Seasoned beef and pork meatballs in a rich and saucy cherry and red wine sauce.
This saucy cherry meatballs recipe:
- Paired with buttery mashed potatoes, rice, or roasted vegetables for a cozy dinner
- Served alone as an appetizer for potlucks and holidays
- Prepared on the stove top or oven quickly
- Or made in the Crock Pot or slow cooker
- Makes absolutely delicious leftovers the next day
And! You can use canned dark red cherries, which are easy because they're already pitted for you.
Instructions
Make the meatballs.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up.
Make the meatballs. If possible, allow the raw ground beef and eggs to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Combine the raw ground beef, pork and eggs using your bare hands, or wooden spoon and heavy bowl. If you use a stand mixer, use the lowest speed possible.
Add the bread crumbs, seasoning, and Parmesan cheese and mix until evenly distributed.
Form the balls between your palms to be about 2 inches wide and place 1-2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 14-18 minutes until edges are brown and start to crisp. They don't need to be cooked through just yet; set aside.
Make the cherry wine sauce.
Heat a heavy skillet on medium high heat and sauté butter, shallot and garlic until fragrant and garlic becomes translucent.
Pour in the red wine and stir with a spatula to bring up the stuck pieces and browned particles off the bottom of the pan.
Add the cherries (drained), and balsamic vinegar.
Cook on a medium high simmer until the cherries begin to break down and liquid from the wine and cherry juice evaporates and looks more like a glaze.
In a separate mixing cup, whisk a bit of corn start into the stock (or broth, or water) until smooth, then pour into the cherry wine mixture in the hot pan.
When the broth first hits the pan it will be very thin. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken and bubble. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add the meatballs to the sauce in the pan.
Add the browned meatballs directly to the skillet and the sauce, still on a medium high simmer.
Toss them around a little bit to coat the meatballs in the cherry wine sauce, and simmer for 5-8 minutes longer until meatballs are fully cooked through.
Serving Suggestions
As a main course:
My favorite way to serve this dish is with simple, buttery or browned butter mashed potatoes.
I also opt for steamed white rice, or almost any roasted vegetables you could imagine.
As an appetizer:
If you are making these for an appetizer, you don't need to serve them with anything but a toothpick!
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Try these other meatball recipes or browse similar dishes.
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Cherry Wine Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded or grated
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp sage
- salt and pepper
Cherry Wine Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 15 oz canned dark sweet cherries drained
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp sage fresh or dried
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix meatball ingredients until combined, form 2 inch balls and bake on a baking sheet for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a heavy skillet, saute garlic in olive oil until softened.
- Add drained cherries, wine, balsamic vinegar and sage. Simmer on medium high heat until cherries break down and liquid becomes reduced and thickened.
- Whisk corn starch into some beef broth to dissolve any lumps.
- Pour beef broth (and cornstarch) into skillet and simmer for 10-15 minutes on a high simmer, whisking.
- Salt and pepper sauce to taste.
- Add meatballs to skillet, reduce to low simmer and cook for up to 5 minutes, tossing to coat the meatballs.
- Serve with buttery mashed potatoes.
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