Sweet and Sour Meatballs
These sweet and sour glazed meatballs are tender, flavorful, and oh-so-easy. Dress them up for a Hawaiian Luau style appetizer, or keep them simple for a weeknight dinner. Delicious served over fluffy white rice.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
It matters not that many years have passed since our cross country move away from family. Big family dinners are etched in precious stone, and I remember them well.
In fact, little has changed. Our big family meals are still bursting with loudness and good eats. The food is like no other. A mouthwatering array of both Asian and American dishes that everyone brings to the tables (plural), until there’s no more table left to be seen.
These sweet and sour meatballs remind me of food that’s simple yet celebratory, perfect for party appetizers yet devoured for dinner any busy night of the week.
Scrumptious appetizer for parties
One of my aunts is famous for bringing delectable appetizers that taste as delicious as they look. These sweet and sour meatballs, thickly glazed and tender, remind me of such fabulous finger food.
These tender, juicy meatballs are every bit as tasty as they look. They are the perfect balance of savory, sweet, and tangy. Each bite delivers the succulent flavors of a Hawaiian Luau in a convenient cocktail meatball.
And, they are super easy to make. In fact, feel free to freeze baked meatballs for easy future meals.
Meatballs for Weeknight dinner
This is the appetizer that people will crowd around and eat more than their fair share of. Easy, delicious, and adored by adults and kids of all ages. I’m thinking these are also going to be a hit at someone’s next Game Day bash, too.
On the flip side, our family loves these sweet and sour meatballs over a bed of fluffy rice for dinner any busy night of the week.
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Hawaiian Luau Meatballs (Crock-pot)
These meatballs are the perfect blend of savory, sweet, and tangy. The flavors of a Hawaiian Luau in every bite. Tender, juicy, and crock-pot easy.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 40 1x
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup dry plain bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
- 4 TB orange juice
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 jars (12 oz each) Asian sweet and sour sauce
- 4 TB brown sugar
- Optional: add a sprinkle of chili powder to taste if you like extra kick. Toasted sesame seeds or diced pineapple can be added for garnish.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, kosher salt, orange juice, and ground onion. Form into 40 meatballs; place on large baking sheets. Bake about 20 minutes at 350F (at this point, you can opt to freeze cooked meatballs for future use.)
- If using slow cooker, combine sweet and sour sauce with brown sugar. Add meatballs, gently fold to coat with sauce. Cook on low setting for about 30 minutes or just long enough to warm up sauce (if sauce simmers for long, it will thicken too much.) Switch to warm setting and serve saucy meatballs straight from slow cooker.
- If using a large pan/pot, let meatballs and sauce mixture come to a simmer and remove from heat. Transfer to serving dish and garnish as desired.
Notes
Seasoned, frozen meatballs may be baked according to package instructions, and then mixed with sauce, per recipe (although homemade ones will yield best flavor.)
You can freeze these homemade meatballs after baking, for easy future use.
- Category: appetizer
- Method: bake, slow cooker
- Cuisine: Asian American
Keywords: Hawaiian Meatballs, Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Recap. Have you Tried these?
Once you try these Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings, no other chicken wing will measure up:
And this luscious Brie en Croute? Sublime (and impressively easy!) party appetizer:
Don’t leave out the Buffalo Chicken Dip. And Sriracha. I mean Sriracha Buffalo Chicken Dip.
