These are very good, and very easy; the meatballs are made in cooked in a slow cooker. I sometimes like to add a can of chunk pineapple when I make them, and then I substitute pineapple juice for the water.
I have been making this recipe for years and someone ALWAYS asks me for it when I take them somewhere, during the holidays I keep the ingredients on hand in case a sudden party comes up. One thing I do is cook the meatballs in the oven before putting them in the slow cooker, the are a lot less spongy and watery that way.
Read MoreWe did not like this recipe-we doubled the amount of meatballs called for and still had too much of the mixture. On top of that, we did not enjoy the flavor at all and it sort of smelled weird while cooking-will never make this again.
Read MoreI have been making this recipe for years and someone ALWAYS asks me for it when I take them somewhere, during the holidays I keep the ingredients on hand in case a sudden party comes up. One thing I do is cook the meatballs in the oven before putting them in the slow cooker, the are a lot less spongy and watery that way.
Perfect as an appetizer for holiday parties. Most people are surprised by the delicious combination of cranberry sauce and sauerkraut. Definitely use WHOLE BERRY cranberry sauce. I usually reduce sugar to 1/2 cup, and use only 14 oz. of drained sauerkraut. Works equally well with beef, turkey or pork meatballs. Can be made ahead and frozen.
We did not like this recipe-we doubled the amount of meatballs called for and still had too much of the mixture. On top of that, we did not enjoy the flavor at all and it sort of smelled weird while cooking-will never make this again.
This is a great recipe!!!! I made these for a company pot luck and everyone raved about them! They have a tangy flavor that is kind of like a sweet/sour taste. Every time I make these, people always ask for the recipe. They take about 3 or 4 minutes to throw together! Try these!
Loved it. Cut the sugar in half and found it sweet enough. Doubled the meat balls. Cooked on high for 1 hour and then 3 hours on low. Will do again for sure.
Great recipe! We had friends bring it to an Oktoberfest party and served it as an appetizer. I made it tonight and served it over rice, as the main dish. My kids loved it and asked for seconds. Definitely will make again!
delicious!! served as the main course of dinner over white rice, with salad and breadsticks. The kids ate every bite and so did the grownups!! I used 1 chopped onion instead of sauerkraut. I also used about 1/2-3/4c. brown sugar, it was sweet enough as it was!! Will certaainly make again!!
A little too sweet for my taste but all the party goers LOVED them. I used 1/2 the sugar as some others suggested.
These meatballs were pretty good--good sweet and sour flavor. The sauerkraut turned off some of the guests from an appearance standpoint, but the flavor really was good! The recipe calls for "tomato based chili sauce" and I had the hardest time finding it--there is chili sauce in the oriental section, mexican section, chili section, but I finally found the correct chili sauce in with the ketchup! :)
I have made these several times and there are never any left in the pot when I go home. I am ALWAYS asked for the recipe whenever I take these to any party. YUM! I also cook the meatballs before I put them into the slow cooker.
This recipe was great. I followed the advice and added the pineapple chunks with the juice instead of the water. My family really enjoyed this appetizer.
Great tasting, easy recipe. As others have said, you can easily double the # of meatballs and still have plenty of sauce. Cook the meatballs in the oven first and reduce the sugar by 1/2. Loved the addition of pineapple chunks and juice to replace the water. I also added red pepper flakes for a kick. Makes a great leftover with rice. DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!
the idea of this recipe sounded really weird to me...but it is amazing! pre-cook the meatballs as suggested below so they arent spongy. I also added 1 can of pineapple chunks, and the juice in place of the water, 1/2 sweet onion cut in chunks and 1 small green pepper cut in chunks. I also used about 4 oz of mildly spicy chili sauce and 8 oz plain tomato sauce for a very mild kick. everyone at the office loved them for the pot luck!
I made this for a birthday party and it was a huge hit. I didn't have chili sauce so I used a jar of tomato sauce instead. Everyone left asking me for the recipe. Thanks to all the previous raters for convincing me to try this recipes!
