3 Ingredient Grape Jelly Meatballs Recipe - (2024)

FAQs

Why do you put grape jelly in meatballs? ›

To make these sweet and tangy meatballs, you'll need: Grape jelly: For a sweetness that balances the chili sauce, and to provide a glossy finish to the sauce. Chili sauce: Tomato paste, spices, and garlic give this sauce its depth. Barbecue sauce: Thickens the sauce while complementing the jelly and chili sauce.

To thicken runny grape jelly meatball sauce, mix up a teaspoon of cornstarch (or even two depending on how thick you want things) with an equal amount of water. Stir this into the bubbling meatball mixture during the last hour they're in the slow cooker.

Use 1/4 cup honey instead of jelly for a a little healthier alternative (add more or less to to taste). Make cranberry meatballs with leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. Sub an equal amount of cranberry sauce for grape jelly.

When it comes to adding liquid to meatball mixtures, milk is often used for its versatility, depth of flavor, and richness. Without the use of milk, you may be faced with a plate of dry meatballs. Milk adds a certain level of moisture that helps produce perfectly tender meatballs.

Let stand in the refrigerator until set. Store in the freezer. To remake cooked jam or jelly without added pectin, for each 1 L (4 cups) jam or jelly add 25 mL (2 tbsp) bottled lemon juice. Heat to boiling and boil jam or jelly hard 3 to 4 minutes, then test for signs of gelling.

While water and broth may keep the meatballs moist throughout the cooking process, milk's extra fat and luscious consistency add an unmatched level of complexity to any classic meatball recipe.

Grapes are best frozen in syrup, but grapes to be used for juice or jelly can be frozen without sweetening. To freeze grapes: Choose tender skin, firm, sweet grapes with full color and flavor. Sort, remove stems and wash. Leave seedless grapes whole; cut table grapes with seeds in half and remove seeds.

Add a lightly beaten egg, but not too much. Egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, but you only need a small amount. One small egg will do for one pound of minced meat. Alternatively, if you're following an egg-free diet, you could soak fresh bread in milk, squeezing out any excess milk, to use as a binder.

Welch's Natural Concord Grape Spread

And unlike most grape jelly, it isn't made with high fructose corn syrup. It's just concord grapes, sugar, lemon juice concentrate, and fruit pectin. Don't be turned off by the fact that it's a “spread” rather than a jelly—it's the consistency of jelly, I promise.

Egg and breadcrumbs are common mix-ins to add moisture and tenderness. Another binder option that people swear by is a panade, which is fresh or dry breadcrumbs that have been soaked in milk. “The soaked breadcrumbs help keep the proteins in the meat from shrinking,” as food writer Tara Holland explained in the Kitchn.

What's the difference between Italian style meatballs and regular meatballs? ›

Italian-style meatballs often include additional ingredients such as milk, olive oil, ground pork, fresh parsley, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and sometimes a combination of ground beef, veal, and pork [2].

The best meatballs are tender, baked and browned in a hot oven to seal in all the juices. Simmered in robust sauce for a couple of minutes ensures they soak up all of those saucy flavours, this is an easy dinner recipe that will be a hit with your family!

Yes, grape jelly can be healthy because of its pectin and antioxidants, which promote better digestion. Even versions containing less sugar, like our sugar free grape jelly, still make it the ultimate energy booster.

A binder is like the glue that helps hold meatballs together and keep their shape. Breadcrumbs and eggs are the most common binder to use for meatballs. Bread soaked in milk (called a panade) is another traditional type of binder. Without a binder, the meat is likely to fall apart like you're finding.

It's lingonberry season and the small sour berries that thrive best in cold climates are ready to be picked. Swedes love eating the jam made from lingonberries with meatballs, mashed potatoes and cream sauce.