meatballs Archives - The Recipe Rebel Tue, 06 Feb 2024 02:26:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.thereciperebel.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/cropped-pwa-32x32.png meatballs Archives - The Recipe Rebel 32 32 Sweet and Sour Crockpot Meatballs + VIDEO https://www.thereciperebel.com/sweet-and-sour-crockpot-meatballs-video/ https://www.thereciperebel.com/sweet-and-sour-crockpot-meatballs-video/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2021 06:42:00 +0000 https://www.thereciperebel.com/?p=12171 These Sweet and Sour Crockpot Meatballs are made with fresh or frozen meatballs and covered in the best pineapple sweet…

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These Sweet and Sour Crockpot Meatballs are made with fresh or frozen meatballs and covered in the best pineapple sweet and sour sauce! An easy slow cooker meal!

See the full step by step video down in the recipe card.

Love slow cooker meals? You’ll also like this Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef, this Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup or these 30+ Easy Crockpot Meals!

overhead image of crockpot meatballs with pineapples and peppers

Let me tell you, we are big meatball lovers year round but there is just something about a cool day that make me crave them like crazy!

More often than not, it’s these Sweet and Sour Crockpot Meatballs that are hitting the table (no crockpot? Check out my stovetop Sweet and Sour Meatballs here!).

The sweet and sour combo is one that just never gets old around here, especially if they’re loaded with pineapple and peppers (if we throw some veggies in we can call it dinner, right??).

I also love how versatile meatballs are.

They can stand alone as an appetizer (one that leaves you free to enjoy the party!), or be served over rice or noodles or mashed potatoes — that sweet, sticky sauce is good on so many things!

Got pork? Try this Sweet and Sour Pork instead!

ladle scooping crockpot meatballs out of slow cooker

Some of our other favorite ways to serve up meatballs?

These Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs with a creamy gravy (I have a stovetop version here too!), classic Spaghetti and Meatballs or cook up a batch of Air Fryer Meatballs and munch them straight out of the basket!

I will usually try to stock up on lean ground beef when it’s on sale and make a giant batch of meatballs for the freezer so I know what’s going into our bellies, but sometimes, life is crazy and that just doesn’t happen.

Frozen, store bought meatballs to the rescue!

How to choose frozen meatballs:

  • Read the ingredient list. I know it seems obvious, but I think a lot of people don’t. Meatballs, especially if they’re frozen, don’t need to include a lot of random, weird ingredients you can’t pronounce. Look for something made with the basics: meat, bread crumbs, seasonings. Grocery stores sometimes even sell their own variety made in store, which are often made with just ground meat.
  • Go big. Even if you don’t use them all for this one recipe, buying a large bag will get you a better deal overall and you can stash the rest in the freezer for a crazy day down the road. We all know they’re coming!
  • If you’re looking for healthier options, look for frozen turkey or chicken meatballs, or meatballs with lower sodium.
  • Look for frozen meatballs without extra sauce, so you can add your own flavors and do them up however you want!
close up image of sweet and sour crockpot meatballs on a plate of rice

Tips for Cooking Frozen Meatballs in the Crockpot:

  • Don’t thaw. It will be easier to stir them into the sauce if they are still firm and frozen, resulting in a better texture overall.
  • Don’t stir — often. And this goes for fresh meatballs as well. If you stir too often, you are losing a lot of heat from the slow cooker, but you’re also going to end up mashing them and your meatballs won’t be balls anymore. You will have sweet and sour meat sauce.
  • Don’t overcook. Meatballs, particularly if they’re precooked, really don’t need much cook time. If you overcook, you risk ending up with — you guessed it — sweet and sour meat sauce.

