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Spicy Cranberry BBQ Meatballs

Spicy cranberry BBQ meatballs are slow-cooked until the sauce turns thick and glossy, coating frozen fully cooked meatballs. A sriracha-chipotle kick plus jellied cranberry sauce creates a deep red, glossy dip-style glaze—perfect for toothpicks and parties.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Frozen fully cooked meatballs
  • 2 lb frozen fully cooked meatballs
Cranberry BBQ glaze
  • 14 oz jellied cranberry sauce
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce
  • 2 tbsp sriracha
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 0.5 tsp garlic powder
  • 0.5 tsp chipotle chili powder
Garnish
  • 1 jalapeno thinly sliced
  • 0.25 fresh parsley chopped

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Make the cranberry BBQ sauce
  1. Whisk jellied cranberry sauce, BBQ sauce, sriracha, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, and chipotle chili powder in a slow cooker until smooth, with no streaks of spices remaining.
  2. Add frozen fully cooked meatballs and stir until every meatball is coated in the red sauce.
Slow-cook until glossy
  1. Cover and cook on LOW 3-4 hours or HIGH 2 hours, stirring once halfway so the glaze thickens evenly around the meatballs.
  2. Stir until the sauce is thick and glossy, clinging to the meatballs rather than pooling at the bottom of the pot.
Garnish and serve
  1. Top with thinly sliced jalapeno and chopped fresh parsley, then keep the meatballs on WARM for serving.
  2. Serve with toothpicks so guests can pick up one glossy meatball at a time.

Notes

Pro tip: Stir once halfway and again at the end—this helps the jellied cranberry sauce break down into a smooth, glossy coating. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; rewarm gently on LOW in the slow cooker or microwave. Freeze leftovers up to 2 months (best thawed in the fridge overnight). For a lower-sugar option, use sugar-free BBQ sauce while keeping the cranberry sauce; it will still thicken well.