian bun sounds amazing slider to me.
Wine Pairing Recommendation: Since I made the sauce with a Malbec, I highly suggest you pair with a malbec, or whatever you’re cooking with.
Cranberry Wine Meatballs
You could prep the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them. Reheat with the sauce in a crock-pot on low for 2-4 hours.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Pork
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1/2 cup Panko Breadcrumb
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 whole Egg
- 1 tablespoon Parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper
- 1 package {12 ounces} Fresh Cranberries
- 2 cups Red Wine
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- Parsley, chopped for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Step 2 Prepare a sheet pan lined with a rack and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Step 3 In a medium sized mixing bowl add the ground pork, ground beef, panko, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, ketchup, and kosher salt and ground black pepper. Mix by hand until just combined. You don’t want to over-mix, it’ll make the meatballs tough.
- Step 4 Mold the meatballs in your palm, about 2 tablespoons worth, and place on the rack evenly spaced on the sheet pan. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Step 5 Meanwhile, prepare sauce, in a medium size saucepan add fresh cranberries, red wine, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, ketchup, kosher salt, and ground nutmeg. Whisk and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes until cranberries are popping and sauce is thickened. Use a potato masher to crush cranberries to incorporate into the sauce.
- Step 6 Remove meatballs to a serving dish and pour cranberry wine sauce over top. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Savor and Enjoy!
I cooked turkey fillet with this sauce recently, and at the moment when I finally tried a piece, I wanted to sing Maaagic moment … It’s so incredibly delicious! The genius came up with making sweet and sour fruit and berry sauces for meat. This is truly a masterpiece and a dish that will surprise even a gourmet. I recommend this recipe to everyone, you will not regret it! And moreover, it seems to become your favourite one.
Thank you Ann! I’m so glad you enjoyed, cheers!