Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Pineapple

Comforting, tender, and crazy delicious, these Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Pineapple flavored sauce are perfect served over rice, pasta or as an appetizer. They are guaranteed to become your new favorites!

Let me share an observation with you, guys. I won’t say anything new but that’s something I have understood only lately. Especially when I went to Tenerife. Back in Lithuania I started following some sort of a diet. Not a diet actually, more like a healthier lifestyle. I knew that it’s perfectly possible to lose weight and keep up a good form without torturing yourself with super strict rules. Everything you have to do is eat more often but in smaller portions plus eat less sauces, flour products, desserts, etc. It has been going really well for me and I lost some pounds without breaking a sweat.

However, when we moved to Tenerife, I understood another important thing I wasn’t able to catch back home. It’s VERY IMPORTANT to always have food ready for you. In other words: MEAL PREP BABY. It can be quite a mission when you are on vacation but it has to be done in order to keep up with your diet. With all the sightseeing, I am moving more, sweating more, and my appetite is better then ever. If I know that there is no food at home… Well, hello Mcdonalds or other diet killing place! I ate more buns and desserts here already than in the last few months back home. Oops.

More Reasons to Meal Prep

Ok, so preparing meals in advance helps you to stay more disciplined. What else?

• You will save money. First of all you won’t spend tons of money in restaurants. Also, meal prep will save you money because you’ll be able to buy items in bulk.
• You will save time. It’s easier to cook things in bulk for a couple of days in advance than cook something for lunch, do the dishes, then cook for dinner, do the dishes again, etc.
• You will know for sure what you are eating. First, you can measure a portion you need by counting calories (I am now posting nutrition facts under every post so I’m making all the counting for you – you are welcome!). Second, you LITERALLY don’t know what you are getting at Mcdonalds. Like seriously. It’s better not to think what’s inside of that burger!

You see, if your vacation is like a week long it’s perfectly fine to relax and have everything you want to. My stay is a little bit longer, though. 3 months. I don’t even want to imagine how I’ll look like if I will keep munching on fast food. That’s why I’m back on track with cooking healthier stuff and writing about it. Excited! Thank god we always stay in apartments with a kitchen so it’s not a problem at all.

Today I want to talk about these gorgeous Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Pineapple. This time I didn’t stuff pineapple inside and used the juice and the chunks in the sauce. Oh and don’t let that beautiful pineapple in the photos confuse you. This recipe uses canned fruit but I just couldn’t resist an opportunity to buy and throw this little pineapple into the photoshoot. We don’t have such cuties in my country!

The meat used for these meatballs is beef but feel free to use any you like. I already had turkey meatballs, chicken meatballs, and combined pork and beef meatballs on the blog so I went with beef this time.

The sauce in which the meatballs simmer is heavenly. All the ingredients combine together to create a mind-blowing flavor. The addition of green bell pepper and carrots is lovely too!

Let me tell you how to eat these sweet and sour meatballs with pineapple. Spear a meatball with a fork and drown it generously in the sauce. Then spear a pineapple chunk, a piece of bell pepper, and a bit of the carrot. Put all this goodness into your mouth, close your eyes, and enjoy… Let the flavors transport you to Asia (that’s where a sweet and sour sauce comes from)… So delicious!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Pineapple

First baked in an oven and then simmered in a pineapple packed sweet and sour sauce, these meatballs are great served over rice, pasta, or as an appetizer!

5 from 7 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 412kcal

Author: Yummy Addiction

Recipe Video

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 2 lb (900g) lean ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar

For the sweet and sour sauce:

• 1 20 oz. (600ml) can pineapple chunks drained, juice reserved
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 carrot , diced
• 1 green bell pepper , diced

Instructions

The meatballs:

• Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, onion, ginger, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
• Shape into balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

The sweet and sour sauce:

• In a large pot, add the reserved pineapple juice (if it's less than 1 cup, add some water), another 1/3 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, ground ginger, and salt. Stir until smooth, cover, and cook until thickened.
• Add the pineapple chunks, carrot, green bell pepper and the meatballs. Toss to coat the meatballs with the sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over the rice or pasta. Enjoy!

Notes

Adapted from Nibbles and Bites: Healthy and Elegant Appetizer Recipes for Entertaining by Valerie Renee Campbell

Nutrition

Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 45.6g | Protein: 26.9g | Fat: 13.3g | Cholesterol: 113.7mg | Sodium: 1017.5mg | Sugar: 27.5g | Vitamin A: 500IU | Vitamin C: 64.4mg