Cranberry Meatballs

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 240 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

There are some retro dishes that we keep coming back to time and time again because they are worth repeating, and cranberry meatballs are a perfect example. They’re a variation of grape jelly meatballs, a mid-century slow cooker marvel wherein you dump frozen cocktail meatballs, chili sauce, and grape jelly into a slow cooker and let them slowly meld into a shockingly delicious appetizer. Even if this seems a little odd, don’t fear! Think of orange chicken, saucy ribs, and cranberry sauce on roasted turkey — meat goes well with sweet.

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) bottle Heinz chili sauce (1 1/4 cups)
1 (14-ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon packed light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 (14 to 18-ounce) bags frozen cooked bite-size Italian meatballs (about 1/2 ounce each; do not thaw)
Finely chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Whisk 1 (12-ounce) bottle Heinz chili sauce, 1 (14-ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce, 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce together in a 5-quart or larger slow cooker until the cranberry sauce is mostly smooth. Stir in 2 (14 to 18-ounce) bags frozen cooked bite-size Italian meatballs.
Cover and cook until the meatballs are heated through and the sauce thickens slightly, 2 to 2 1/2 hours on the HIGH setting or 3 to 4 hours on the LOW setting. If you’d like a thicker sauce, cook uncovered on the HIGH setting for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, stirring occasionally.
Transfer the meatballs and sauce to a serving dish, or turn on the warm setting and serve straight from the slow cooker. Garnish with finely chopped fresh parsley leaves if desired.