Cranberry Meatballs
This is a super simple recipe for cranberry meatballs. Homemade meatballs are made from scratch to achieve the best possible flavor and baked in the oven.
Ingredients
For meatballs:
- 1 pound ground meat (450 grams, see note 1)
- 1 egg (large)
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs (40 grams)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- ¼ cup pecorino cheese (finely grated, see note 2)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (see note 3)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree (double concentrated, see note 4)
For cranberry sauce:
- 9 ounces whole cranberry sauce (250 grams)
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce
- ⅛ cup water (optional)
Instructions
- Meatballs: Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit (175 Celsius).
- Meanwhile: In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for meatballs and using your hand give everything a good mix (The longer you mix, the more even the distribution of spices).
- Line a baking sheet/tray with baking parchment. Use the smallest cookie dough scoop to get 24 similar looking portions of meat mixture. Place them onto the tray.
- Roll each into a ball and place it back on the sheet/tray. When finished, transfer the tray to the oven.
- Cook at 400 Fahrenheit (200 Celsius) for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
- Sauce: In a skillet or pot, combine all the ingredients (except water) and simmer on low heat for a minute or two, stirring constantly. If the sauce appears thick, add the water. If not, omit it. Add cooked meatballs and stir them around to make sure they are all covered in sauce.
- Serve warm!
Notes
- You can use either pork, beef, chicken or turkey meat or a combination of these.
- Pecorino can be substituted with parmesan.
- Because pecorino is salty enough to season the meat, only a little bit of salt is needed. If using parmesan, you can add slightly more but I don’t recommend using more than ½ teaspoon.
- Do not use pureed tomatoes – it’s a different product!
- This recipe should yield 24-26 meatballs and serve 6 people when counting 4 meatballs per head.
- Cooking time may vary. This depends on the size of your meatballs, your oven as well as altitude you live in. If not sure, always use a food thermometer to check for doneness. More info is in the post above this recipe card.
Nutrition
Calories: 319kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 25g (8%)Protein: 16g (32%)Fat: 17g (26%)Saturated Fat: 7g (44%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 82mg (27%)Sodium: 366mg (16%)Potassium: 313mg (9%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 17g (19%)Vitamin A: 376IU (8%)Vitamin C: 5mg (6%)Calcium: 78mg (8%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
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