These easy Hawaiian 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 meatballs over rice, or spaghetti squash for a healthier version.
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 carrying 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 & 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.
You can find the printable recipe HERE or click the link below.
This recipe comes together quickly when using an Instant Pot. 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! 😉
Once I’ve made the meatballs, using the saute 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 saute 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. 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.
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 170 degrees.
I like to sure 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. Sad, I know but he will 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 which can be found HERE.
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!
If you like this recipe, check out these other Instant Pot recipes:
[wds id=”6″]
*This post contains affiliate links. In order to support this blog and continue providing free content, I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. This comes at no cost to you. It just helps me keep the delicious recipes coming. ?
Leave a Reply