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Saucy Meatballs

Yield: 30 -34 meatballs
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 1 ½ pounds ground beef or lean ground turkey
  • ¾ cup quick oats
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons finely minced onion
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, for coating meatballs
  • Canola oil

Sauce:

  • 1 (12-ounce) jar of cocktail sauce
  • 1 can whole cranberry sauce
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup water

Instructions 

  • For the meatballs: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the meatball ingredients (except the oil and flour). Roll into medium-small balls (about the size of a ping pong ball – if you want specifics) and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in the freezer for five minutes.
  • After 5 minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour. Heat 1/3 cup canola oil in a large skillet. When oil is hot, add meatballs and brown on all sides (but don’t cook through). Place the meatballs in a single layer in a 9X13-inch baking dish and make the sauce.
  • For the sauce: combine the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook in the oven for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through to coat the meatballs in the sauce. Serve with toothpicks.

Notes

Make-Ahead: you can make the meatballs the day beforehand (including cooking them by themselves in the 9X13-inch pan) and then the next day, place the meatballs and heated sauce in the crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours to heat through.