Holiday entertaining has never been so easy than with these Instant Pot Chipotle Cranberry Meatballs! A homemade cranberry sauce in the Instant Pot is combined with barbecue sauce and chipotle en adobo sauce for a smoky and sweet meatball appetizer.
A couple of days ago I hopped on Instagram stories to get a little input from my IG followers. I was curious hat kind of recipes everyone was looking for this holiday season. For some reason I always feel like I need to bake a ton and create new cookie recipes. Turns out – y’all want some appetizers!
I’m not kidding. Not one person said cookie recipes and almost everyone said appetizers.
When I thought about it, it all made sense to me. Everyone pretty much has their favorite Christmas cookie recipes they want to make. New ones might be fun here and there but you can only bake so much before it gets to be TOO much.
At the same time, a lot of people are going to holiday gatherings and being asked to bring an appetizer. So it totally makes sense why the people want appetizer recipes!
I was actually pretty excited about this realization because, to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to being knee deep in batches of cookies. And appetizers are fun! So let’s get right to it – the first one I’m sharing with you guys is this recipe for Instant Pot Chipotle Cranberry meatballs!
Meatballs and Lil Smokies just scream holiday appetizer to me. I grew up on that good ‘ol grape jelly lil’ smokie recipe, and I can still picture it in the mini crock pot with a little bowl of toothpicks by it on my grandmas counter.
This recipe for Instant Pot Chipotle Cranberry Meatballs is my take on holiday meatballs. It starts with a homemade cranberry sauce that you make right in the Instant Pot. I was going to use a can of cranberry sauce but when I looked at the ingredients on the can at the store and saw high fructose corn syrup, I knew I could do better.
Turns out, cranberry sauce in the Instant Pot is ridiculously easy. Laughably easy! Dump a few things in, set the Instant Pot on high for ONE minute, and you have cranberry sauce. After that, you simply add some barbecue sauce, chipotle en adobo sauce, and frozen meatballs. Cook again, this time on low pressure for 12 minutes, and it’s time to party with some Instant Pot Chipotle Cranberry Meatballs!
Looking for more appetizer recipes? Check these out!
Havarti and Mushroom Flatbread
Buffalo Chicken Pull Apart Bread
Honey Walnut Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates
Jalapeno Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 10 ounce bag fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup sugar
- zest from 1 orange
- juice from 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons chipotle en adobo sauce *see note
- ~22 ounces frozen meatballs
Instructions
Instant Pot Directions:
- Place cranberries, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and water into Instant Pot.
- Close lid and secure vent.
- Cook on high pressure for 1 minute.
- Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes and then carefully release the remaining pressure manually.
- Add the barbecue sauce, chipotle sauce, and meatballs.
- Close lid and secure vent.
- Cook on low pressure for 10 minutes. Let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes and then carefully release the remaining pressure manually.
- Serve and enjoy!
Stovetop/Slow Cooker Directions:
- Place cranberries, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and water into a medium saucepan.
- Cook on medium heat until cranberries have softened and opened up, about 10-15 minutes.
- Place cranberry sauce, barbecue sauce, chipotle sauce, and meatballs in a slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Welcome to greens & chocolate! I'm Taylor and am so excited that you stopped by! I'm a Minnesota girl in my 20's who's loving life with my husband Marc, our son Lars, and our Golden Retriever Maddie. I love cooking healthy meals, but it's essential that I have my dessert. All after a hot yoga class or a run, though! It's all about moderation here at greens & chocolate. 
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