Variations on these Crockpot Meatballs:

  • These Sweet and Sour Meatballs are naturally dairy-free and gluten-free provided that the meatballs you choose are gluten-free. Please double check all of your ingredients to make sure.
  • You can use store bought or homemade meatballs for this recipe. This is our favorite homemade meatball recipe if you’re looking for one.
  • You can use fresh or frozen meatballs for this recipe, and I’ve included approximate cook times for both in the recipe. I actually prefer to use frozen, because they hold together really well in the slow cooker, but either works just fine.
  • If you’re not a fan of sweet and sour sauce (or pineapple, or peppers…) you can make some adjustments to the recipe to suit your tastes. Keep in mind that if you’re removing sweetness, or seasoning, you’ll likely want to replace it with something else.
overhead image of sweet and sour meatballs on a plate of rice

How to prep these Sweet and Sour Meatballs ahead:

  • If you’re making homemade meatballs, that is a great thing to prep ahead of time and keep refrigerated or frozen until you need it, since it can be a time consuming process.
  • The sweet and sour sauce can be stirred together and refrigerated for several days before using — just give it a good stir before adding to the crockpot!
  • Earlier in the day or the night before, you can combine the sauce with the peppers in the slow cooker, and add in the meatballs just before cooking. If you’re using fresh refrigerated meatballs, you can let them hang out in the crockpot the day before, too.
  • You can cook the entire meal ahead and simply reheat throughout the week — I don’t recommend reheating in the slow cooker as they may break apart quite easily.
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Sweet and Sour Crockpot Meatballs

These Sweet and Sour Crockpot Meatballs are an easy appetizer or dinner! Made with fresh or frozen meatballs, homemade or store bought, and covered in the best pineapple sweet and sour sauce! 
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings 5 servings
Calories 495cal

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup tomato ketchup
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 25 frozen beef meatballs
  • 398 ml canned pineapple chunks with juice about 2 cups with pineapple and juice
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into 1/2" chunks
  • 1 green bell pepper cut into 1/2" chunks

Instructions

  • Whisk together sugar, vinegar, ketchup, corn starch, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a medium bowl.
  • Place meatballs, peppers and pineapple with juice in a 4 quart slow cooker (anywhere from 3-6 is fine). Top with sauce mixture and stir.
  • Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, or high for 2-3 hours, until meatballs are heated through and sauce is thickened and bubbly. Serve immediately over rice, noodles, or as an appetizer.

Video

Notes

*This recipe will easily serve 5 adults for dinner, or more if you’re serving these with another protein or as an appetizer. This allows for 5 meatballs for a dinner portion.

Nutrition

Calories: 495cal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 475mg | Potassium: 489mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 68g | Vitamin A: 1001IU | Vitamin C: 59mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

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Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and Noodles https://www.thereciperebel.com/instant-pot-swedish-meatballs/ https://www.thereciperebel.com/instant-pot-swedish-meatballs/#comments Mon, 14 Oct 2019 06:14:52 +0000 https://www.thereciperebel.com/?p=14144 These Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and Noodles are an easy one pot meal made in the pressure cooker! Made in…

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These Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and Noodles are an easy one pot meal made in the pressure cooker! Made in 30 minutes or less.

instant pot swedish meatballs and noodles on white plate with fresh parsley

It’s officially fall and I’m craving all the comfort food!

Hearty casseroles, carbs and creamy sauces are all back on the table and no one around here is upset.

These Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs are really the perfect fall meal — it’s a complete meal in one with no other pots required, plus we’re skipping the hard part and using store bought meatballs (so that you can still get a good meal on the table in between running the kids from one activity to the next).

If you do want to make your own meatballs, check out my favorite Homemade Meatball recipe!

This is my second one pot Instant Pot meatballs recipe, the first being these Honey Garlic Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes which we love, but are a little trickier because they require the pot-in-pot pressure cooker method, even though they both cook for exactly the same time.

Meatballs are just one of my favorite meals altogether, regardless of season and sauce and what we’re serving them over.

instant pot swedish meatballs in pressure cooker with metal spoon in pot

How to make the best Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and Noodles:

  1. Choose good ingredients — this seems like a no-brainer, but really, when we’re using just a few ingredients in a recipe, you need to pick ingredients you enjoy.
  2. Choose low sodium beef broth — if you use regular broth this recipe will be very salty! Using low sodium sauces lets you control how much salt goes in
  3. Don’t overcook — pasta in the Instant Pot cooks incredibly fast. Normally, I do short cuts of pasta for 2 minutes but I give this recipe an extra minute to ensure the meatballs are heated through.
  4. Quick release — for al dente pasta, you don’t want to let your pasta cook any longer once the cook time is up. For this reason, pasta in the Instant Pot is always a quick release, which means you open the valve to release the pressure right away. If you tend to prefer your pasta with a softer texture, you can wait 5 minutes before opening the valve.
instant pot meatballs on white plate on white background with fork stuck in noodles

Tips for buying great store-bought frozen meatballs:

I know, I know — go ahead and judge.

