German Style Meatballs - Oktoberfest Recipes (2025)

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We make these meatballs for our annual Oktoberfest at church. Flavorful meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce, loaded with sauerkraut and cranberries.Click to Tweet

Many people celebrate Oktoberfest in the fall. Here is a family favorite we make for our annual dinner at church. Flavorful meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce, loaded with sauerkraut and cranberries. Members of our church like these German Style Meatballs so much, they’ve come to expect it each year.

(Post modified with new pictures on 10/11/23.)

This recipe is so easy to prepare. You just need to make sure you have the necessary ingredients, as some of them may not be a regular item stocked in your pantry. These items (for me anyway) are: Onion Soup Mix, Sauerkraut, Chili Sauce, and Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce. It seems like a lot, but really, these meatballs are delicious! And who doesn’t like meatballs, right?

Another item worth noting is that this recipe works really well if you happen to have a lot of ground venison in your freezer. We eat a lot of deer meat, so I’m always looking for ways to use it.

You may serve these meatballs as appetizers or as a main dish. And it’s perfect for your next Oktoberfest potluck dinner!

See More Meatball Recipes

• Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs
• Potluck Barbecue Meatballs
• Spaghetti Sauce and Mighty Meatballs
• Easy Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients for German Style Meatballs

(See full recipe at the bottom of this post.)

• lean ground beef (80/20 or ground venison)
• large egg
• onion soup mix
• plain bread crumbs or crushed saltine crackers

Sauce

• sauerkraut
• whole berry cranberry sauce
• Chili Sauce (See my Homemade Version Here.)
• brown sugar
• water

Instructions for Making this Recipe

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To begin, gather all your ingredients so that you have them in easy access at your workspace.

Make the Meatballs

Using a large stainless mixing bowl, mix together the ground burger, large egg, onion soup mix, and bread crumbs, making sure to combine everything thoroughly.

You’ll want to use a lean ground beef for this recipe. Ground venison also works really well.I like to use my hands to make the meatballs. You can also use crushed saltine crackers if you don’t have any bread crumbs.

Using a cookie scoop or spoon, shape the mixture into small meatballs.

Place in an oblong baking pan sprayed with baking spray. This should make enough meatballs to fill the pan, about 30 meatballs.

Prepare the Sauce

In a separate bowl, mix together the sauerkraut, whole cranberry sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, and water.

Chili Sauce is one of those items I may not always have in my pantry, so here is an easy Homemade Version if you need it.

See Also

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Spoon the sauce over the meatballs.

Bake the meatballs, uncovered for 2 hours. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then turn the meatballs in the sauce. If you’re planning to take this to a potluck dinner, you may also opt to place the meatballs in a slow cooker to keep warm on low.

This recipe will easily serve 8-10 people. Serve as an Appetizer with toothpicks or a Main Dish at your next German Dinner or Oktoberfest Celebration.

I like to serve these meatballs with Bierocks and/or German Spaetzle with Cabbage. Guten Appetit!

Wine Recommendations – Serve with a Dry Riesling such as Chateau Michelle Rieslingor a favorite Gewurztraminer.

See more German Recipes Here. Browse Main Dishes Here. View Appetizes Here.