Texture-wise, they come out of the air fryer nice and juicy, soft, and meaty. It's an extremely similar mouthfeel to the other flavors if you're familiar with those. Flavor-wise, there's only a subtle sweet-tart tang from the cranberry and an even subtler spicy flavor from the jalapeño pepper pieces. Both the fruit and pepper bits are very small and unintrusive.
I wish they were a good bit more prevalent in the flavor profile. I don't necessarily want beaten over the head with super sour cranberry and flaming hot jalapeño, but as it is, these are pretty much on par with a typical chicken sausage—good quality chicken meat with just a hint of tang and spice.
There's a pleasant sweetness to the meatballs, too, as the dried cranberries used in the ingredients are made with cane sugar. There's also some maple sugar in the less than 2% section. Still, I think I prefer the other two flavors of chicken meatballs just slightly more than this variety.
I looked up ways to serve these and found a bunch of ideas. I opted for a makeshift Thanksgiving theme. I read they went well with any kind of cranberry glaze or cranberry sauce, so that's what I paired them with. I went out on a limb and guessed they'd do fine with good old mashed potatoes, as well. All three mixed together made a very tasty forkful. I suppose I could have gone the whole nine yards and added stuffing and gravy to the mix for a full on Thanksgiving style chicken meatball dinner, but I was pretty pleased with the simpler three item spread.
For an easy party appetizer, toss them in a slow cooker with a splash of cranberry juice or apple cider and a extra dollop of hot honey to keep them glazed and warm. If you’re pulling together a quick weeknight dinner, they’re fantastic served over a bed of buttery, fluffy rice or rich polenta, letting the sweet and spicy pan juices double as a sauce. You can also skewer them with charred bell peppers and red onion for fun festive kebabs, or slice them up to toss into a cozy autumn salad with roasted sweet potatoes, kale, and goat cheese.
$4.29 for about 24 meatballs. Gluten free. Antibiotic free. Precooked. Would buy again. Like I said, I like these just a shade less than the other two flavors. If they amped up the jalapeño a lot and the cranberry just a bit, these might have been my favorite. Eight out of ten stars from Sonia for Trader Joe's Cranberry & Jalapeño Chicken Meatballs. Seven and a half stars from me.
Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.
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