But store bought frozen meatballs can make me feel like a superhero on those days where I had no dinner plan and the fridge was empty.

They are easily transformed into something amazing like these Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs with just a few ingredients, but you want to make sure you choose good meatballs to begin with.

A lot of store bought frozen meatballs are filled with weird ingredients and filler — you want to check the package for ingredients you can mostly pronounce. The shorter ingredient list the better!

Generally I’ve found with frozen meatballs that the cheapest bag is not what you want to be eating. You might have to spend a little bit more or watch for them on sale (or try Costco or somewhere you can buy a lot at a lower price).

Many stores also have fresh rolled meatballs, which will still require sauteeing in the pressure cooker but it will save you a step.

instant pot swedish meatballs with pressure cooker in the background on white plate

Tools you’ll need for these Instant Pot meatballs:

  • an Instant Pot (I use a 6 quart smart Instant Pot, but this recipe should work fine in all)
  • I haven’t used any other brand of electric pressure cooker, so I can’t say how they would function differently
  • No other special equipment required — just dump and go!

More Instant Pot Recipes you’ll love:

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Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and Noodles

These Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and Noodles are an easy one pot meal made in the pressure cooker! Made in 30 minutes or less.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Total Time 8 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 470cal

Ingredients

  • 1 lb beef meatballs frozen or thawed
  • 2 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 cups extra broad egg noodles (140g)
  • 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch

Instructions

  • Place meatballs in the Instant Pot with beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir until spices are combined.
  • Add noodles, spread into an even layer and press down gently but do not stir — they will not be completely submerged and that is fine.
  • Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing, and select Manual or Pressure Cook for 3 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
  • When the cook time is over, do a quick release and open the valve to release the pressure (for noodles with a softer texture, you can allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes before opening the valve). The noodles may appear dry on top — this is FINE. Stir them into the meatballs.
  • Whisk together cream and corn starch and stir into meatballs. Turn the Instant Pot to saute and cook and stir just until sauce has thickened (and at this point, all noodles will be perfect 🙂 )

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 470cal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 690mg | Potassium: 768mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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Instant Pot Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes + VIDEO https://www.thereciperebel.com/instant-pot-meatballs-and-mashed-potatoes/ https://www.thereciperebel.com/instant-pot-meatballs-and-mashed-potatoes/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2019 06:43:49 +0000 https://www.thereciperebel.com/?p=12627 These Instant Pot Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes cook together at the same time in the pressure cooker! The pot in…

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These Instant Pot Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes cook together at the same time in the pressure cooker! The pot in pot method makes this the easiest 30 minute dinner you’ve ever made!

I am crazy for meatballs.

Obviously, it was time to branch out to Instant Pot meatballs, and marry two of my big loves.

instant pot meatballs and mashed potatoes overhead on a white plate on marble background

I made Instant Pot meatballs once, using a recipe out of a cookbook by a well-respected name in cooking, and they were horrible.

The recipe called for putting fresh beef meatballs into the Instant Pot with the liquid, and then pressure cooking. So the meatballs were steamed, and rather unappetizing.

If you ask me (and you’re here, so I’m going to go ahead and assume you are asking me), there are only two ways to do Instant Pot meatballs but there is a third method that I haven’t tried.

How to make the best Instant Pot Meatballs: Two Ways

1. Precooked, frozen meatballs (store bought or homemade):

If I’m really on the ball, I will buy a big batch of ground beef when it’s on sale and have an epic meatball-making day to stock the freezer.

Lately, I have not been on the ball.

