Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sweet and sour meatballs made with your choice of meatballs and a sauce of brown sugar, ketchup, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and spicy brown mustard.
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Table of Contents
About Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Easy and flavorful, these sweet and sour meatballs are easy to customize with any meatball you’d like (storebought or homemade) and are baked in a simple five-ingredient sauce.
How long should you bake meatballs?
This recipe calls for 24 meatballs, but the type you choose (raw, baked, thawed, cooked, or any flavor) is totally up to you. All you need to do is adjust the cooking time.
Set your oven to 375 degrees F and use the following guide for cooking:
- Raw, thawed meatballs: Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the insides are no longer pink.
- Raw, frozen meatballs: Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the insides are no longer pink.
- Cooked, thawed meatballs: Bake for 10-20 minutes or until heated through.
- Cooked, frozen meatballs: Bake for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.
However, if your chosen meatballs come with their own specific cooking instructions, feel free to use those instead. The sweet and sour sauce itself doesn’t “need” to be cooked so the only real concern is heating and cooking the meatballs properly.
Can you double this recipe? Can you half this recipe?
Yes, you totally can (to both questions).
This recipe already makes a medium batch (about 24 meatballs) but that might seem a little short for a party or a little big for dinner. I’ve adjusted the serving size of this recipe multiple times with great results, so feel free to make as many (or as little!) as you need.
How long are meatballs good for?
Once prepared and cooled, porcupine meatballs can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three to four days.
Can you freeze meatballs?
Yes, you totally can!
If you’re saving leftovers, allow the meatballs and sauce to cool and then store them in a sealable bag or container.
If you’re meal prepping just to have the meatballs on hand for later, you can add the meatballs (fresh or frozen) to a sealed container or freezer bag, cover them with the prepared sweet and sour meatballs, seal the bag, and then store in the freezer.
Sweet and sour meatballs can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.
When ready to eat, let the meatballs thaw for 30 minutes on the counter, then transfer all the contents to a Crockpot and cook per the recipe instructions.
Notes & tips for sweet and sour meatballs
- If serving these as an appetizer, be sure you have toothpicks for easy handling and eating!
- If you’d like to add fruits or vegetables, you can mix in one cup pineapple (crushed or chunks, drained of excess juice) or chopped bell peppers.
- If you’d prefer, you can bake the meatballs separately and toss them in the sauce afterwards.
More delicious appetizers
How to make sweet and sour meatballs
This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.
Step 1 – Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and pour your chosen meatballs inside. Set the dish aside for now.
Step 2 – In a small bowl, make the sauce by whisking together the light brown sugar, ketchup, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and spicy brown mustard until smooth.
Step 3 – Pour the prepared sweet and sour sauce over the meatballs. Toss them to coat and space them out about one or two inches apart. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Step 4 – Bake!
Step 5 – Serve and enjoy!
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
- fresh chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and arrange meatballs inside. Set dish aside.24 meatballs
- In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, ketchup, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and spicy brown mustard until smooth.1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
- Pour prepared sweet and sour sauce over meatballs. If needed, gently turn meatballs to coat and ensure meatballs are spaced roughly 1-2 inches apart.
- Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake as follows: For RAW, THAWED/ROOM TEMP meatballs, bake for 30-40 minutes or until insides are no longer pink. For RAW, FROZEN meatballs, bake for 40-50 minutes or until insides are no longer pink. For COOKED, THAWED/ROOM TEMP meatballs, bake for 10-20 minutes or until heated through. For COOKED, FROZEN meatballs, bake for 20-30 minutes or until heated through. If you'd like meatballs to have a browned finish, remove aluminum foil for last 5 minutes of cooking. NOTE: if your chosen meatballs have specific baking instructions, feel free to use those instead.
- Serve sweet and sour meatballs immediately with parsley as garnish (optional).fresh chopped parsley
Nutrition
I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.
