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Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs are an easy dish to make anytime during the week. These are sweet and tangy, and lend plenty of sauce to serve over rice, quinoa, or mashed potatoes.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Meatballs

  • 1 lb ground beef can use ground Turkey or Chicken
  • 1/2 cup quick oats dried bread crumbs works as well, but the oats give it a great texture
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup minced onion you want the onions chopped very fine
  • 2 tbsp milk unsweetened Almond milk and Coconut milk are great substitutes
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Sauce

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar you can add more or less depending on how sweet you like it. I think this is the perfect amount
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 2 tsp yellow mustard
  • 1/2 cup favorite barbecue sauce
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional

Instructions
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  • Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Your hands are your best tools in this case. Form meatballs into 2 inch balls. I use a medium size cookie scoop. You should end up with about 20 meatballs. Place them in a 9×13 pan, 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes. (precooking the meatballs helps them hold together when you coat them in the sauce)
  • Meanwhile add all the sauce ingredients to a medium size bowl and mix well.
  • After the meatballs have cooked for 10 minutes, pour the sauce over the meatballs. Gently move around the meatballs making sure they are coated on all sides. Bake another 30-40 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken and meatballs are done.
  • Serve over hot cooked quinoa, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Notes

  1. Swap out the ground beef for your favorite ground meat. If I am making Italian meatballs for spaghetti, I'll add a 1/4 pound Italian sausage to ground Turkey or ground beef. It really just depends on what I have on hand. 
  2. Have fun with trying different sauces. Marinara, Barbeque, etc...
  3. If you'd like to freeze the meatballs and save them for an even quicker weeknight meal, prepare the meatballs as directed without the sauce and cover the pan tightly with foil. To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make up the sauce and pour over meatballs. Cover with the foil you used for freezing and cook for about an hour. Uncover and gently stir. Cook another 20 minutes or until meatballs are done and sauce is thickened. 
Appetizer or Snack - Sweet and Sour Meatballs also make a great snack or appetizer. I usually double the batch and keep them warm in the slow cooker. Everyone loves them!
Keyword Meatballs, Sweet and Sour Sauce