Absolutely DELICIOUS. I have made this recipe several times for parties and events. Without fail, almost everyone who eats it for the first time, asks for the recipe. It is very different from conventional meatballs, but that is what makes it so popular. People are amazed when they hear the ingredients.
I made this recipe for the first time and took it to work for a going farewell potluck. Everyone loved it! It was one of the first dishes to run out (I thought doubling it would be enough). Several people have asked me for the recipe! Don't be afraid to try it even if you don't like sauerkraut. Great recipe!
Prettty tasty. Made them for a potluck dinner and everyone enjoyed them. I had trouble finding bavarian style saurkraut so I used regular saurkraut.
Great recipe. I used 2 pkgs of frozen meatballs (1 lb, 12 oz each) which equals 3-1/2 lbs of meatballs. However, I doubled the chili sauce, cranberry sauce, added another 3/4 cup water and about another 3/4 cup brown sugar, but I did NOT add more sauerkraut. Turned out great. I took this to work and everyone wanted the recipe.
I made these for Christmas Eve last year and they were a huge hit! Very very easy to make and delicious.
good, but needed probably a little less brown sugar and a little less cranberry sauce. It was a little too sweet for me. It was so rich I did'nt want to go back for seconds, but I think it could be better next time. I also added spicy brown mustard, hich helped and put in two packs of meatballs which was good because otherwise there would have been wayyyy too much sauce. Everyone else enjoyed these, though.
I made these for my bunco night and everyone loved them! I followed some previous reviewers' advice and made a few changes. First, I used two pounds of meatballs-there was plenty of sauce and I think one pound would have just been swimming in it. I also subbed in a chopped onion for the sauerkraut and I cut the brown sugar to 1/2 cup. Delicious-I'll be making this one again for sure!
my bf loved it, and couldn't stop eating them! we will be making again bc its so easy and delish. we ate them on toasted sourdough rolls :) the recipe does make a lot of extra sauce, so next time i will add more meat balls. also i popped the meatball in the oven for about 20 minutes, while i was opening and mixing everything else in the crockpot. the sauce is sweet, very good how it is, but i can see how a little less sugar would be good too... altogether, a winner bc of it being easy, great, and different!
I could not believe something good would come from that combination of ingredients -- chili sauce? Sauerkraut? Whole cranberries? Well, I tried it anyway because it had such a high rating and boy was it yummy!!! Friends requested the recipe too - they liked it so much! Will make again and maybe for dinner instead of appetizers!
Very popular at a party, especially among the children, who hovered by the plate with their toothpicks, stabbing meatball after meatball. I thought that the finished sauce was odd in texture (the sauerkraut), so I removed the meatballs then strained the sauce so that all the chunks stayed behind. This recipe froze and reheated very well.
Oustanding German style dish. Loved it!! Added a sweet onion to the recipe, served with a side of boiled potatoes.
Everyone was asking for the recipe on this one. I substituted a plain can of tomato sauce and added some chili powder as I couldn't find it in my grocery store. A few suggested onions, maybe I'll try it next time. Thanks for a great recipe!
i love these meatballs. They are always the first thing to go when ever I make them for a party or gettogether. I great recipe all around.
This was fantastic; I made it for a party and everyone wanted the recipe, plus incredibly easy to make ahead of time. I didnt' have four hours to slow-cook so heated it up on the stove first then put it in the crockpot for the last 1 1/2 hours.
I make this recipe with just a bottle of ketchup and a can of the cranberries. Simmer on low for about 2-3 hours and they are amazing. No need for the brown sugar, water etc
This recipe is excellent! It has the weirdest ingredients I have ever combined, but the taste is fantastic. I took it with me to a Thanksgiving party and several people asked for the recipe. Very easy and very well received. I did double the amount of meatballs, but everything else was exactly as the recipe called for.
Took these to a meeting with 20 people and everyone seams to pick out the meat balls with out the other ingredients. I thought they were very good.
Love Love Love this recipe! Used 1/3c dark brown sugar 2/3c light brown sugar! And omitted the h20,covored & baked sause in oven @ 350 for a few hours added fresh homemade baked meatballs baked again for 30ish min to thickened sause just a lil more! Sooooooo yummy!
