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–+ servings
Cranberry orange meatballs in white bowl.
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5 from 1 vote

Cranberry Orange Mini Meatballs

Sweet and tangy sauce gives this appetizer meatball a different kick!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 24 meatballs
Calories 64kcal
Author Beth Neels
Cost $5

Equipment

Ingredients

For Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground beef or a mixture of beef pork, venison, lamb, chicken or turkey
  • 4 small cloves garlic about 2 teaspoons
  • 2 tablespoon Onion
  • 1 egg whisked
  • 1/2 c rice chex or corn chex, corn flakes, corn meal
  • 1/4 c cashew milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon sage, dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Pepper

For the Sauce

  • 1 can jellied cranberry sauce (14 oz.)
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce Make sure you use GF soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 tablespoon brown sugar
  • Juice and zest from one orange preferably a juice orange NOTE: Using all of the zest from the orange gives the sauce a strong orange flavor. 90% of taste tasters loved it. The other 10% preferred the sauce when I only used about 2 tsp. of Zest!
  • 2 tablespoon sherry
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger grated
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For Meatballs

  • Preheat oven to 375°F
  • Place the beef in a medium mixing bowl.
  • Grate the onion and garlic directly into the same bowl to collect the juice too.
  • Add egg.
  • Pulse the chex in a food processor until fine; Soak chex in the milk for a few minutes. Add to meat.
  • Add sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly but gently. Don't over work.
  • Shape with a tablespoon so the meatballs are all approximately the same size.
  • Place meatballs on a baking sheet.
  • Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden and cooked through, 165°F.

For the Sauce

  • While meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce
  • Place all ingredients In a small saucepan over medium low heat, stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Sauce will thicken up nicely and should be ready about the same time as the meatballs are cooked through.

Video

Notes

Make these for parties and potlucks. They will be the first thing gone!
These meatballs freeze well. So make a big batch and heat them up when needed.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for 3-4 days.
Reheat in microwave or, covered, in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water added, for about 10 minutes, until hot.
For longer storage, freeze up to 6 months.
Thaw in refrigerator. Reheat per above instructions.

Nutrition

Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 58mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.6mg