Description
Delicious and juicy cranberry meatballs featuring ground pork, baked to perfection and coated in a sweet and tangy cranberry sauce. Perfect for gatherings or as a flavorful main course.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 1 small onion (grated or finely chopped)
- 1 ½ pound ground pork (extra lean)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (such as Panko)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup parsley (fresh, chopped)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
Sauce
- 2 cups cranberry sauce (homemade or store bought)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar (packed)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix Meatball Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients and mix thoroughly until well blended.
- Shape Meatballs: Wet your hands to prevent sticking, then form the mixture into medium-sized meatballs, yielding about 30 to 35 meatballs. Using a small ice cream scoop can help create uniform shapes.
- Bake Meatballs: Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until an internal thermometer reads 160℉.
- Prepare Sauce: While the meatballs bake, combine the cranberry sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Combine Meatballs and Sauce: Lower the heat, add the baked meatballs to the skillet, and stir gently. Cook until the meatballs are heated through and fully coated with the sauce.
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish with additional parsley if desired and serve warm.
Notes
- Ground pork gives the juiciest meatballs, but a mix of pork and beef or turkey can be used as alternatives.
- Panko breadcrumbs provide a lighter, tender texture, but regular breadcrumbs are suitable as well.
- Either homemade or store-bought cranberry sauce works; whole berry cranberry sauce is recommended for texture.
- Taste the sauce after simmering; add more lemon juice if too sweet or more sugar if too tart.
- You can bake the meatballs ahead of time, cool them, and store in the fridge for up to 3 days; reheat in the sauce before serving.
- Cooked meatballs and sauce can be frozen separately for up to 2 months; thaw overnight before reheating on the stove.
- These meatballs maintain their quality if kept warm in a slow cooker on Low, ideal for entertaining.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg
