Easy vegan cocktail meatballs with cranberry sauce recipe! These vegetarian cranberry meatballs are the perfect meatless appetizer for your holiday table.
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Hey, Rhubarbarians! Today we are making a fabulous meatless appetizer for the holidays: vegan cocktail meatballs! Made extra festive with a sweet and savory cranberry glaze.
We love these as a holiday appetizer because the glaze can easily be made ahead and then they only take a few minutes of precious prep time! Serve them on a platter alongside some sweet potato hand pies, individual stuffing muffins, and orange cranberry mimosas.
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A vegan holiday appetizer
Appetizers are such an important part of a holiday meal! Festive bites to enjoy while the feast is cooking in the kitchen. It doesn't get a whole lot more festive than holiday meatballs with cranberry sauce!
The cranberry glaze makes these appetizer meatballs perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even a New Year's Eve appetizer. They are easy to make and can be enjoyed by meat eaters and vegan/vegetarians alike!
What are cocktail meatballs? Cocktail meatballs are bite sized meatballs that are served as an appetizer. They can be dipped or glazed in a sweet or savory sauce. They are often served on the end of a toothpick or small fork.
The meatballs
We keep things super easy by using frozen meatballs! They cook while you make the cranberry sauce and make serving appetizers for the holidays a breeze.
There are many amazing vegan meatball options out there! Our favorites are Gardein classic meatless meatballs (shown in the pictures) and the Trader Joe's meatless meatballs.
We prefer to bake our meatballs in the oven for convenience, but they also cook very well in a frying pan on the stove top, in an air fryer, or even in a slow cooker directly in the cranberry sauce.
Pro tip: utilize that slow cooker for the holidays! Double the recipe for the cranberry sauce and after straining, place in your slow cooker or crockpot. Cook the meatballs directly in the cranberry sauce!
Make the cranberry sauce
The homemade cranberry glaze is very easy to make! (full instructions are listed in the recipe card below)
For this cranberry sauce you will need these ingredients:
- shallot
- light brown sugar
- water
- fresh or frozen cranberries
- salt
How to make the sauce:
- Saute some minced shallot in olive oil in a sauce pan
- Add the sugar, water, cranberries, and salt
- Simmer together until all of the berries have burst
- Strain the cranberry sauce to get a thin, jelly-like glaze
Have you seen our guide to how to make cranberry sauce? It's so easy to make!
How to serve
Serve as vegan cocktail meatballs: Poke some toothpicks (these Xmas ones are super cute) into the meatballs for easy individual meatballs bites. They are best served fresh and hot on a serving plate. Don't forget the bourbon eggnog to go with it!
Serve as a main dish: These cranberry meatballs also make a fabulous main dish! Serve over pasta or rice with a side of roasted veggies or salad. Or serve as the main dish on your holiday table.
Prep ahead, storing, and freezing tips
Prep ahead tips: The cranberry sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator. Reheat the sauce in the microwave or on the stove top before glazing the meatballs.
Storing tips: Store any leftover meatballs in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the oven or on the stove top.
Freezing tips: Any unused sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months. We don't recommend freezing the meatballs once they have been glazed.
Have you seen our easy cream cheese cranberry crescent rolls recipe?
FAQs
Yes! The taste will be less savory, but it will act as a glaze if you heat it up and then strain it.
These are best when the meatballs are glazed with hot cranberry sauce and served immediately. Or see our slow cooker option above in this post!
Yes! You can adjust the serving amount in the recipe card below.
Of course! Any bite-sized cooked meatball will work.
Have a question? Ask us in the comments below and we will get back to you as soon as possible!
Did you make this recipe? Leave us a review and star rating in the comments below! We read every single review and appreciate your feedback.
Recipe
Vegan cocktail meatballs with cranberry sauce
Ingredients
- 12 whole vegan Italian meatballs (we used Gardein frozen classic meatless meatballs)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 8 oz fresh or frozen cranberries
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Bake your meatballs according to the package instructions or bake homemade meatballs until they are hot and cooked through.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté, stirring often until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Add the cranberries, sugar, water, and a small pinch of salt. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally at first and then constantly once the berries burst. Once all the berries have burst and you have a chutney like consistency, remove from the heat and let sit for a couple of minutes to thicken.
- Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Pour the sauce into the sieve, and press the sauce against the sieve with a wooden spoon or spatula until all of the berry skins are separated from the sauce (see photo above for reference). Remember to scrape the bottom of the sieve to get the last bit of sauce into the bowl. Discard cranberry skins, or reserve for another use.
- When the meatballs are cooked, stick toothpicks into each one. Dip a meatball into the cranberry sauce and coat the meatball using a spoon. Place the glazed meatball on a serving tray. Repeat for the remaining meatballs.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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