These meatballs were excellent. I made them for my daughter's 2nd b-day party and everyone wanted the recipe, even the pickiest of eaters. I doubled everything but the sauerkraut and they turned out great. Thanks for such a tasty recipe.
This recipe was very good. I have made it several times for my husband's Sunday football get togethers. The only thing I changed was instead of the sauerkraut, I put in the same amount of chopped white onion. The flavor is absolutely amazing and even my 4 year-old daughter can't quit eating them. UPDATE November 2010: I continue to use this recipe for EVERY family get together. We can't have a party without them or else everyone is completely disappointed. Seriously the easiest and best meatball recipe.
Like a few others, I also doubled the amount of meatballs but not the sauce. We ate them on potato dinner rolls with swiss cheese. They were great! Thanks for the recipe.
very good.My husband went crazy for this. I will make it again this weekend for an Octoberfest party. A great fall dish! I suggest using 2 lbs of meatballs b/c there is so much sauce left over.
Absolutely wonderful!!! A breeze to throw together. I used cranberry jelly (as opposed to the whole berries) as it's what I had to hand, and I really liked the texture. The sweetness was just right. The kiddos didn't care for the texture of the sauerkraut, so I plucked out a few meatballs...they liked the flavor and ate several. I served this with the easy corn casserole and garlic mashed potatoes, which was a PERFECT combination. The "gravy" was sweet (but not too sweet) and thick enough to cover the potatoes. I highly recommend this recipe- it would be great for a potluck at the office, a shower, holiday event, etc. This will get rave reviews from everyone! As another poster said, don't be put off by the ingredients- the blend of flavors is amazing! Try it!
Loved them! Swwt and tangy and easy to throw in the crock pot. Served with wide egg noodles made a great dinner
Excellent recipe! Made for our New Year's party and everyone raved. I followed the recipe but doubled the sauce (except for the sauerkraut) and doubled the meatballs. I used Walmart brand italian style meatballs. Cooked on low for 8 hours and they were perfect!
Wow! These were gone so fast! Don't pay attention to the crazy ingredients - once you try them, you won't ever make anything else!
I made these last night for my daughter's second birthday party. Despite the seemingly odd combination of ingredients, these meatballs were excellent. I did not make any changes to the sauce but did double the amount of meatballs. They were very tasty and popular with all of the guests, children and adults. Everyone was asking about them and was telling me that I should definately make them again.
I made these meatballs for New Year's eve and everyone loved them! I didn't change a thing.
We love to entertain, usually 4 large cocktail/appetizer parties a year. Have made these twice a couple of times and everybody loves them. Will do again.
Absolutely delicious!! I couldn't believe the taste treat. Brought them to a town picnic and everyone wanted the recipe.
This is a great recipe for family get togethers. I have made this several times for our get togethers and keveryone loves it. My sister wanted the recipe so she could take it to pot luck at work. Can't beat this one!
This is a very tasty dish! The sauerkraut is not overpowering, nor is it too sweet. I served it to my church family, and they all loved it. I will be making it again soon! I loved being able to use frozen meatballs and just throw it all in the crock-pot. So easy!
This was a hit at the Octoberfest party I attended! Everyone asked for the recipe. I did make a few tweaks such as adding a few tbsp of Siracha sauce to cut some of the sweetness. Also, I only used 1/2 of the brown sugar as some of the other reviewers suggested. There was a lot of extra sauce after the meatballs were done cooking, so instead of serving it in the crockpot I just removed the meatballs and put them in a baking dish. I spooned some of the remaining sauce over the meatballs and that created a perfect ratio of meatballs to sauce. One other adjustment I will make next time is to combine all of the sauce ingredients in a blender before adding it to the crockpot. I found that the consistency of the cranberry sauce was very difficult to combine into the other ingredients and it ended up as just small lumps in the sauce.
The sauce was way too thin and there was too much of it, not to mention how horribly sweet it was.
These meatballs are delicious! When I mixed everything together in the crockpot, I was worried it wasn't going to turn out good. It looked and smelled very odd. I was wrong! I doubled the recipe and only 6 meatballs were left at the end of the party. Huge hit!
