These easy Sweet & Sour Meatballs are full of hearty, moist meatballs smothered in a sweet and tangy pineapple sauce. Ready in under 30 minutes, these meatballs are fantastic for any night of the week. Serve these Hawaiian-style meatballs over rice, or spaghetti squash for a healthier alternative.
Okay! Let’s get real for a minute.
How many of us have time [or energy] to make a balanced hot meal every night? I know some nights, who am I kidding, most nights I am reaching for my Instant Pot to do the work for me. After a day chasing and caring for 4 little one’s dinner is usually an afterthought or if I have a “kind of” plan for dinner I forget to thaw the meat. Ugh! Do you have days/nights like this?
These sweet and sour meatballs are great for those not-so-smooth days. I like making these in my Instant Pot from start to finish. I brown the meatballs, cook the sauce on “saute” then finish cooking the meatballs, veggies, and sauce using the manual pressure mode.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot invest in one (they are great!!!) but in the meantime, you can bake these, cook them in a crockpot or right on the stove. You’ll just have to alter the cook time and make sure the meatballs get up to 170 degrees F. before eating.
Recipe Overview:
This meal comes together quickly when using an Instant Pot.
Mix and Portion
I start by mixing the meatball mixture and portioning them out into meatballs. I love using a scoop to portion these out. When I use a size 20 scoop I end up with about 12 large meatballs. When I use a size 40 scoop I get out 20-24 meatballs. If you use this recipe to make sweet & sour meatballs as an appetizer, the 40 scoop is great.
These meatballs would be a fantastic addition to any gameday spread. Just saying! 😉
Sauté The Meatballs
Once I’ve made the meatballs, using the sauté setting on my Instant Pot, I brown the meatballs. You could skip this step and put these right into the pot but I think the browning makes the meatballs look more appealing, hold their shape better and cook faster. The sauté setting is high heat. Make sure you use a spatula to scrap underneath the meatballs before turning. Also, using a ground beef with higher fat is actually better. It keeps the meatball moist and helps with sticking.
Once the meatballs are browned, I pull them out and set them aside.
Make The Sweet And Sour Sauce
I leave the grease in the pot and add the ingredients for the sauce. Make sure you add the cornstarch after the liquid goes in and whisk quickly to avoid clumps.
From here you can put the meatballs and other ingredients right in the pot. I like to pour the sauce into a bowl or large cup, layer the veggies, meatballs and, pineapple then add the sauce on top. Either way, the dish will cook fine and taste delicious. You’ll stir it before serving so it’s not a huge deal.
Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Once all the ingredients and sauce are in the pot, I finish cooking it using manual high-pressure mode for 6 minutes. If the meatballs haven’t been browned (partially cooked) I set the timer for 10 minutes. Once the timer beeps, I release the pressure immediately.
Always check the temperature of your meatballs at this point. The internal temperature of the meatballs should be at or above 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Healthy Alternative To Rice
I like to serve these sweet & sour meatballs over rice or spaghetti squash. If you haven’t tried spaghetti squash you are missing out. It’s a great, healthier alternative to rice or noodles and has a great texture. Ryan, my husband, doesn’t like squash but he’ll eat spaghetti squash especially if it’s smothered in sweet, tangy Hawaiian meatball goodness.
While I’m waiting for meatballs to brown or pressure cook, I cook the spaghetti squash in the microwave. It takes about 7 to 8 minutes per half. Awesome, right?! I’ll put my directions for cooking spaghetti squash in the notes section of the printable recipe card that can be found at the bottom of this post.
These Hawaiian Sweet & Sour Meatballs are definitely a win. When using my Instant Pot, I can make this meal in about 30 minutes. We all need recipes like this in our recipe box, right!?
What’s your favorite way to serve meatballs? I love them as an appetizer or the main dish. Over spaghetti squash has become a favorite. It’s just so darn quick and easy to make and tastes great!
Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe Card:
Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Hawaiian Sweet & Sour Meatballs are full of hearty, moist meatballs smothered in a sweet and tangy pineapple sauce. Ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef, at least 7% fat
- 3/4 cup panko, bread, cracker crumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 large onion, minced or grated
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 20 oz can crushed pineapple (juice for sauce), separate pineapple and juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
- 1 tbsp oil, canola, vegetable, coconut
- 1/2 large onion, large dice
- 1 green bell pepper, large dice (optional)
- crushed pineapple, use juice for sauce
Instructions
Meatballs
- Mix meatball ingredients together. Scoop and form balls. (size 20 scoop will make about 12 large meatballs, size 40 scoop will make about 24 smaller meatballs).
- Turn Instant Pot to "saute." Add 1 tbsp oil. Add meatballs. Using a spatula, scrape bottom and turn. Brown sides.
- Remove meatballs from pot and start on sauce.
Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Drain juice from the pineapple. Use only the juice in the sauce. Save pineapple to add to the pot later.
- Add all ingredients for sauce into Instant Pot. Whisk until cornstarch is dissolved.
- Set Instant Pot to saute. Heat until sauce becomes thick and translucent.
- Pour sauce into large cup or bowl (about 2 cups).
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Layer bell peppers, onions, meatballs, and pineapple in Instant Pot. Pour sauce over.
- Set Instant Pot to Manual high pressure. 6 minutes.
- When timer beeps, release pressure. Stir and serve. Serve over rice, spaghetti squash, or on a toothpick as an appetizer.
Notes
You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months.
Temp a meatball to make sure it's at or above 170 degrees.
You can skip the browning step. Just increase cook time to 10 minutes on MANUAL HIGH.
To cook spaghetti squash in the microwave: Cut squash in half and remove seeds. In a microwave-safe dish add 1/4 inch water. Put squash cut side down in the water. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 7-8 minutes until flesh is softened. Using a fork, "fluff" the squash, it will look like noodles.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 349Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 449mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 3gSugar: 36gProtein: 13g
Originally Published: 01.15.2018 Updated: 03.05.2024