These Sweet and Sour Crockpot Meatballs are made easily with frozen meatballs and cooked low and slow in a mouthwatering sweet and savory sauce! Perfect for parties, game day tailgating, or a fun dinner!
This is one of my Appetizer recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
Party foods are some of my all-time favorites! There’s something so tantalizing about a spicy buffalo chicken dip, a big platter of nachos, or a perfectly pop-able bite sized meatball.
I love this recipe because it’s different than the super popular and common bbq meatballs, but still every bit as delicious, and just as easy!
They’re great to have for a party, but also a fun dinner. Sometimes we serve these alongside some steamed rice, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, or some cheesy roasted broccoli, and it’s quick, easy, and yummy
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- Easily customize-able – we love how easy this recipe is to tweak to your tastes and preferences.
- Affordable – because this recipe uses a lot of pantry staple ingredients that you probably already have on hand, it’s pretty affordable, especially when you buy things on sale.
- Fan-favorite – if you’re serving this at a party, be prepared for these meatballs to go pretty quickly! If you’re serving this as a dinner, your family will be requesting this meal often!
What do I need to make this recipe?
- Pineapple – a classic flavor in sweet and sour recipes, this recipe uses both the pineapple chunks and the juice from the can (just make sure you’re using a can that says 100% juice – you don’t want syrup).
- Cornstarch – this is what thickens the sauce.
- Brown sugar – obviously you need some “sweet” in the sweet and sour sauce, and light brown sugar does the trick.
- Honey – I love the flavor combo of the honey with the brown sugar, but you don’t need too much of this.
- Vinegar – I like to use apple cider vinegar as it has a mild flavor that compliments the other sauce ingredients.
- Soy sauce – since I like to be the one to control the salt level of my food, I prefer to use reduced sodium.
- Ketchup – nothing fancy here, just regular ketchup. Feel free to use your favorite brand and variety (no sugar added, sweetened with honey, etc).
- Bbq sauce – no specific brand is needed for this ingredient, just use your favorite, since you’ll have quite a bit left over.
- Meatballs – the star of the show!
- Peppers – both the red and green bell peppers add some color, as well as a classic flavor/look for sweet and sour dishes.
How to make sweet and sour crockpot meatballs:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Drain juice and make slurry. I like to place a strainer over a mixing bowl, and add the can of pineapple to the strainer, so you can use the juice. Adding the cornstarch to the room temperature juice creates a slurry when you whisk to combine, which is a thickening agent.
- Add sauce ingredients. This is the brown sugar, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, and bbq sauce.
- Add ingredients to slow cooker. Just pour the sauce right over the top and stir well.
- Cook. Cover and cook on low for a few hours, then increase the heat so the sauce can thicken up.
Helpful Tip!
I don’t advise using an Italian seasoned meatball variety for this recipe. I generally pick up a bag of my grocery store’s brand meatballs, in the homestyle variety. Cooked Perfect brand and Trader Joes are some other frozen meatball alternatives as well.
Variations of this recipe
- Meatballs – to save on some time, this recipe uses pre-cooked frozen meatballs, but you can use homemade meatballs if you want. Just sear or partially bake them first, so they hold up well in the slow cooker.
- Thawed – if you have thawed meatballs, you can use those, just cook on LOW for about 2 hours, or HIGH for about an hour (I would stir a couple of times if cooking on high, just to make sure the sauce doesn’t burn).
- Pineapple – instead of canned pineapple, you can use an equal amount of fresh pineapple that you’ve cut into chunks.
- Spicy – if you’d like to add some heat, feel free to add some red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and/or hot sauce or sriracha sauce.
- Sweetness – if you’d like to adjust the amount of sweetness, you can add less or more of the light brown sugar and/or honey.
FAQ’s
Unfortunately I didn’t have the best results when testing freezing this recipe. The sauce ended up really runny and thin. However, if you’d like to try it yourself, you certainly can.
Because of the strong sweet and savory flavor of the sauce, I don’t recommend a flavored meatball (such as an Italian variety). But this recipe works really well with beef, pork, turkey, and chicken meatballs. We love to use our local grocery store’s brand, and Cooked Perfect brand.
Nope, to make things easier and for the sake of quick party prep, this recipe calls for frozen meatballs… no need to thaw. Just toss the meatballs in frozen, add the sauce ingredients, stir, and cook.
Making meatballs ahead of time
Since these meatballs cook in the slow cooker, and there’s no rushing around cooking, I don’t find that I need to make this recipe ahead of time.
If you want to do it, you can make it 1-2 days ahead, and reheat in the slow cooker until hot and bubbly.
Storage
Leftover meatballs should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
More Crockpot Meatball Recipes:
My Favorite Slow Cooker!
While not the one pictured in the photos on this post, when I’m cooking for my family or for a party, this is the slow cooker I use. I really love the handle on the back that holds the lid so you’re not always searching for a place to put it!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 20 oz can pineapple chunks in 100% juice reserving the juice
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 2 Tbsp bbq sauce
- 28 oz bag frozen meatballs I like to use the homestyle or plain variety
- 1 medium green bell pepper chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped into 1 inch pieces
- sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
Drain pineapple
- Place a strainer or mesh sieve over a mixing bowl, and add the contents of the 20 oz can pineapple chunks in 100% juice to drain, reserving the juice.
Make sauce
- To the mixing bowl with the pineapple juice, add 1/4 cup cornstarch and whisk to combine so there are no lumps. Set pineapple aside.
- Add 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/4 cup honey, 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp ketchup, and 2 Tbsp bbq sauce. Whisk to combine.
Assemble
- To the insert of a slow cooker, add 28 oz bag frozen meatballs, 1 medium green bell pepper, 1 medium red bell pepper, and drained pineapple chunks.
- Pour sauce over the top and stir to combine.
Cook
- Cover and cook on LOW for 2 – 3 hours, then take the lid off, increase the heat to HIGH and cook uncovered for an additional 30 – 60 minutes, so the sauce can thicken a bit.
- If the sauce isn't thickening to your liking in the slow cooker, you can transfer the meatballs and sauce to a saucepan, dutch oven, or stockpot and simmer on the stovetop while stirring occasionally. This won't take as long as it would in the slow cooker.
Garnish and serve
- Garnish with sliced green onions if desired, and serve hot.
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Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this recipe will serve approximately 6 people, with each person getting between 4 and 5 oz of meatballs. However, please feel free to divide this recipe up into as many servings as you’d like.
- If you’re using fresh pineapple, you’ll want to buy pineapple juice, and you’ll need about 1 cup.
- This recipe wasn’t tested cooked on HIGH the entire time, so I can’t say if the sauce would get too thick cooking it this way. Use your best judgement if altering the cooking method.
- For larger gatherings, I definitely recommend doubling this recipe.
- Frozen meatballs come in a variety of sizes, but as long as your bag is close to 28 oz, there should be enough sauce.
- Please note that all slow cookers cook a little differently, with some running hotter than others, so all cook times are approximate.
- This recipe was cooked and tested in a standard 6 quart slow cooker, and has not been tested in an electric pressure cooker.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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