Oh my goodness, this flavor combination is a so irresistible!
Cranberry Turkey Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Cranberry Sauce
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Not only is dish gorgeous, but the it’s so DELICIOUS!
I just LOVE meatballs
and any great tasting dish that can be made in minutes.
Turkey and cranberries together alone are amazing,
not add to it this delicious sauce, it’s slightly sweet and sour and is PACKED with flavor.
These meatballs are perfect for an appetizer, they stay hot in the skillet and you can munch on them while the game is on tv, they are perfect over egg noodles or rice for dinner, or on a roll with the sauce poured over top for a fun sandwich.
After mixing up the ground turkey with panko bread crumbs some seasonings and an egg and the cranberries, roll the meatballs into 2 tablespoon sized portions. If the cranberries are sticking out of the meatballs, tuck them in by pinching the meatball mixture around them. They may pop out when cooking, but you wouldn’t want them all to be popping out before you start cooking, or all the juice from the cranberries won’t be inside the meatball.
Now a little about this great sauce, it’s so good I think I could eat it off a spoon all on its own. It’s tangy and sweet with a little spice and just PERFECT with these meatballs.
I even freeze 3 or 4 bags of cranberries every year at the end of “cranberry season” to be sure I have some in the freezer to make cranberry recipes with.
Take a look at this post for more cranberry recipes there are 6 cranberry sauce recipes along with links to 10 other cranberry recipes posts I’ve made.
- 1 lb ground turkey
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- ½ cup cranberries
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- In a medium bowl mix, ground turkey with bread crumbs, egg, cranberries, remaining ingredients.
- The cranberries are smooth and slippery, you can add two to each meatball if you choose.
- For 2 tablespoon-sized meatballs and tuck the cranberries into the center of each meatball.
- Alternatively you can mix the turkey meatball mixture then wrap it around two cranberries per meatball to distribute them evenly.
- Heat skillet on medium high, cook meatballs turning often to get slightly crisp for some texture, Then turn on low and cover them until fully cooked and reach 170 degrees on a meat thermometer.
- 1½ cups cranberry juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ cup cranberries
- 1 jalapeno diced fine I leave the seeds in for a little spice (or bell pepper)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- In a medium saucepan combine, cranberry juice, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, cranberries, jalapeno and corn starch.
- Whisk until well blended, then heat on medium heat until it boils, then turn on low for 2 minutes.
- Remove sauce from the stove.
- The Sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Pour hot sauce over meatballs and serve with rice, egg noodles, on a sandwich or as an appetizer.
Enjoy the flavors of the holidays ANYTIME with this easy and delicious dish!
Heidi @foodiecrush says
Wow! This looks amaze-balls. Get it? Balls? 🙂 Cranberry-palooza over here. Oh, I need to just stop already.
Chris Scheuer says
Sounds like a perfect holiday appetizer!
sue|theviewfromgreatisland says
I am a meatball maniac, and I love that you added zingy cranberries to these!
Christina says
Have you tried these in a crockpot at all? Thinking of making them for a holiday party and wondering if they will cook/simmer well in the sauce in a crockpot. Thanks!
Diane says
I haven’t made them in the crockpot, and really don’t know how well raw meat would cook in a sauce in the crockpot as I’ve never tried it. If you have cooked similar items like this in a crock pot then I think it would work, if not, I would brown the meatballs in a pan first, then place the sauce and meatballs in the crockpot to finish cooking. That would be my best suggestion. If you try it, be sure to let me know how it worked out.