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Spicy Cranberry BBQ Meatballs

Spicy cranberry BBQ meatballs made in a slow cooker with glossy, thick sauce over fully cooked frozen meatballs. Deep red cranberry-jalapeño flavor with sriracha and chipotle chili powder for a sweet-heat finish.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Frozen fully cooked meatballs
  • 2 lb frozen fully cooked meatballs Keep frozen until added to the slow cooker.
Cranberry and BBQ sauce base
  • 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
Garnishes
  • 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced, for garnish Add on top at the end for freshness and visible heat.
  • 0.25 chopped fresh parsley for garnish Use generously for color.

Equipment

  • 1 slow cooker

Method
 

Make the sauce base
  1. Whisk jellied cranberry sauce, BBQ sauce, sriracha, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, and chipotle chili powder in the slow cooker until smooth and uniform in color.
Cook the meatballs
  1. Add frozen fully cooked meatballs to the slow cooker and stir until evenly coated with the sauce.
  2. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through.
Finish and serve
  1. Stir until the sauce is thick and glossy, coating the meatballs evenly.
  2. Top with jalapeno and parsley, keep on WARM, and serve with toothpicks.

Notes

For the glossiest sauce, stir once at the midpoint so the frozen centers heat through evenly and the cranberry-BBQ blend reduces. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container up to 4 days; reheat in the slow cooker on WARM or microwave in short bursts. Freezing is not recommended for the best texture of the sauce. For a lower-sugar option, choose a no-sugar-added BBQ sauce and keep the sriracha amount the same for heat balance.