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sweet and sour meatballs over rice in white bowl
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5 from 3 votes

Sweet and Sour Meatballs (Crockpot Recipe)

Author: Lisa Kerhin

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Meatballs:

  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 1/4 cups Panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 small onion chopped finely
  • 1 eggs
  • 1/4 plus 1/8 cup ketchup
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar

Ingredients for the Sweet and Sour Sauce:

  • 1 10 oz jar sweet and sour sauce
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 medium red bell pepper chopped (Use what colors you have on hand)
  • 1 medium green bell pepper chopped
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained (you can use crushed too)

Instructions

Instructions for the Meatballs:

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a baking rack on top of the foil.  Spray the rack with nonstick spray.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together ground beef, Panko, onion, eggs, ketchup, and 1/8 cup brown sugar until blended.
  • Form into about 1 inch balls and place on a prepared baking rack.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven and set aside

Instructions for the Sweet and Sour Sauce:

  • Spray inside of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. (Makes for easy clean-up!)
  • Place all sweet and sour sauce ingredients inside the slow cooker and stir to combine
  • Add meatballs and coat them with the sauce. There isn't a lot of sauce, this is normal and okay. As the meatballs simmer in the slow cooker, the vegetables will add a bit more liquid to help create more sauce.  Place lid on slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

Notes

Meatballs can be cooled and then frozen for a later use in this recipe.
You can use frozen meatballs, too if you are short on time. I like to make a double batch of meatballs when I am making them for a recipe and then freeze half for a later use.
You can use ground turkey would be good in place of the ground beef.
Recipe for the sweet and sour sauce adapted from: Six Sisters Stuff