‘Tis the season for parties and where there are parties, there are party meatballs. These meatballs in the Instant Pot are one of the quickest, easiest cocktail meatballs I’ve ever made. So good too!
Cranberry Chili Meatballs are always a party appetizer favorite, especially around the holidays. Party meatballs don’t get easier than these Instant Pot meatballs made with cranberry sauce and sweet chili sauce.
Is it just me or does every holiday party seem to have at least one cocktail meatball offering? Whether it’s a work Christmas party, a family gathering or a big NYE bash, it seems that party meatballs are a must.
There are many variations of cocktail meatballs, some just dunked in BBQ sauce and others much fancier. Me, I personally like to keep party meatballs as simple and quick as possible.
My Instant Pot Cranberry Meatballs takes frozen meatballs to hot, fully cooked and covered in a delicious sauce in just 8 minutes. Eight minutes! That is amazing!
These Cranberry Chili Meatballs are an ideal holiday party appetizer because you can whip them up just before the party starts and they’re ready when the guests arrive.
Run out in the middle of the party? A second batch can be ready in under 10 minutes!
The best part? There are only 4 ingredients, including the meatballs. As you can imagine, the main ingredients are cranberry sauce, sweet chili sauce and meatballs.
But I also include one secret ingredient many may leave out – Dijon mustard. It just adds a tiny kick of flavor that I think makes these the best cocktail meatballs out there.
What is sweet chili sauce? It is actually what is says it is! You can find it near the ketchup and Heinz probably makes the most popular variety.
There are usually a couple of others in the International aisle. Just make sure it is a sweet chili sauce versus a hot chili sauce, like Sriracha.
Another way I keep these instant pot meatballs simple? Frozen cocktail meatballs.
Yes, homemade meatballs are delicious and full of flavor but this sauce is so good that any plain frozen cocktail meatballs will taste addicting in this Cranberry Chili Meatballs recipe.
More party appetizers!
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Instant Pot Cranberry Meatballs
Ingredients
- 60 frozen cocktail meatballs
- 14 ounces jellied cranberry sauce
- 12 ounces sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Place frozen cocktail meatballs, jellied cranberry sauce, sweet chili sauce and Dijon mustard into the Instant Pot, stir to cover all of the meatballs as best you can. The jellied cranberry won’t mix well and that is ok.
- Lock lid in place and cook on manual high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Use quick release method.
- Stir sauce and meatballs until sauces fully combine.
- Serve immediately or turn Instant Pot onto “warm” function and serve out of the pot.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
What kind of frozen meatballs do you use? I’m not finding any in stores called “cocktail meatballs.” I can only find home style or Italian.
Cocktail meatballs are usually just smaller in size. Home style is the most plain, Italian style has a dried Italian seasoning, garlic and onion. For thes, homestyle is probably best.
I absolutely love this recipe! I made it for a work potluck and couldn’t help myself I had to go back for 2nds! I’ve added them to the rotation of quick snack dinners at home, the whole family loves them! I do use Thai sweet Asian chili sauce cause I can never find the regular chili sauce at the store, it gives it a nice kick but not too spicy for the kids! 10/10!
Thank you so much, Erica! We are so glad you love them and thankful that you took the time to come back and let us know.
I’ve made these twice now with the leftover fresh cranberry sauce from thanksgiving (yes…I know it’s January) and they are so delicious. Great spin on a classic recipe! So happy to have a way use up the sauce.
Yay! Thank you for coming back to let us know. One of our favorites too 🙂
Your recipe calls for sweet chili sauce but the link for it takes you to Heinz chili sauce which is not sweet chili sauce. It’s just a chili based ketchup. Which one do I use?
Hi Leslie! So sorry about that, sweet chili sauce, I’ll correct the link. They sometimes automatically pick up keywords by accident.
I’m trying this recipe for a Christmas Eve party and was wondering what I could add to make it a little spicy…or does the sweet chili sauce add a lot of heat?
So glad to see this, I have been using a similar recipe (with lemon juice instead of dijon) with homemade turkey meatballs on the stovetop. I’m happy to see an instant pot version. If I am making my meatballs fresh with ground turkey, would I need a longer cooking time?
Hi Martha! Sorry for the delay- I had a baby 2 days ago! I’ve done it with raw meatballs and it actually takes the same amount of time. Takes the same amount of time to thaw as it does for them to cook. The only thing that will make a significant difference is the SIZE of the meatballs. If you make then cocktail size (1-1.5 inches) this is the correct cook time, but any larger and I’d add 1-2 minutes.
Love the combination of sweet and spicy on this meatball sauce. Sounds like a very tasty dish!
Finally, someone has come with a brilliant way to use cranberry sauce in a recipe that people will actually enjoy. Meat balls are one of the best appetizers for holiday parties, and this one just screams holiday.
This would be a fabulous appetizer for our New Year’s party! Thank you.
This looks really good. I love cranberries. I don’t have an instant pot but I have a crock pot that I could make these.
These are so tasty! Everyone gobbles them up and they’re so perfect for holiday gatherings!
Oh wow, didn’t think these could be made in IP. I would love to try making some vegetarian meatballs in my IP. Thanks for the idea.
You can totally use this with vegetarian meatballs as well! Just throw them in frozen!