Cranberry Glazed Meatballs with Jaca

By Jaca Kitchen · · Updated

These cranberry glazed meatballs swap every spoonful of added sugar for Jaca allulose, so you get the same glossy, sweet-and-tangy holiday glaze with just a fraction of the sugar. It's the classic sweet-and-savory cocktail meatball everyone crowds around at a party, reworked so you can actually feel good about going back for seconds.

This is a Jaca-adjusted, healthier version: instead of a can of sugar-loaded cranberry sauce plus a scoop of brown sugar, we simmer fresh cranberries with Jaca (allulose) and sweeten the glaze with Jaca too, so there's no added cane sugar and all of the flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs cocktail-size meatballs (about 40–50), homemade or frozen
  • 12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 cup Jaca (allulose) — for the cranberry sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 cup tomato-based chili sauce (use a no-sugar-added chili sauce to keep it low in sugar)
  • 1/2 cup Jaca (allulose) — in place of 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Chopped green onions or parsley, to garnish

Instructions:

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, 1 cup Jaca, and water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in the chili sauce, the remaining 1/2 cup Jaca, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Simmer for 3–4 minutes, until the glaze is glossy and smooth.
  3. Add the meatballs and stir gently to coat. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring now and then, until the meatballs are heated through and the glaze clings to them, 15–20 minutes. If the glaze gets too thick, loosen it with a splash of water.
  4. Transfer to a serving dish, or keep warm in a slow cooker for a party. Garnish with green onions or parsley and serve with cocktail picks.

Prep time: 10 minutes · Cook time: 30 minutes · Servings: 10

Because Jaca (allulose) does the sweetening, this crowd-pleasing appetizer drops from about 23 g of sugar per serving to roughly 3 g — without touching the sweet-and-tangy flavor everyone loves.