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Sweet and Sour Meatballs are juicy, full of flavor and tossed in a delicious sweet and sour sauce. We added bell peppers and onions too!
If you are a fan of meatballs, try the porcupine meatballs, chicken meatballs in mushroom sauce, Swedish meatballs and mozzarella stuffed meatballs.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
We are big fans of meatballs around here and usually make them every few days. Meatballs have the advantage over many other dishes because they can be made a few days ahead and stored in the fridge till you are ready to toss them in sauce and serve. Or bake them and freeze them, so you just have heat and serve. And they can be made with a variety of ingredients – beef, pork, turkey or chicken.
Keep these Meatballs Juicy:
- The joy of breaking apart a juicy meatball with a fork is something else. So to keep these meatballs juicy, here are my top tips:
- Grate the onions or mince them really finely. They add juiciness and flavour to the meatballs, and this way you won’t get big chunks of onions when you eat them
- Don’t overwork the mixture, so that it’s still light and airy
- Bake the meatballs on a high temperature so that they cook fast and remain juicy inside
Sweet and Sour Sauce
The sweet and sour sauce used to toss these meatballs in really easy to put together. It’s made with a few, easily available pantry ingredients. You’ll need pineapple juice, sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch and salt. Whisk them together in a bowl and just simmer the sauce for a few minutes. This sauce can be made and stored in the fridge for a week.
That sauce is absolutely amazing. It’ll make your lips pucker at its sourness, and will keep you wanting more. To balance it out, I also love using red and yellow bell peppers, and diced onions. You can add some tinned pineapple and sprinkle chopped green onions on top for extra freshness. If you want to add more veggies, add some broccoli or sugar snap peas. And thin the sauce with some water if you need to.
If you are in a hurry, feel free to use frozen meatballs but these are infinitely better with soft, juicy, homemade meatballs.
More Sweet and Sour Recipes
- Sweet and Sour Shrimp
- Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Peppers and Pineapple
- Sweet and Sour Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
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Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- ½ pound beef mince
- ½ pound pork mince
- 1 finely minced onion
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 whisked egg
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Sauce
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ cup water
Other Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup diced yellow bell pepper
- 1 cup diced onion
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ½ pound beef mince, ½ pound pork mince, 1 finely minced onion, ¾ cup breadcrumbs, 1 whisked egg, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- Scoop the meatball mixture out into 2 tablespoons-sized balls and roll. Place the mataballs on the baking sheet and spray or brush them with a little oil
- Bake for 15 minutes, until they are fully cooked, rotating the meatballs halfway through.
- In another bowl, whisk together the ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ cup pineapple juice, ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sriracha, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and ½ cup water.
- Once the meatballs are cooked, heat the 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet over high heat and add the ½ cup diced red bell pepper, ½ cup diced yellow bell pepper, and 1 cup diced onion. Cook for two minutes then add the meatballs and sauce.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer the meatballs and vegetables in the sauce. The sauce should start to thicken. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes and remove from heat. Thin the sauce with a little water if required. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was a great recipe. However, I think there is a bit too much apple cider vinegar because it is super tangy! I can handle tang like that but my father and husband don’t care for it so strong. Other than. That it was incredible. The only reason I marked it down a star is because of the sour.
I made this : my family was exhilarated. Thank you for this great recipe!
Wow, I’m already drooling. Thanks a ton for this recipe. I’m sharing this to my colleagues. 🙂
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!