These Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs are incredibly easy to make. They require just three simple ingredients and can be made right on the stovetop, or for convenience, in your slow cooker. Serve on their own as a hearty appetizer for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or serve with rice for a simple weeknight meal.
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY BBQ MEATBALLS
I can’t stop staring at that photo – isn’t that glaze just gorgeous? It’s the most simple thing too, and it tastes amazing. A can of sweet and tart cranberry sauce is mixed with a spicy barbecue sauce…and that’s it! If you have the time, you can make your own meatballs, but for simplicity I usually use frozen store bought meatballs. (Need a quick and easy meatball recipe? Try this one).
- Start by combining the spicy barbecue sauce with a can of cranberry sauce on the stove over a medium flame. Because of the sugars in the sauces you’ll want to watch it closely to make sure it doesn’t overheat and burn. Stirring it often will also help to prevent burning.
- Add frozen meatballs to the pan and stir them around to coat them with the sauce. You can also use fresh if you have the time to make them. It will drastically cut down on the cooking time.
- Cover the pan with it’s lid and let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for about 10-15 minutes. For thawed meatballs, simmer just until heated through.
- We love these Cranberry BBQ Meatballs as an appetizer, but also just for dinner! The sauce pairs deliciously with white rice; just add a green salad and you have a complete meal!
HOW TO COOK BBQ CROCKPOT MEATBALLS
I like to cook these on the stovetop and let the sauce reduce a bit while the meatballs heat through. That’s how you get that yummy, sticky glaze. You could also use your slow cooker. It all depends on how you are serving them and how much time you have. For appetizers, crockpot meatballs are probably easiest but for a meal, I like the stovetop.
- Pour the sauces into the slow cooker and stir them together. Because they are both thick, you may want to use a whisk to really mix them.
- Add the frozen or thawed meatballs, put the lid on and set the slow cooker to low.
- Let cook on low for a couple of hours or until meatballs are heated through. BBQ Meatballs should be kept at the warm or low setting until ready to serve; up to 8 hours.
For more holiday appetizer ideas, try these:
- Spicy Barbecue Grape Jelly Meatballs
- Italian Meatball Sliders
- Buffalo Ranch Meatballs
- Spicy Honey Garlic Meatballs
- Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Smoked Sausage Bites
- Meatball Marinara Poppers

Spicy Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 2 14- ounce packages frozen meatballs if using homemade, about 55-60 small
- 1 14- ounce can whole cranberry sauce
- 1 17- ounce bottle spicy barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Combine sauces over medium heat in a large deep skillet and cook until bubbly.
- Add meatballs in a single layer and stir to coat completely. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until meatballs are heated through; about 15 minutes for frozen.
- Remove cover and continue to cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced and completely coating the meatballs.
- Serve on their own as an appetizer, or as a main dish over rice.
- For slow cooker method, place meatballs in the slow cooker and pour sauces over. Stir ingredients together and cook on low for a few hours or until ready to serve. Stir again just before serving.
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Hi! I’m Kristin, the creative mind behind Yellow Bliss Road where you will be inspired by tons of easy to follow recipes, lots of free printables, and a little sprinkling of life thrown in for good measure.
Hello KRISTIN thanks for such a quick recipe i will make it at upcoming Sunday for my family and we will use it for whole week.
Just have to tell you, made these for Christmas and New Years made a dbl batch each time. Totally gone!! Everyone loved them! Not too spicy not too sweet. So easy to make too!! Thank you! Will use this often!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
I made these for a Friendsgiving party in November, and have been making them for every get together since! They are such a hit. Thanks so much!
Hey there Kristin!
Just tried out your recipe today at home and my husband just loved them! Take lots of love and best wishes from us! They just tasted awesome.
Thank you Nicki! glad your family loved it.
This sounds REAL GOOD……!
Thank you Linda!
I got the meatballs from Costco but they are Italian flavored with spices and cheese. Would that work?
They will probably be fine; the sauce is pretty sweet and will cover the other flavors.
Can’t wait to try these as they contain only ingredients that I love.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!!
Thank you DELVA!
I will definitely make these for an appetizer thanks for the recipe
Would you use this cranberry bbq sauce on chicken as well as meatballs?
I think it would be delicious on chicken!
My Mother made the Cranberry and BBQ meatballs for years. I still make them to this day. Very few people can guess the recipe. Perfect for a Pot Luck in my Crock Pot.
I suggest buying the large bag of meatballs at a Sams Club. We just had a family party for 25 and that was plenty. I think the meatballs may have cost about 10-$12. Same basic recipe. You can use grape jelly instead as well – I also use Famous Dave’s sauce as it’s the best and the difference between a bottle for $3.75 and one on sale for $1.50 – who cares?
i love cranberry family doesn,t is the recipe predominitely cranberry flavor?
I tried this at the Christmas Mingle and Jingle at work, I made two huge crockpots full! and they were the first to go, handed out the recipe, and now still have some of the employees begging for me just to bring in a crockpot and make them some “just because”. The best pot luck recipe!!! I actually used Walmart Italian meatballs, cranberry sauce, and sweet baby ray’s bbq sauce and that was it!!! I highly recommend this!!!
If I were to double the recipe , should I double all of the ingredients or should I back off on the BBQ or the Cranberry sauce ?
Doubling should be fine.
You know, I’ve made meatballs like this for several years but I always just bought regular BBQ sauce. After seeing your recipe I bought the spicy kind and…. YUM! The spicy kick was the perfect contrast to the sweetness of the cranberry sauce, really delicious! Thank you! 🙂
What is the best meatball brand to use for this recipe?