So good and so tender – these Sweet and Sour Meatballs take a flavorful homemade meatball and cover them in a perfect sweet and sour sauce for a dinner the whole family will crave.
These Sweet and Sour Meatballs are a great way to change up dinner. If you love the Asian twist, also try these Salmon Burgers with Asian flavors, this Orange Chicken, or these Teriyaki Chicken Bowls.
I am always on the search for dinners my whole family will eat, and these Sweet and Sour Meatballs are a winner! My kids adore meatballs, (who doesn’t??), and the sweet and sour sauce is lick your fingers good! They are fairly easy to make and perfect for a weeknight dinner. I love to serve these with rice, but they are even good just on their own. Add this one to the menu plan!
I used the sauce recipe from my favorite sweet and sour chicken and added a bit of an Asian twist to the meatballs. The end result was so delicious, I cleared my plate! The thing I love about these Sweet and Sour Meatballs, too, is that they freeze wonderfully to make dinner a breeze another night. (Although these didn’t even make it to the freezer – we ate them all for dinner and leftovers!)
Ingredients
- Ground Beef: I like to use a fairly lean ground beef, just so that they aren’t super greasy. I’ll usually look for about a 90% ground beef. You could also do a mixture of ground beef and ground pork.
- Bread Crumbs: You’ll want just plain bread crumbs. You can make them from scratch, but I’ll usually use store bought bread crumbs for these.
- Egg: You need the egg to bind everything together.
- Onion: The secret for adding the onion to these meatballs is to grate the onion. You could mince it, but the grated onion mixes into the meatballs much better.
- Brown Sugar: I use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar should work as well.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This add some depth of flavor to the meatballs.
- Soy Sauce: The soy sauce helps to add to the Asian flavors.
- Ginger: I like to use freshly grated ginger – it will really make a difference. You could use ground ginger, but the fresh ginger adds a lot more flavor.
- Salt: For flavor and balance.
- Sweet and Sour Sauce: I use this homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce. It only takes about 20 minutes to make – you can totally make it while the meatballs are in the oven. If you want to use a store bought sauce, I would suggest looking for one that is on the thicker side so that it will coat the meatballs.
- Rice: This is just for serving, and is totally optional. If I’m making the meatballs for dinner, we’ll usually have them over rice, but you could also serve them as an appetizer with toothpicks for serving!
How to Make Sweet and Sour Meatballs
I bet you didn’t realize just how easy it is to make these meatballs!!
Start by combining your ingredients in a large bowl – ground beef, breadcrumbs, an egg, grated onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, grated ginger and salt.
Mix this just until combined. I think this is easiest to do with your hands so that you don’t overmix.
Roll the mixture into balls. To make them all the same size, you can use a cookie scoop. I like to scoop them then roll them into a ball with my hands.
Place the balls on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a 350ºF oven until they are browned and cooked through, 20-30 minutes.
Once the meatballs are done baking, pour the sweet and sour sauce over. I like to use about 3/4 of the sauce, and save the rest to serve at the table for if people want to drizzle more sauce on top.
Make it Your Own!
I usually keep this recipe pretty simple, but feel free to add in pineapple chunks or diced peppers. You can put these in the oven with the meatballs, if desired, then stir it all together with the sweet and sour sauce.
Make Ahead and Storing
Have more time earlier in the day than at dinnertime? This is a recipe that can easily be made ahead of time. Just make the meatballs as written, let them cool, then place the in an airtight container and refrigerate them. To reheat them you could use the microwave, oven, or stove top. I like the stove top the best, as sometimes they will get a little more dried out if they are reheated in the oven.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
What to Serve with these Sweet and Sour Meatballs
I like to keep it pretty simple. Besides the rice, here are a few side dish ideas:
Sesame Green Beans
Crown Ruby Fruit Salad
Korean Cucumber Salad
Fresh Green Bean Salad with Asian Dressing
More Meatball Recipes
Crockpot BBQ Grape Jelly Meatballs
Meatball Parmesan Skillet
Slow Cooker Mexican Meatballs
Teriyaki Meatballs
Meatball Pizza
Slow Cooker Asian Meatballs
Breakfast Meatballs
Meatball Kabobs with Sweet and Sour Sauce
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Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons grated onion
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sweet and sour sauce
- Prepared rice for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, grated ginger, and salt. Form the mixture into 1 1/2-inch meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through, 20-30 minutes.
- Heat the sweet and sour sauce – you can do this in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
- Once the meatballs are cooked through, place in a large bowl and pour the sauce over. Gently stir until the meatballs are covered in the sauce.
- Serve the meatballs over rice. Drizzle any extra sauce over the top.
Andy says
Made these for my wife for a late valentine dinner , served over jasmine rice and a side of steamed veggies with extra sauce. served your flan like dessert for dessert and all was a hit
Lisa says
I tried the sauce recipe as is and it was good, but I made a couple of changes. I doubled all the ingredients except the sugar and added 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tsp onion powder and 1 tsp sir racha. It was tangy and delicious!
Merle Rose says
Last Sunday, I made my first batch of meatballs for (a group of 18). Everyone requested the recipe. Made again for a group of 11 tomorrow. I think I’ll reduce the salt next time—either with less soy sauce or less salt. Excellent as an appetizer or part of main meal. So easy to make. One pound made 48 meat balls (using one flat tablespoon.
Delicious!
JLL says
We loved this recipe! I used pineapple tidbits and some onion & sweet peppers chopped and sauteed in it also. Mixed in about 1/2 C. pineapple juice thickened with corn starch to make more sauce also.
Megan Davis says
I love this recipe. Wish that I can cook this like what you did. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
amy @ fearless homemaker says
mmm, meatballs. i’m such a crazy meatball lover – in fact, i made baked chicken meatballs for dinner last night. =) these look like a nice take on the traditional sweet + sour meatballs – i’ll definitely be trying them!
Cookin' Canuck says
Oh my, do these every sound and look good! I think I’d have a tough time stopping myself from eating them.
Melanie says
Those pictures are mouth-watering! I love this variation – using the sweet and sour sauce on meatballs. Brilliant!
Joanne says
Computer issues really are the worst! I h0pe things get fixed! The meatballs look delicious, even if they were intended for another day!
Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says
I have a super simple recipe for sweet and sour meatballs that we just love! But I will have to try this version next time since the sauce ingredients are pantry staples!
Katrina says
These look fabulous! Just like my momma’s!
Barbara says
Looks good! I’m going to try this.
Bev Weidner says
Oh dear babies on the world, this looks good. I never do a sweet and sour version, but that CHANGES NOW.