Make this fun meatball hors d’oeuvres recipe around the holidays when you need a crowd-pleasing appetizer to put out at your next party! This easy brandied cranberry meatball appetizer recipe comes garnished with cute little holiday hats! Fresh cherry tomato and rosemary sprigs create festive and colorful little holiday hats for our delicious little cranberry meatballs. They are just too easy and too delicious to pass up!

You’re gonna want to make a double batch if you’re expecting a crowd because these will be gone in minutes! These easy cocktail meatballs are always a huge hit at holiday gatherings and even game day parties. To keep things super quick and easy, I’ll use frozen meatballs from the frozen section of my local grocery store.

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I like to buy the flame-broiled homestyle meatballs because they have a delicious smoky taste! Alternatively, you could use beef frozen meatballs or even turkey meatballs from the freezer section. These packaged meatballs are usually fully cooked and only require re-heating to serve. This is what keeps easy meatball appetizer recipes simple and fast for special occasions.

To quickly jazz up these store-bought meatballs, we’ll combine dollops of bbq sauce, jellied cranberry sauce, a splash of brandy, and a little chili sauce. The brandy adds depth and slow-cooked flavor to the juicy meatballs. The combination of ingredients will balance tart, sweet, and sour flavors. This creates a most irresistible sauce for the party meatballs. This is one of the best meatball recipes to keep on your list of favorite easy appetizers for the holiday season.

A Festive Christmas Holiday Party Meatball Appetizer

With just a handful of simple ingredients, you can create this delicious meatball appetizer recipe that will surely become a family favorite at your festive holiday party. These are easy enough to throw together on the stovetop in a wide skillet with a lid, but another great way to prepare them is in the slow cooker. Either method will give you juicy and tender meatballs coated in delicious sweet and tangy sauce (with a few festive touches to finish them off).

Make This Cranberry BBQ Meatball Appetizer Recipe On The Stovetop

To make these delicious meatball appetizers, start by combining a few ingredients for the sweet and savory sauce.

Place a sauce pan over medium heat and combine bbq sauce with the jellied cranberry sauce. Add in some chili sauce and drizzle in a tablespoon of brandy. Whisk these four ingredients together until smooth, combined, and heated through.

When tossing this sauce together, I always reach for that good ol’ Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce in the original flavor. The sweetness works perfectly with the cranberry sauce. I always use my trusty Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce because it melts down nice and smooth with the heat. It makes a perfect tasty glaze for coating our party meatballs.

Place meatballs into a wide pan on the stovetop and top them with the warm sweet and sour brandied cranberry barbecue sauce. Gently stir the cocktail meatballs around in the pan until each one is evenly coated with the sauce.

Cover with a lid and cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly heated through.

Make This Cranberry BBQ Meatball Appetizer Recipe In The Crockpot

To turn this great appetizer into easy crockpot meatballs, place a sauce pan over medium heat and combine bbq sauce with the jellied cranberry sauce. Add in some chili sauce and drizzle in a tablespoon of brandy. Whisk these four ingredients together until smooth, combined, and heated through.

Place meatballs in the slow cooker and drizzle the sauce over the bbq meatballs. Stir meatballs around in the crockpot until evenly coated with the sauce. Put the cover on and cook the meatball hors d oeuvres for 3 to 4 hours on low or until completely heated through.

Finish Your Cocktail Meatball Appetizer with a Festive Garnish

Turn this easy recipe into the perfect appetizer with a few finishing touches! I like to give this delicious appetizer a fun holiday presentation by making little holiday hats! This is completely optional, of course, but it fits the occasion and the season. Plus, how cute would these fun homemade meatballs look at the party table with a little pop of Christmas color?!

Slice Fresh Cherry Tomatoes to Garnish the Meatball Party Appetizers

To create the little holiday hat garnish, slice fresh cherry tomatoes in half right down the center. Now flip the cherry tomato pieces to position them cut side down on the working surface.

With the tip of a sharp paring knife, cut openings into the rounded tops of the cherry tomatoes. Make a little cut in the shape of an X on each tomato top.

Skewer The Warm Cocktail Meatballs and Garnish For Serving

To skewer the meatballs, I like to use paper drinking straws swirled with stripes in red and green. It makes for a festive Christmas touch! Shorten the paper drinking straws by cutting them in half with scissors.

You can use any brand of paper drinking straws just like these! They come in an array of festive colors that will jazz up our holiday appetizer platter.

Now place a piece of sliced cherry tomato (with the X cut facing up) on top of a meatball. Poke the colorful paper drinking straw (which serves as our skewer) through the tomato and into the meatball to hold in place. Repeat the process for remaining meatballs.

The cut we made in the tomato should allow a little extra space to now tuck in small sprigs and leaves of fresh rosemary. It will create a cute little ‘elf hat’ for the cocktail meatballs. If not, make your X cuts a tad wider to accommodate both the straw and the rosemary leaves. Keep in mind that the paper straws are wider than wood skewers.

If using traditional wood appetizer skewers, make the X cuts on your cherry tomatoes much smaller and then assemble normally. You’ll still need some room at the top hole of the tomato to tuck in the herbs.

Remember to tuck in the leaves deep enough so that they sit upright on the tomato for that cute holiday hat look!

When finished garnishing, arrange them on a serving platter with alternating colors in red and green! Serve these fun and delicious tasty meatballs as a crowd-pleasing game day appetizer. Put out this colorful and unique meatball appetizer at your next Christmas party to add a pop of festive color at the table.

They almost always strike up a conversation amongst guests with their fun presentation… Serve alongside a few more cold skewer appetizers and a little roasted tomato crostini to make your holiday party spread complete! Mix up a Christmas margarita or this holiday rosemary apple fizz cocktail to keep the merry vibes goin!

These delicious meatballs make tasty and delicious party food in a flash! They’ll easily become one of your favorite meatball appetizers to prepare for your next festive holiday gathering.

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