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Cranberry-Glazed Meatballs

Cranberry-Glazed Meatballs

with Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Carrots
4.5(6.8K)1645 Reviews
Recipe Development Team
Recipe Development TeamUpdated on July 10, 2026
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Calories
820 kcal
Protein
34g protein
Total
30 minutes
Difficulty
Medium
Allergens:
  • Milk
  • Wheat

Flavorful beef meatballs made with Vidalia onion, garlic, and panko breadcrumbs are the star of these simple, hearty plates. You’ll sizzle them up in a hot skillet, then finish with a tangy-savory-sweet cranberry glaze. Awards for supporting roles go to: sweet roasted carrots and buttery mashed potatoes swirled with sour cream.

Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
Serving amount

3 tablespoon

Sour Cream

(Contains: Milk)

½ ounce

Vidalia Onion Paste

16 ounce

Potatoes

10 ounce

Ground Beef

1 unit

Chicken Stock Concentrate

2 unit

Cranberry Jam

¼ cup

Panko Breadcrumbs

(Contains: Wheat)

9 ounce

Carrot

1 teaspoon

Garlic Powder

Not included in your delivery

2 teaspoon (tsp)

Salt

teaspoon (tsp)

Black Pepper

2 teaspoon (tsp)

Cooking Oil

1 tablespoon (tbsp)

Butter

(Contains: Milk)

per serving
Calories820 kcal
Fat38 g
Saturated Fat15 g
Carbohydrate86 g
Sugar31 g
Dietary Fiber7 g
Protein34 g
Cholesterol125 mg
Sodium1170 mg
Trans Fat1.5 g
Potassium1420 mg
Calcium90 mg
Iron4.6 mg
Due to the different suppliers we purchase our products from, nutritional facts per meal can vary from the website to what is received in the delivered box, depending on your region.
Peeler
Baking Sheet
Medium Pot
Strainer
Potato Masher
Large Bowl
Large Pan
Small Bowl
Whisk

Cooking Steps

Roast Carrots
1
  • Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce.

  • Trim, peel, and cut carrots on a diagonal into ½-inch-thick pieces. Toss on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

  • Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 20-25 minutes.

Make Mashed Potatoes
2
  • While carrots roast, dice potatoes into ½-inch pieces. Place in a medium pot with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Reserve ½ cup potato cooking liquid (¾ cup for 4 servings), then drain.

  • Return potatoes to pot and mash with sour cream and 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) until smooth and creamy, adding splashes of reserved potato cooking liquid as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.

  • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.

Form Meatballs
3
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, gently combine beef*, panko, garlic powder, Vidalia onion paste, and ½ tsp salt (1 tsp for 4 servings).

  • Form into 10-12 1½-inch meatballs (20- 24 meatballs for 4).

Cook Meatballs
4
  • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over and mostly cooked through, 4-6 minutes. TIP: If there’s excess grease in your pan, carefully pour it out.

Glaze Meatballs
5
  • While meatballs cook, in a small bowl, whisk together jam, stock concentrate, and ¼ cup water (⅓ cup for 4 servings).

  • Pour jam mixture into pan with meatballs. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until meatballs are coated and cooked through, 5 minutes. TIP: If glaze seems too thick, add a splash of water.

Serve
6
  • Divide mashed potatoes, carrots, and meatballs between plates. Spoon any remaining sauce from pan over meatballs and mashed potatoes. Serve.

Customer reviews

Review summary

Updated on Apr 2026
  • Flavor: The cranberry glaze offers a perfect sweet-savory balance, though some found it mild and wanted stronger cranberry flavor.
  • Ease of prep: Simple recipe that's approachable for beginners, but takes longer than expected with multiple pans and timing challenges.
  • Suggestions: Use less water in the glaze for better thickness; add an egg to meatballs for binding; bake meatballs in oven instead of stovetop.
  • Leftovers: Keeps well for next-day lunches, though meatballs are best enjoyed fresh rather than reheated.
  • Portions: Generous mashed potatoes but consistently skimpy carrots; many wished for more carrots and extra cranberry sauce.
AI-generated from customer reviews

Reviews from our home cooks

L
Lisa MorroneCooked for 2 people
|Oct 3, 2025

I found that the meatballs were a bit salty when used with the cranberry glaze. So, cut back on the salt when mixing the chopped meat. Meatballs were moist. For the mashed potatoes: Use a chicken bouillon in the water to make it more flavorful. Add some fresh chopped parsley. Carrots were not too fresh and flavorful. I used a toaster oven, since it's silly to turn on the oven for a few slices of carrots. More time needed to be added for roasting the carrots.

P
Patricia McBrienCooked for 2 people
|Feb 1, 2025

Meatballs were very good. I added a little jalapeño juice to spice up the cranberry glaze and cut the sweet. Rice might have been a better option instead of mashed potatoes to pair with the meatballs.

M
Meg KrauseCooked for 2 people
|Feb 6, 2025

Made this for my mom to thank her for helping me with something recently, and this meal is like IKEA food court had a glow up. This is an easy meal to make and the roasted carrots were so sweet. My only comment was that the glaze didn't reduce enough so I had to cook the meatballs for longer and the rest of food got cold but we reheated it and it was still great!

C
Christie ChapmanCooked for 2 people
|Mar 27, 2025

So good. The glazed meatballs were definitely sweet but I loved the balance between the mashed potatoes and carrots.

N
Nicholas WalkerCooked for 2 people
|Oct 14, 2025

Wish the cranberry glaze was more of a sauce and not cooked in with meatballs because it seems like all the cranberry flavor evaporated

K
Kathleen SnyderCooked for 2 people
|Dec 27, 2024

We loved this. The meatballs were special. I did serve boiled potatoes instead of mashed. It seems like too many recipes have mashed potatoes. The carrots were so fresh and we liked the roasted flavor.

M
Makala JonesCooked for 3 people
|Feb 17, 2025

We loved the cranberry glaze on the meatballs blended beautifully with the carrots and mashed potatoes. Very good

N
Nancy LeonCooked for 2 people
|Oct 18, 2025

Meatballs took just a little longer to cook than the instructions said but it was a nice recipe the cranberry sauce pairs well for the fall

K
Karen MoralesCooked for 2 people
|Mar 10, 2025

The cranberry glaze meatballs was so good! I shed a tear of joy when it touched my taste buds. 10/10!

C
Cameryn DuniCooked for 4 people
|Mar 5, 2025

I would use russet potatoes instead next time, the mash was yummy but not as creamy as we like! Otherwise, the flavor of the meatballs with the cranberry was fantastic