One of my favorite dishes to enjoy around the holidays is a salad that my great-grandmother used to cook. The most common method for making this creamy is to melt the cream cheese or dissolve it in the juice. Actually, the cheese is added in little pieces once the mixture has cooled. As a result, the clear gelatin has tiny white bits in it. Really excellent!
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 4 hrs |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 5 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 27 ounces Bavarian-style sauerkraut, undrained
- 1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
- 1 (12 ounce) bottle tomato-based chili sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen meatballs
Instructions
- Mix sauerkraut, cranberry sauce, chili sauce, water, and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl until well combined.
- Place meatballs into a slow cooker. Pour in sauce and mix until meatballs are coated. Cover and cook on Medium, stirring occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), about 4 hours.
- Sometimes I substitute pineapple juice for the water and add a can of pineapple chunks.
- If your slow cooker only has High and Low settings, try 2 to 3 hours on High or 5 to 6 on Low. The most important indicator will be the internal temperature, which needs to be at least 160 degrees F (71 degrees C).
Reviews
I had more meatballs than called for, but cut the sauce in 1/2 and still had plenty. Added pepper flakes as we like our food hot but the flavor was still terrible. Way way too sweet. Will not try this again
Scaled this recipe in half, and even though the bag of Armour beef meatballs weighed 11 ounces, just added the entire package. I had a box of beef stock open in the fridge, so I used that instead of water, and I think that “beefy” flavor helped balance out the sweetness which was a major concern I had at the outset. Not to worry about the sourness of the sauerkraut, either, because it ended up tasting just like cooked cabbage, and that’s not a bad thing. Never, ever did I think I’d end up giving this 5 stars, but both the ease of preparation and the actual taste warrant it. Sure, homemade meatballs might taste better, but it just doesn’t get much easier than this. I read some of the reviews where people put the meatballs in the oven before adding them to the slow cooker, and I just don’t get that. They’re already cooked, they didn’t make the sauce greasy, so just follow the recipe, and dump them in frozen. That’s part of the appeal of this recipe…quick-and-easy. Served over noodles with a side dish of asparagus, it was a hit, and I’d make again.
I took the meatballs to my daughter’s Girl Guides Potluck. It was a hit. I used an 1.8 kg bag of Italian meatballs which was exactly 100 meatballs. I baked them in the oven first following the directions on the label. I added a can of pineapple chunks including the juice. I blended the cranberry sauce using a hand blender before I added it to the meatballs. In this way, the whole cranberries looked like little flakes. It made the dish look more appealing. In addition I only used 1/3 cup of dark brown sugar since that was all I had. The sauce was still sufficiently sweet. In addition I omitted the sauerkraut and used one roughly chopped medium sized onion instead. I did NOT double the sauce portion of the recipe. The next time I make this recipe, I will use the sauerkraut since my family does not like onions. HINT: if you are planning on taking any meatball dish to an event, ensure the meatballs do not contain pork. Many people now a days do not eat pork. I had a couple of people ask me if the meatballs contained pork. I was honest and said I didn’t know.
This was a sweet,sour,savore dish. Great over rice or just an appetizer.
I have made this many times. I cut the sugar in half and the secret to a most delicious result is to cook on low in crock pot overnight. Yes overnight or for 12 hours.
I love these! So does my family. They are simple to make and super tasty. They make a good choice for potluck dinners as well
Very easy! Only 4 hours in slow cooker – so Fairly fast As others suggested, I added more meatballs (most of a 32 oz bag… I just put them in until it looked right in the sauce.. I also cooked them in the microwave about a minute on a paper towel to get some of the grease off. Very good …..we ate over rice. It was really sweet.. next time, I’m going to try 1/2 c of brown sugar to start and taste.
My uncle is diabetic, so I skipped the brown sugar and used Splenda to taste, probably about 1/4 cup or so. I also used ground turkey and made the meatballs myself. It was excellent!
We have made this twice now. It has potential, and is surely interesting, but always ends up falling a bit flat. I think one detail is to probably take time to make homemade meatballs.
Not my favourite. Not recommended unless you love the smell of sauerkraut lingering for hours.
No changes and will not make it again
Was excellent, used 15 oz of bagged sauerkraut instead of canned, added 1/3 cup extra of brown sugar, served over rice. Girlfriend gave it a 10, keeper recipe
My husband and I host an Oktoberfest party every year. I have used this recipe every year. Our guest love these meatballs. They are sweet and tangy all in one. I do substitute the sauerkraut for onion. Perfect!
Have been making these for years and they are always a big hit everytime. The only change I make is, I don’t add the brown sugar. The Cranberry sauce is sweet enough. I usually make a lot so for 100 meatballs, I use 1 can Bavarian Saurkraut, 3 jars Heinz Chili Sauce, 3 cans whole Cranberry Sauce and about a cup of water. Just put it all in crockpot and cook on high for at least 4 hours. Easiest best tasting appetizer ever.
They are pretty good, but the smell of it cooking is really offputting. I’m not sure if its worth it.
It definitely looked a little weird, but the taste was delicious!
A hit for my entire family! I also add pineapple chunks + a smidge more brown sugar
Held an ‘EU’ evening 1 week prior to the referendum. To keep the atmosphere convivial, thought ought to have some sort of theme to involve folk in. Food seemed the obvious idea…so, each set of guests brought a dish, dessert or drink from different countries in the EU. I did Austria and Germany, 4 dishes…including these scrumptious meatballs!! (Yes, admittedly 2 similar food style countries but did get 2 separate recipes from each country off both sites…honest!) These were easy (for a non-cook) and compared with the other 3 recipes. They could be left in slow-cooker for hours…even after turned off, as, unfortunately, with all the dishes displayed, we completely forgot about them! We ate them over the next 3 days, gorgeous and about to make them again for evening meal. Obstacles encountered were mostly trying to find ingredients: FROZEN meatballs, WHOLE cranberries, Sauerkraut …but managed at Sainsbury’s, replacing frozen MB’s for FRESH. Excellent!
Not a do again. Tasted okay, but the smell was more than I could take.
CoalItion brought this for a work potluck. My coworkers loved this recipe and asked me to bring them again.
These are really good. I cut the sugar in half, next time I’ll cut the sugar a little more. A very interesting combination of flavors.