Enter the store bought frozen meatballs.

Honestly, either will do, it’s just a matter of time and personal preference. The recipe below includes full directions for making Instant Pot Meatballs with frozen beef meatballs, so head on down there 😉

instant pot meatballs close up on mashed potatoes on a white plate

2. Homemade, fresh meatballs:

If you are using fresh meatballs (check out this meatballs recipe for my easy homemade version), you need to brown them first. There are a couple ways you can do this.

You can turn your Instant Pot to saute, add a bit of oil, and brown the meatballs in your Instant Pot before removing to your pot to continue pressure cooking with sauce. If you do it this way, you will need to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot well before adding your potatoes or you may get a burn warning.

You can also bake your meatballs on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, just until browned all the way around, before continuing with the recipe. You don’t need to alter the recipe or cook time if using fresh meatballs that you have browned.

Can I make these Instant Pot meatballs with tomato sauce?

Absolutely you can swap out the sauce in the pot, as long as you’re using the pot in pot method.

If you want to cook meatballs right in the Instant Pot and skip the potatoes, you need to be careful because too thick a sauce will not cook properly and result in a burn warning as well.

instant pot meatballs with honey garlic sauce on grey plate on blue background in front of an instant pot

Variations on these Instant Pot Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes:

  • To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free meatballs and double check all of your ingredient packaging.
  • To make this recipe dairy free, skip the milk and butter in the mashed potatoes and opt for vegan margarine or non dairy milk.
  • You can lighten up this recipe by mashing the potatoes with chicken broth and a bit of margarine, and using turkey or chicken meatballs instead of beef.

Tools you’ll need for this recipe:

  • I use a 6 quart Instant Pot for this recipe (mine has bluetooth, but I don’t think it’s necessary). An 8 quart should work fine, but you may want to add additional chicken broth to the potatoes because I understand the minimum cooking liquid is higher for the 8 quart Instant Pot. For this reason, you may find you want to drain some before mashing (though not totally necessary).
  • You will also need a pressure cooker safe pot you can place inside the Instant Pot on top of the potatoes. In this recipe, I used my Fat Daddio’s 7″ cake pan with removable bottom, but a regular cake pan will be slightly easier to use because you don’t have to line it with foil first.
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Instant Pot Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes

These Instant Pot Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes cook together at the same time in the pressure cooker! The pot in pot method makes this the easiest 30 minute dinner you’ve ever made! 
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 706cal

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2″ – 3/4″ cubes
  • 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 pinch red chili flakes optional
  • 1 lb beef meatballs cooked and frozen
  • 1/4 cup 1% milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

  • Place potatoes in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
  • Add chicken broth, parsley, salt and pepper and stir until combined.
  • Place meatballs into a 7″ pressure cooker safe round dish (I use a cake pan, see notes above), lining with foil if necessary to prevent leaks.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together ketchup, honey, soy sauce, garlic and red chili flakes if using. Pour over meatballs in dish and place directly on top of potatoes (you can use a trivet or rack if you prefer and if it fits with the lid!)
  • Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing and select Manual or Pressure Cook. Set the cook time for 8 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to build pressure and begin counting down.
  • When the cook time is over, let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes, then open the valve to release remaining pressure.
  • Remove pan with meatballs. Add butter and milk to potatoes and mashed until smooth.
  • Serve mashed potatoes with meatballs and sauce.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 706cal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 1953mg | Potassium: 1591mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 510IU | Vitamin C: 30.5mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 9.3mg

Tried this recipe?

Tag @thereciperebel or hashtag #thereciperebel —
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Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs Recipe + VIDEO https://www.thereciperebel.com/slow-cooker-cranberry-meatballs-recipe-video/ https://www.thereciperebel.com/slow-cooker-cranberry-meatballs-recipe-video/#comments Fri, 29 Dec 2017 06:58:11 +0000 https://www.thereciperebel.com/?p=8499 These Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs are sweet and tangy with a little spice — the perfect holiday appetizer or easy…

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These Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs are sweet and tangy with a little spice — the perfect holiday appetizer or easy weeknight dinner! Includes step by step recipe video

PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER

overhead long image of cranberry meatballs in white crockpot

Recipe posted first on The Recipe Critic.

