Spicy Cranberry Meatballs Recipe (2024)

Cranberry sauce: it’s not just for turkey! Broaden your horizons a little with this spicy take on the concept: cooking a batch of savory meatballs in cranberries and hot chili sauce lets the flavor sink right into the meat and puts a surprising twist on an ordinary dinner menu staple.

A few notes about the ingredients: the egg is there to help the meatballs bind so that you don’t have to rely on bread crumbs or oats, or other non-Paleo ingredients.

There is a significant amount of honey in the sauce, but it’s there for a reason: the sweetness really helps tone down the bitterness of the cranberries. If the sauce is still too bitter for your taste, you can just add a little more honey until you like it.

For a vegetable side, this would be good with roasted Brussels sprouts or cauliflower, or winter squash if you want to keep with the seasonal theme.

If you have leftovers, they’d also be pretty great, either cold or warm inside a crunchy lettuce wrap, as the filling for a healthy, grain-free meatball sub.

Spicy Cranberry Meatballs Recipe

SERVES: 4 PREP: 20 min COOK: 30 min

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. ground beef;
• 1 egg, beaten;
• 2 garlic cloves, minced;
• 2 tsp. onion powder;
• 2 tsp. ground ginger;
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;
• Cooking fat;

Spicy Cranberry Sauce Ingredients

• 12 oz. fresh cranberries;
• ⅓ cup raw honey;
• 1 cup fresh orange juice;
• ¼ cup hot chili sauce:
• ½ tsp. ground cumin;
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon;
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper;

Preparation

1. In a saucepan placed over medium heat, dissolve the honey into the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook for about 10 minutes.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients for the cranberry sauce, mix well, and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Season to taste, and remove from the heat.
4. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Season to taste, and mix until well combined.
5. Roll the meat mixture into bite-sized meatballs.
6. Melt some cooking fat in a skillet placed over medium-high heat and brown the meatballs on all sides.
7. Lower the heat to medium-low. Pour the cranberry sauce over the meatballs and let simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the meatballs are no longer pink inside.

📖 Recipe

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