Craving a classic comfort food that's quick and easy? Look no further! Today, we're transforming humble frozen meatballs into a flavor-packed masterpiece with a homemade sweet and sour sauce. Packed with pineapple, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar, plus a dash of sriracha, this dish is a delightful blend of sweet, tangy, and savory. Get ready to impress your family with this 30-minute meal that tastes like it took hours!
The sauce adds a ton of flavor. I often make a little (ok, a lot) extra because my kids love it with their rice. It is easy to adjust the spiciness of this. We always have sriracha sauce in the house and this sauce isn't as spicy to my kids.
I also have the recipe for the grape jelly and chili meatballs on my site. It's the slow cooker version, with jelly and chili sauce. It's a simple three-ingredient recipe that is wonderful as an appetizer or a meal.
Why I love this recipe
Sweet and sour meatballs are a classic crowd-pleasing comfort food for a reason! This recipe delivers on all the nostalgic flavors we love, making it a crowd-pleaser for any occasion.
This recipe takes 30 minutes to cook the meatballs with the delicious sauce. When dinnertime creeps up on you, this recipe is your ultimate lifesaver. It's easy to follow, impressive to serve, and satisfies everyone's cravings.
This recipe proves that homemade sweet and sour sauce can be whipped up quickly without sacrificing flavor.
Ingredients
Using frozen meatballs, plus leftover (or freshly cooked) rice, plus a simple homemade sauce makes this an easy and delicious meal.
You can use your favorite frozen meatballs. Use plain ones (not ones with Italian seasoning). If you have homemade ones, you can use those instead.
I like using apple cider vinegar because I have it at home and use it regularly. Rice wine vinegar is often used in sweet and sour sauce. In a pinch, you can also use regular vinegar.
The sauce is made from ketchup, soy sauce, pineapple juice, pineapple tidbits, brown sugar, vinegar (mentioned above) and cornstarch. You can substitute low salt soya sauce, pineapple chunks (or cut up pineapple rings). Simple substitutions work well. If you like really spicy sweet and sour sauce, use your family favorite instead of the sriracha.
I like to serve the saucy meatballs over rice. Make sure to have some made!
Instructions
If serving over rice, make sure to have some made.
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Step 1
In a larger-sized skillet or Dutch oven, mix together the brown sugar, apple wine vinegar, ketchup, soya sauce, pineapple plus juice from the can, and pineapple juice. Reserve ½ cup of pineapple juice.
Step 2
Whisk cornstarch into the reserved pineapple juice. Then whisk the cornstarch mixture into the hot sauce mixture.
Step 3
Add the Sriracha sauce and pineapples to the skillet/Dutch oven and mix to combine. Add the meatballs (it's okay if they are frozen). Stir occasionally until meatballs are cooked and are hot (about 15 minutes).
How to serve
Serve meatballs and sauce over rice. I usually plan on at least a cup of cooked rice per serving. A green garnish like green onions or chives makes this dish look so appetizing.
Storage
Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 4 days.
FAQs
If you want your pineapple to stay bright yellow, add it at the very end, just before serving. I like adding it as part of the sauce to enhance the flavor.
You can certainly serve it on a bed of noodles. Or, these are great as appetizers too!
Other easy meal recipes
Easy Sweet and Sour Meatballs.
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs frozen plain meatballs not with Italian seasoning
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar or use rice wine vinegar (in a pinch regular vinegar works)
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 can pineapple chunks 20 oz WITH the juice
- 6 oz pineapple juice
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoon sriracha hot sauce
- Your favorite rice - I make 4 cups for 4 people.
Instructions
- I serve on a bed of rice and make about 1 to 1 ½ cups cooked rice per serving.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven mix following together and heat to a steady simmer: brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and pineapple juice from pineapple tidbits can. (reserve 6 oz pineapple juice container for next step).
- Whisk cornstarch into the reserved pineapple juice. Then whisk cornstarch/pineapple juice into the hot mixture.
- Add sriracha hot sauce, pineapple pieces, and meatballs, and heat until the meatballs are heated through. Depending on whether the meatballs are frozen, this will take about 10-15 minutes.
- Serve meatballs with sweet and sour sauce over rice. Or serve with toothpicks as appetizers.
Notes
Nutrition (I am not a nutritionist. These are estimates only)
This is an easy recipe to whip up. Just make sure you keep some frozen meatballs on hand. All the other ingredients are pantry ingredients for me. This is a great 'go to' recipes on busy nights.
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**Originally Published Nov. 17, 2017.
imarancher
What brand of meatballs do you use? I have not been happy with the quality of meatballs that I find locally.