Sage and cranberry mini meatballs are the perfect gluten free appetizer for your Christmas, New Year’s Eve or holiday party!

Need a New Year’s Eve, Christmas or holiday party appetizer idea?  These mini meatballs on toothpicks are such a hit at parties!

I made these sage-infused, cranberry sauce-covered, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs a couple of weekends ago for our annual Christmas party.  Before I knew it they were completely gone!!

Since I often have a difficult time deciding what appetizers and finger foods to make for parties, I will definitely be adding this one to my list of favorites.

Even though individually rolling all 48 meatballs was a little time-consuming, you can prepare the cranberry mini meatballs up to two days in advance and have them ready to just pop in the oven on the day of the party!  I hope you all have had a very Merry Christmas!! 🙂

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Cranberry-Sage Mini Meatballs

Sage and cranberry mini meatballs are the perfect gluten free appetizer for your Christmas, New Year's Eve or holiday party!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 48 servings

Calories 83 kcal

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground sausage
• ½ c. breadcrumbs gluten free
• 1 egg
• 1 t. sage dried
• ½ t. parsley dried
• ¾ t. salt
• ½ t. pepper

Cranberry Sauce

• 4 c. cranberries fresh
• 1 ¼ c. granulated sugar
• 1/3 c. water
• ½ c. orange juice
• 1 t. balsamic vinegar
• 2 T. raspberry jam

Instructions

For the Meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. You want all seasoning ingredients to be evenly spaced throughout the meatballs.
3. Roll each ball into 1-1 ½ inch balls. (Will make about 40-48 meatballs)
4. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place meatballs on the foil. Cook for 25-30 minutes.

For the Cranberry Sauce:

1. While the meatballs are cooking, start the cranberry sauce by placing cranberries, sugar, water and orange juice into a medium-sized saucepan over low heat.
2. Once the sugar has completely dissolved turn the heat up to low-medium and let cook for 10 minutes. The cranberries should be soft and begin to burst.
3. Pour cranberry sauce into a food processor and process until mixture is completely smooth.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and jam and process for another 30 seconds.
5. Once meatballs are done cooking, place them in a medium-sized baking dish and cover completely with cranberry sauce. Toss until all meatballs are coated.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve with toothpicks and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Cranberry-Sage Mini Meatballs

Amount Per Serving

Calories 83 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g 6%

Saturated Fat 1g 5%

Cholesterol 16mg 5%

Sodium 92mg 4%

Potassium 76mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 3g

Protein 3g 6%

Vitamin A 0.6%

Vitamin C 4.8%

Calcium 1%

Iron 2.7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Want more recipes like these Sage & Cranberry Mini Meatballs?

Be sure to check out other appetizers here on Gluten Free with L.B.:

Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs w/ Lemon Dill Yogurt Sauce

Black Bean & Bacon Party Dip

Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus

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