I don’t know if you can understand how much I love meatballs. Seriously, you guys — they’re right up there as one of my favorite dinners. Pineapple Brown Sugar Meatballs or spaghetti and meatballs or sweet and sour meatballs, I’ll take them all. With rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes, it doesn’t even matter.

Just pass me the bowl and nobody gets hurt.

blue plate with white rice and cranberry meatballs on top with crockpot in the background

So maybe it’s a little strange then that I’ve only ever shared exactly one meatball recipe here on The Recipe Rebel. I had to change it.

I love when I can find lean ground beef on sale. I’ll buy it in bulk and just make up a huge batch of meatballs to store in the freezer for those days when dinner is the last thing on your mind (um, hello — pretty much every day with a newborn baby!).

But sometimes you run out (maybe we’ve had too many of those days??) or just don’t get around to it, and store-bought meatballs work just fine. There will be no judging here — I’m just lucky if I can get out of my pyjamas and into the shower on a regular basis!

I try to look for packaged meatballs with minimal ingredients. Often you can find some in the meat section of the grocery store that just need to be pan-fried or baked before throwing in the slow cooker, and you know they’re pretty fresh.

The cranberry sauce and balsamic vinegar is a combination you definitely don’t want to miss — it’s sweet and tangy and makes the most glorious, thick, red sauce that’s perfect over mashed potatoes or rice (or spooned straight into your mouth if that’s your style).

close up image of cranberry meatballs on white rice on blue plate

Tips and Tricks for Making these Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs:

  • I love my 2.5 quart slow cooker for recipes like this — it heats up nice and quickly but there’s still lots of room. It’s the perfect size for small dinner recipes or holiday or game day appetizers.
  • If you want to lighten this recipe up a bit, feel free to use turkey or chicken meatballs and add extra veggies — perfect for a quick, healthy dinner!
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These Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs are sweet and tangy with a little spice -- the perfect holiday appetizer or easy weeknight dinner! Includes step by step recipe video | slow cooker recipe | crockpot recipe | crock pot | dinner | easy recipe | Christmas | thanksgiving | game day | football | party food | #slowcookerrecipes
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Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs Recipe

These Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs are sweet and tangy with a little spice — the perfect holiday appetizer or easy weeknight dinner!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 253cal

Ingredients

  • 1 348ml can jellied cranberry sauce
  • 1/4 cup liquid honey
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup low sodium beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • pinch of red pepper flakes optional, for spice
  • 1 lb precooked beef meatballs

Instructions

  • In a 2-4 quart slow cooker, whisk together cranberry sauce, honey, vinegar, broth, corn starch, garlic, salt and pepper flakes until combined (may still have a few lumps).
  • Add the meatballs and stir to coat.
  • Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours, until meatballs are heated through and sauce has thickened.
  • Serve alone as an appetizer or over rice or mashed potatoes.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 253cal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 250mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.8mg

Tried this recipe?

Tag @thereciperebel or hashtag #thereciperebel —
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Slow Cooker Pineapple Brown Sugar Meatballs https://www.thereciperebel.com/slow-cooker-pineapple-brown-sugar-meatballs/ https://www.thereciperebel.com/slow-cooker-pineapple-brown-sugar-meatballs/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2016 06:43:29 +0000 https://www.thereciperebel.com/?p=4856 These Pineapple Brown Sugar Meatballs are smothered in a homemade BBQ sauce and cook in the slow cooker, making them an…

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These Pineapple Brown Sugar Meatballs are smothered in a homemade BBQ sauce and cook in the slow cooker, making them an easy game day appetizer, weeknight meal, or holiday potluck offering!

Thank you Reynolds and Socialstars for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own #ReynoldsCrowd™

white bowl with pineapple brown sugar meatballs with toothpicks stuck in meatballs

I just have to get this out first: I am obsessed with these Slow Cooker liners from Reynolds. Mostly because I LOVE my slow cooker but hate cleaning it. You get that, right?