Tripled the meatballs and it is perfect! Everyone loves and is always curious about ingredients. Gluten free can make the meatballs and use all ingredients so they were happy too,
I made these yesterday for a big potluck party. It was a HUGE hit. EVERYONE wanted the recipe. I cut the brown sugar back to 1/2 cup (since I was using the pineapple). I used the whole berry cranberry sauce. I added the can of chunked pineapple w/juice And I used regular bagged sauerkraut. I couldnt find anything that said "Bavarian" so I'm not sure if the taste would have been different or not. Regardless, they were a huge hit and I will definatly make again!
Made these for a German themed Christmas party I threw a few years ago. After looking at the ingredients, my husband didn't want anything to do with them. I told him I chose them because the recipe was highly rated. He tried one when they were done and LOVED them. They were a big hit at the party and many of my guests said they wished they had taken more home, although, they wouldn't have been able to anyway since there were none left. I do want to add though, like someone else that reviewed these, I couldn't find chili sauce, so I used plain tomato sauce and chili powder instead.
This is the bomb!!!! Everybody loved it. My mother-in-law wants me to bring this to holiday meals. I used three 14 oz. packages of frozen, pre-cooked meatballs, and cooked them in the oven first.
I've been using this recipe for years. I do cut back on the brown sugar a bit as it is pretty sweet. This is a reliable recipe that is always well received. Plus it's easy and there's a lot to be said for that!
I make a slightly modified version of this recipe, as a few others have mentioned. I picked up the recipe from an old coworker, and she had picked it up from one of her previous coworkers. It's obviously a potluck favorite! Now that I'm making it, everyone is always complimenting me and asking for the recipe! I just buy a 32 oz bag of traditional frozen meatballs. I thaw them overnight because I take it to work and assemble/cook it there, but if you're not pressed for time you can use frozen too. I'm very interested to try out baking them first... I'd like to see if they are a little crispier while sitting in the crockpot! Anyhow, I just dump the meatballs in the crockpot, add a 12oz bottle of chili sauce, a can of whole berry cranberry sauce, a 14 oz can of sauerkraut and 3/4 cup brown sugar. (I've used 1 cup brown sugar and it's just as good) Cook on high for 3 hours or so, stirring twice while cooking and again before serving. SUPER easy and SUPER delicious! There's always plenty of sauce and sauerkraut leftover -- so I'm not sure why you would add water or twice the amount of sauerkraut.
I thought it was pretty good, though we preferred it with more meatballs. I would say next time I would use a 32 oz bag of meatballs.
My daughter made these for our Oktoberfest dinner yesterday. They were excellent and eaay to make. They went along well with our Braised Red Cabbage, Herbed Green Beans and Pork Schnitzel and Apple Dumplings.
These were really good. I paired them up with potato pancakes and homemade applesauce for "German Week" in our home. We made them twice and we liked them a little less sweet than the recipe called for, but it is all a preference. The house smelled really good while they were in the crockpot also!
This was good...but I was looking for a bit more "bavarian taste"...not so much the sweet meatballs. I think next time I would add a few caraway seeds to this and maybe another can of sauerkraut.
These were very poplular! My daughter and I made these together and were skeptical to try them because of the odd ingredients, but we finally sampled them and then couldn't get enough. I made a lot and they were gone by the end of the night and I had a few people request the recipe!
This was a good recipe. Instead of using the cranberry sauce, I used grape jelly.
Not something I loved, however, I think it had more to do with the meatballs. I'm sure this would have tasted better with a better quality of meatballs. Remember, you get what you pay for!
I have made these twice to take to covered dish events. Everyone loved them. I doubled the meatballs and still had plenty of sauce. I followed another readers suggestion and baked the meatballs first. This helped them to be crispier and also removed a lot of the grease. We all really enjoyed this dish. Now I'm wondering how it would be to follow the same recipe using bratwurst slices instead of meatballs. Has anyone tried it that way?
i made this for the first time for a block party, of people i did not know....it was a BIG HIT, I had to give it to 3 of the guests...it is great.
