{"id":23788,"date":"2026-09-14T12:49:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T19:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/?p=23788"},"modified":"2026-09-14T12:49:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T19:49:05","slug":"sweet-and-sour-meatballs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/sweet-and-sour-meatballs\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweet-and-sour meatballs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sweet and Sour Meatball Recipe<\/p>\n<p>These meatballs are definitively saucy, so you&#8217;ll be thankful to have something on the side to soak up every drop. I suggest rice or Asian noodles. I served the meatballs and sauce over cooked rice. Simply add steamed or roasted vegetables and the meal is complete.<\/p>\n<p>Ingredients<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 lb lean ground beef<\/li>\n<li>1 large egg<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 cup panko breadcrumbs<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 tsp onion powder<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 tsp garlic powder<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 tsp salt<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 tsp black pepper<\/li>\n<li>1\/3 cup brown sugar<\/li>\n<li>1\/3 cup rice vinegar<\/li>\n<li>3 tbsp ketchup<\/li>\n<li>2 tbsp soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos<\/li>\n<li>1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice, drained, fruit and juice separated<\/li>\n<li>1 tbsp cornstarch<\/li>\n<li>2 bell peppers, any color, seeded and chopped<\/li>\n<li>2 tbsp sliced green onions, for garnish<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Steps<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>To make the meatballs, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.<\/li>\n<li>In a large bowl, combine the 1 lb lean ground beef, 1 large egg, 1\/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1\/2 tsp onion powder, 1\/2 tsp garlic powder, 1\/4 tsp salt, and 1\/4 tsp black pepper. Mix well and shape the mixture into 12 meatballs.<\/li>\n<li>Transfer the meatballs to the prepared pan and bake until browned and cooked through (160 degrees F on a meat thermometer).<\/li>\n<li>While the meatballs cook, make the sauce. In a large skillet, combine the 1\/3 cup brown sugar, 1\/3 cup rice vinegar, 3 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos, and 3\/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice from the can (once drained, you should have about 1 cup of pineapple juice from the can). Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.<\/li>\n<li>In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 tbsp cornstarch and remaining 1\/4 cup pineapple juice. Whisk until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan and return to a simmer.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce the heat to medium low, add the 2 bell peppers, any color, seeded and chopped and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes (or until the meatballs finish cooking). The mixture will have thickened and reduced slightly.<\/li>\n<li>When the meatballs have finished cooking, add them to the sauce with the pineapple chunks. Simmer for 3 minutes to heat through.<\/li>\n<li>Remove from heat, top with 2 tbsp sliced green onions, for garnish and serve.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Notes<\/p>\n<p>To store: Once cool, transfer leftover sweet and sour meatballs and sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. To reheat: transfer everything to a large skillet and set the pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until heated all the way through. If necessary, add a little water to loosen the sauce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sweet and Sour Meatball Recipe These meatballs are definitively saucy, so you&#8217;ll be thankful to have something on the side to soak up every drop. I suggest rice or Asian noodles. I served the meatballs and sauce over cooked rice. Simply add steamed or roasted vegetables and the meal is complete. Ingredients 1 lb lean &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/sweet-and-sour-meatballs\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Sweet-and-sour meatballs&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grandpas-private-collection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23789,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23788\/revisions\/23789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grandpacooks.com\/recipes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}