So when I was offered the chance to feature them in some recipes, I couldn’t say no. My kitchen was already fully stocked with the liners  and I know I’m not the only one who loves a good slow cooker recipe (these Slow Cooker Honey Sriracha Chicken Tacos or this Honey Balsamic Pulled Pork would also be great for game day!)

ingredients for pineapple brown sugar meatballs including meatballs pineapple peppers sauce and slow cooker liners

I have been going through a meatball phase since the beginning of December. Maybe because meatballs seem to appear around the holidays a lot, or maybe because I hadn’t made them much lately because they can be a little time consuming, but I’ve become thoroughly obsessed.

The trick is to make a huge batch and get your freezer stocked up, because having meatballs in the freezer makes meal times so much easier (and tastier!).

So that’s what I did. More than once.

overhead image of large slow cooker with meatballs and sauce in a slow cooker liner

And now I have a freezer full of meatballs, and my heart — and stomach — are happy. Clearly, my first slow cooker recipe had to a meatball recipe. I was toying with a bunch of different flavor combinations, but in the end I went back to this Pineapple Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce. It is completely my own creation, and it has gotten some great reviews from readers who’ve made it. Since I love pineapple with my meatballs, I knew it was going to be a great match.

I don’t really have a meatball recipe that I use on a regular basis. Normally, I add one egg for each pound of ground beef, and about ¼ cup of bread crumbs, salt and pepper. I don’t get too fancy at all. If you really want to make things quick and easy, feel free to grab a package of frozen meatballs and use those instead.

So there you have it — the Very First Meatball Recipe on The Recipe Rebel. It’s a big day, right?!? Do yourself a favor and make these for your next game day party, weeknight dinner (serve them up with some instant rice!), holiday potluck, birthday party, whatever. Just do it! And don’t forget to pick up some slow cooker liners so you can have a little giggle when you see the others soaking and scrubbing their slow cookers while you whip out the liner and trash it.

close up image of pineapple brown sugar meatballs in slow cooker with colored toothpicks

Follow Reynolds on Pinterest and find more great slow cooker recipes here!

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Slow Cooker Pineapple Brown Sugar Meatballs

These Pineapple Brown Sugar Meatballs are smothered in a homemade BBQ sauce and cook in the slow cooker, making them an easy game day appetizer, weeknight meal, or holiday potluck offering!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 298cal

Ingredients

Pineapple Brown Sugar Sauce:

  • cup pineapple juice
  • 1 ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
  • 1 ½ cups ketchup
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛-¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicy!)

Meatballs:

  • 2 lbs precooked or browned beef meatballs* (fresh or frozen)
  • 2 medium bell peppers (cut into 1/2" pieces)
  • cups pineapple chunks (fresh or canned, drained)
  • Sliced green onion or parsley for garnish

Instructions

  • Whisk together pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, corn starch, garlic, onion powder, salt and red pepper flakes.
  • Place meatballs, peppers and pineapple chunks in a 4 quart or larger slow cooker.
  • Pour sauce mixture over top and stir until combined.
  • Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until thickened. Taste and serve.

Notes

Ingredients and Substitutions:
  • Pineapple juice: I love the pineapple flavor in here with the pineapple chunks, but you can substitute for apple or orange juice for a different flavor. 
  • Brown Sugar: any sweetener will work here and you can reduce it to suit your tastes if you like your sauce less sweet. 
  • Ketchup: ketchup adds rich tomato flavor, sweetness and tang. You can swap it for crushed tomatoes, but you will want to add sweetness, acidity and seasonings to compensate. 
  • Meatballs: my homemade Easy Meatball Recipe or these Turkey Meatballs work great in this recipe, but you can also use frozen, store bought meatballs in a pinch. I like to add my meatballs to this recipe frozen (homemade or store bought) so that they don’t fall apart while slow cooking. 
  • Vegetables: feel free to mix up the veggies and clean out your fridge! Onions, snap peas and carrots are great in here. 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 298cal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 655mg | Potassium: 484mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 1280IU | Vitamin C: 52.8mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1.5mg

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