Crockpot Cranberry Meatballs are an easy and delicious appetizer perfect for all of the Holiday get-together’s! You can use frozen meatballs or make homemade meatballs for this recipe. I like making homemade meatballs and keeping them in the freezer for easy recipes like this one.

Ingredients

2-3 pounds of precooked meatballs
12 oz jar of chili sauce
14 oz can of jellied cranberry sauce
1/4 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup of BBQ sauce
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

Prep Crockpot Meatballs

There isn’t a lot of prep work that goes into this recipe, except for making the meatballs if you choose to make them homemade! Frozen meatballs from the store are fine, too.

I prefer making homemade meatballs in bigger batches and keeping them in the freezer for easy recipes like this one. Check out my homemade meatball recipe.

Next, measure out any of the sauces or red pepper flakes needed for this recipe.

Make Crockpot Cranberry Meatballs

To make the Cranberry Meatballs, spray a crockpot with cooking spray and add about 2-3 pounds of pre-cooked meatballs to the crockpot. You can use them frozen or if you just made homemade meatballs that is fine too!

Next, add one bottle of Chili Sauce, 1 can of jellied cranberry sauce, 1/2 cup of bbq sauce, 1/4 cup of orange juice, and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes to the crockpot.

For frozen meatballs, this will cook on high for 3-4 hours. Stir them a couple of times while they are cooking to help the sauce get well incorporated.

If you had just baked meatballs they don’t need to cook as long as frozen ones. Cook them in the crockpot on high for about 2 hours if they are not frozen.

Serve Crockpot Cranberry Meatballs

Once the meatballs are hot and the sauce is well incorporated it’s time to serve the meatballs! I like to chop a couple of green onions and serve them over the meatballs for some color!

If you liked this recipe, check out some of my other favorite easy appetizers below!

Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

Use 2-3 pounds of pre-cooked meatballs. Homemade or frozen store bought meatballs will work for this recipe. I prefer making homemade meatballs.
The red pepper flakes don’t make this a spicy dish, but if you don’t handle spice well you can omit the red pepper flakes from the recipe.
I used Sweet Baby Ray’s original BBQ sauce, but you can use your favorite brand.
If you don’t have a crockpot you could make this on the stove in a pot. Add cooked meatballs with all of the other ingredients and cook over medium heat until the sauce is well incorporated and the meatballs are heated through.