These Sweet and Sour Meatballs are a perfect mix of sweet, savory, and tangy. Combined with buttery ground crackers and other ingredients like apple cider vinegar, ketchup, and brown sugar, you likely will already have around the house.
Fantastic all on their own, but oh my are these versatile. There are so many ways my family prepares and enjoys them!
Sweet and Sour Meatball Serving Ideas:
- over creamy mashed potatoes
- on a toasted hoagie roll with fresh mozzarella, placed in the oven for a quick broil to melt the cheese
- Inside Hawaiin rolls
- over a bed of white rice
- alongside oven-roasted vegetables, and roasted petite potatoes
- on top of baked potatoes, with all of your favorite toppings
- Eat them as-is for an appetizer!
A Delicious Family Tradition
I have been feeling nostalgic lately, so I am sharing this recipe which is yet another tradition from my childhood (like the Cherry Chocolate Kiss Cookies I shared a bit ago). If you’re feeling nostalgic too, I hope this recipe will bring back some warm memories. =)
Every Christmas Eve, these sweet n’ sour meatballs were always on our menu. My mom served them with mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, cheese fondue, and plenty of bread for dipping. It was such a tasty feast!
This recipe has been scaled down, however, if you plan on making these for a larger crowd, you can get the original recipe here: Sweet and Sour Meatballs for a Crowd.
These days, I don’t wait for a holiday to make these little culinary meatball delights. Now they are a regular in our dinner rotation. My husband and teen boys devour these saucy, beefy, sweet n’ sour meatballs every time! I’m excited for you to try them too!
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Equipment
- Crock Pot This is optional. You can cook these in the oven and stovetop, if you prefer.
Ingredients
Making the Meatballs
- 1 lb. Ground beef
- 2 Eggs slightly beaten
- 1 cup Crackers, crushed into crumbs I use round buttery crackers
- 2 Tbsp. Dried onion flakes
- 1 pinch Red pepper flakes
- 1¼ Tabasco hot sauce
- 1¼ tsp. Garlic powder
- 1 pinch Sea salt or a couple of grinds
Sweet and Sour Sauce (this is a big batch for extra dipping, or pouring over mashed potatoes)
- 2 cups Ketchup a little under 2 cups is best
- 1¼ cups Water
- ⅔ cup Apple cider vinegar use a quality cider when possible
- ¾ cup Brown sugar, packed dark or light will work
- 4 Tbsp. Dried onion flakes
- 1 Tbsp. Prepared mustard
- 3½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ Tbsp. Tabasco hot sauce
Instructions
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- In a large bowl, combine ketchup, water, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, dried onion flakes, prepared mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco hot sauce.
- Mix well, cover, and set aside.
Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- To a medium-sized bowl, add ground beef, slightly beaten eggs, cracker crumbs, dried onion flakes, pinch of red pepper flakes, Tabasco hot sauce, garlic powder, and a pinch of sea salt
- Combine well, but don't over mix. Just mix with hands until combined. You can use food prep gloves if you prefer for this step.
- Shape meatballs into about 1 inch. sized balls.
- Place a single layer of shaped meatballs on a sheet pan or glass baking dish, with a little space in between each meatball so they don't touch.
- Brush some of the prepared sweet and sour sauce onto each meatball before baking in the oven.
- Bake meatballs brushed with sauce, in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees.
- While the meatballs are baking in the oven, heat the prepared sweet and sour sauce in a large pot at a medium/low temperature, and bring to a simmer.
- Once the meatballs are finished cooking in the oven, put them in with the sauce, and simmer on low for 30 min. Take them off the heat and let them rest in the pot, so the sauce will thicken and be ready to serve.
Crockpot Method
- After baking the meatballs in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees, put them directly in the crockpot with the sweet and sour sauce. Set heat to low and cook for up to 2 hours. Then set the crockpot to "warm" and serve when ready to eat.
Notes
- I think these Sweet and Sour Meatballs taste even better the next day. So feel free to make this ahead and refrigerate to reheat later.
- Do you eat a vegetarian diet? No problem! I have made this sweet and sour meatball recipe using Beyond Meat, and they also turned out delicious!
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