Sweet and Sour Meatballs
These sweet and sour meatballs are one of those dinners I pull out when I need something easy, but I know everyone likes! They’re saucy, a little sweet, a little tangy, and come together fast.
Why You’re About to Put These on Repeat
Easy Enough for Busy Weeknights: No fancy steps, no babysitting the stove, just a simple throw it together and call it dinner situation.
The Sauce is Ridiculously Good: Sweet, tangy, and clingy in the best way. You’ll be scraping the pan and just trying it more than necessary.
It Disappears Fast: Kids, adults, whoever walks through the kitchen, everyone grabs a bowl, and suddenly there are no leftovers to deal with.
A Reader’s Review
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I made this today, did every step, I had all the ingredients except for Sriracha, but it still turned out so good!
Sweet and Sour Meatballs Ingredients
Meat: Swap the ground beef for ground chicken, ground turkey, or pork.
Onion: Finely mince or grate your onions. This will evenly distribute the onions, helping to keep the meatballs moist.
Time Saving Hack! Use frozen meatballs to save time.
Air Fry the Meatballs: Instead of cooking in the oven, cook in the air fryer at 380°F for 10 minutes, shaking halfway through.
Sugar: Adjust the sugar to taste, depending on how sweet you like your sweet and sour sauce.
Vinegar: Swap the apple cider vinegar for rice wine or white vinegar.
Bell Peppers: Use your favorite color of bell peppers. Cut into even-sized pieces so the onions and peppers cook evenly.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Meatballs
My sweet and sour meatball recipe is so simple. All you do is make your meatballs (or use frozen in a pinch), whip up the sauce, cut up your veggies and pineapple, and you’re good to go! It has the best flavors that everyone will love!
Prep: Preheat the oven to 450°F, then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. To a large bowl, add ground beef, finely minced onion, bread crumbs, egg, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix until evenly combined.
Make Meatballs: Scoop the meatball mixture into 2-tablespoon portions, then roll them into smooth balls. You should get 18-20 meatballs. Place them on the baking sheet and spray them lightly with oil. Bake the meatballs for 18 minutes, until they are fully cooked, rotating them halfway through.
Make Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together pineapple juice, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, ketchup, soy sauce, sriracha, and cornstarch.
Cook Veggies: In a large wok or pan, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Add diced green and red bell peppers and onion. Cook for 2 minutes.
Combine: Reduce the heat to low, then add pineapple chunks, meatballs, and sauce to the pan.
Simmer & Serve: Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 4-5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve sweet and sour meatballs over rice.
Kitchen Tools For This Recipe
Small Cookie Scoop: Using a 1½ to 2-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop makes portioning out and shaping the meatballs quick and easy.
Baking Sheet: Use to cook the meatballs in the oven.
Wok: Great for stir-frying vegetables at high heat. If you don’t have a wok, you can use a large skillet with high sides.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef1 small finely minced onion½ cup breadcrumbs1 egg3 teaspoons minced garlic1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoon pepper
Sauce
½ cup pineapple juice½ cup brown sugar⅓ cup apple cider vinegar¼ cup water¼ cup ketchup1 tablespoon soy sauce1 tablespoon sriracha1 tablespoon cornstarch
Other Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil1 green bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces1 red bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces1 small onion cut into 1-inch pieces1 cup pineapple chunks
Instructions
Notes
Fridge- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat: Microwave or stovetop until heated through.
Freezer- Store in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Make Ahead- Make the meatballs the day before and store them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. You can also freeze the uncooked meatballs. Cook from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time.