This was a huge hit at my new year's eve party. I was really excited because I've never made meat balls before (I grew up vegetarian pretty much, so meat fascinates me). I didn't need to get so excited, however, because people were eating them like they were going out of style. The ingredients seem weird, but they taste really good together. I made mine in a small, 2 quart slow cooker, and I recommend cutting down the recipe by at least half for a slow cooker that size.
This was GREAT! These did not last long on the table at all. It smells fabulous too.
Made this for one of our "Beast Feasts" (wild game cookout) where over 50 people showed up. I made the meatballs (about 60) using venison then baked them before adding the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot. I had about 1/4 of the meatballs left at the end of the day but there were at least 15 other dishes served as well. One of the guests used some of the sauce on a Boston Butt chunk...so I tried that and it was fabulous! I think these would have gone over even better with a different audience...our guests were mostly good ol' boys who prefer to use fingers to forks at these outdoor gatherings.
This is THE BEST meatball recipe! I have made a variation of this for years, as well. I bake the meatball in the oven first, then add them to the crock pot (less grease), use jellied cranberry sauce and only 3-4 T chili sauce . This one is a keeper! Try it!!
A big hit. Made this for our company Christmas party. Used twice the amount of meatballs, and doubled the water and cranberry. Made a lot more and I was also able to fit in my crockpot. So simple yet taste is great.
Made meatball sandwiches with these. everydody loved them.
OK, the only reason I made this was because my daughter is taking Geman in school, and she needed it for Octoberfest. Looking at the ingredients, it didn't excite me. I was expecting to give it 2 stars. I'm giving it 3 because it was better than I expected... THAT SAID, I cut the sugar down by 2/3rds and it was still pretty darn sweet, Also, there really is no reason to make this in a crockpot unless you want to. But REALLY *** do cut down on the sugar ***..... you can always add more if you like.... Oh, and I used 3 pounds of meatballs with the amount of everything else being the same, and tehre was plenty of "fixin's".
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.
This recipe is something different! I brought it to a pot luck and it was well liked. I used turkey meat balls and they turned out moist and delicious.
I made the recipe as given and I found it a bit odd in texture, I would give it a 3. Next time I would brown/bake the meatballs to get a bit crispy. The rest of the family thought that they were great and had them as hot meatball sandwiches and on hot pasta.
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.
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!
Served this last night as an hors d'oeuvre. My guests loved them! All the ladies asked for the recipe. Most of them said they do not like sauerkraut but this recipe was a wonderful way of camouflaging the sauerkraut flavour. I bought frozen meatballs which is such a time saver & they were wonderful. I added a few more meatballs in the crock pot than indicated in the recipe. I also used golden yellow sugar. I think cutting the amount of sugar as suggested by others is definitely a matter of personal taste and although I do not have a sweet tooth I actually enjoyed them.
I made this last-night except I could only get regular sauerkraut. I was worried it would be nasty but my husband and motherinlaw loved it. I wasn't crazy about it personally but they want it again and went back for seconds. We served it over rice.
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.
It's (the recipe) okay. I usually make a stroganoff style meatball which everyone loves. The flavors just didn't seem to mesh to me. I'm taking them to a party tonite. Will edit if others like them better than I did. **Edit. Well others said they were good, but they still liked my other recipe better. I might try it again minus the sauerkraut.
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
CoalItion brought this for a work potluck. My coworkers loved this recipe and asked me to bring them again.
As written it was OK. I thought the flavor was good, however the sauce tasted a bit "greasy/oily". If I make again, I probably oven bake the meatballs first and then add to the saurkraut mixture in the slow-cooker.
I made these for New Year's Day, and everyone loved them! I only put in 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and they were still very sweet. I will definitely make these again. Thanks for the recipe!
This is one of my favorite recipes of all time! I made this for an Oktoberfest party at school a few years ago and I haven't quit making it since! Only problem is that it makes the whole house smell like sauerkraut! I usually throw this in the crock pot and let it cook all night. It really allows the flavor to sink in. Yum!
