Christmas Meatbaubles
These turkey and cranberry meatballs are big on festive flavour! We love to serve them as part of a slimming friendly Christmas buffet.
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories105
- Carbs7.6g
- Protein16g
- Fat1.6g
- Saturates0.5g
- Sugars5.1g
For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!
These Christmas Meatbaubles aren’t just for Christmas day! We’ve taken two classic flavours from your Christmas dinner and combined them to make some delicious turkey and cranberry meatballs that you can enjoy any time of year.
Made with super lean turkey mince, orange zest and juicy cranberries, they’re big on flavour while still being low in calories – ideal if you’re following one of the popular diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
Best of all, our recipe includes a sticky, sweet cranberry sauce that can be poured over the meatballs or served as a dip. They’re perfect for a Christmas eve buffet, but you could also bring them out on Boxing Day as a nice change to leftover turkey.
Why not pop a couple on the side of your Christmas dinner if you’re not a big fan of stuffing – they make a really tasty alternative.
What diets are these Christmas Meatbaubles suitable for?
These Christmas Meatbaubles are dairy free and can be enjoyed on a gluten free diet as long as you swap out the panko breadcrumbs for a suitable alternative.
If you’re cooking for people with allergies, be extra careful when checking ingredients and preparing food!
How Weight Watchers friendly is this Christmas Meatbaubles recipe?
Weight Watchers’ new PersonalPoints plan calculates each individual’s Points allowance based on their unique food preferences and goals. This means we’re no longer able to offer exact WW points for our recipes.
The good news is that all of our recipes are still Weight Watchers friendly! If you have any questions about your Points budgets or you’re unsure how a certain recipe will fit into your plan, please reach out to Weight Watchers directly.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Christmas Meatbaubles?
Nope! Everything you need should be easy to find in your usual supermarket. You’ll need some dried cranberries which can typically be found in the home baking aisle.
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How many calories are in these Christmas Meatbaubles?
This recipe makes 24 Christmas Meatbaubles, which we recommend will serve 8 people. Each serving of 3 meatballs contains 105 calories. This means the recipe falls into our Everyday Light category.
These Christmas Meatbaubles are perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and the recipe fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 190ºC and spray a baking tray with low calorie cooking spray.
Step 2
Add the meatball ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix to fully incorporate.
Step 3
Split the mixture into 24 small meatballs about 3cm in diameter and add to the baking tray. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes until thoroughly cooked through, with no signs of pinkness inside.
Step 4
While the meatballs are cooking, add the cranberries, orange zest, sweetener, orange juice and cranberry juice to a saucepan. Set on a low-medium heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened and reduced.
Step 5
Once the meatballs are cooked, sprinkle with parsley and serve with the dipping sauce.
What could I serve with these Christmas Meatbaubles?
You could serve these as part of a buffet, but we also think they’re delicious served as part of your Christmas dinner. Why not dish them up alongside any of the following recipes:
How do you know when Christmas Meatbaubles are cooked?
You’ll need to cook the Christmas Meatbaubles in the oven for around 25 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through, with no pinkness left inside.
Here in the UK, the standard advice is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and maintained that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep you and your family safe!
How long can you keep Christmas Meatbaubles in the fridge?
Once you’ve served this dish, we’d recommend that you eat it within 4 hours.
If you have any leftovers, allow them to cool before popping them in a container with a lid and storing in the fridge. Any leftover Christmas Meatbaubles can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can I freeze Christmas Meatbaubles?
This recipe CAN be frozen, so it’s ideal for making ahead of time to make life easier in the run up to Christmas day. Please remember to do the following:
- Make sure that you freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Choose a container or a bag that is suitable for freezing.
- Label your dish with the name of the recipe and the date that you froze it on.
How do I reheat Christmas Meatbaubles?
From chilled: Place in a microwavable container with a loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.
From frozen: Allow to defrost in the fridge overnight and then reheat from chilled. Please ensure that the Christmas Meatbaubles are piping hot throughout before serving.
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Christmas Meatbaubles
These turkey and cranberry meatballs are big on festive flavour! We love to serve them as part of a slimming friendly Christmas buffet.
-
Prep Time
10 MINS
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Cook Time
35 MINS
- KCals 105
- Carbs 7.6G
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC and spray a baking tray with low calorie cooking spray.
- Add the meatball ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix to fully incorporate.
- Split the mixture into 24 small meatballs about 3cm in diameter and add to the baking tray. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes until thoroughly cooked through, with no signs of pinkness inside.
- While the meatballs are cooking, add the cranberries, orange zest, sweetener, orange juice and cranberry juice to a saucepan. Set on a low-medium heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened and reduced.
- Once the meatballs are cooked, sprinkle with parsley and serve with the dipping sauce.
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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We agreed with Slimming World to remove their trademarked terms from our website
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