Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs is an easy recipe for homemade meatballs and sauce. Ground veal is flavored with fresh ginger, cilantro, scallions and garlic, shaped into mini meatballs and simmered in a homemade sweet and sour sauce. Serve over rice noodles, rice or quinoa for a flavorful easy dinner.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe

This post for Sweet and Sour Meatballs is sponsored by the New York Beef Council. All opinions are my own.

Everyone loves meatballs and you can never have too many meatball recipes. When you think about meatballs, the classic Italian flavors come to mind with a typical marinara sauce. But I changed things up a bit today with new flavor ingredients, a different ground meat and a sauce that's to die for.

First, I'm using ground veal. Have you ever cooked with ground veal? I just love the way it carries any flavors that you add to it and that's precisely why Sweet and Sour Meatballs are bursting with the flavors of fresh ginger, cilantro, scallions and garlic.

Every bite of these tender mini meatballs is filled with a perfect combination of flavors that are intensified with our homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce.

With just a few simple ingredients, a homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce is just minutes away from your table. Simmer the mini meatballs in our homemade sauce and they will cook up to tender perfection. I'm sure you will find this recipe to be "vealy" delicious! (pun intended)

Once you taste how delicious ground veal is, you will want to make more recipes with veal. The Veal Made Easy web site is brimming with fabulous veal recipes and information and will quickly become your go-to for everything veal!

 

How to serve mini meatballs with sweet and sour sauce

These flavorful sweet and sour meatballs with pineapple chunks are so versatile they can be served over: 

• rice noodles
• white or brown rice
• quinoa
• cauliflower rice

Will you be entertaining? Then you'll want to serve Sweet and Sour Meatballs to your guests too but not as an entree. You can even serve this recipe as an appetizer!

I make commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Just arrange a meatball, pineapple chunk and cilantro leaf on a fancy bamboo skewer and serve with the remaining sweet and sour sauce as a dipping sauce. Your guests will love these personal bites of deliciousness!

All about Veal FAQs

Is veal a good source of protein?

Yes, a 3-ounce serving of veal is an excellent source of protein. A 3-ounce serving of cooked veal provides 27 grams of protein.

Is veal easy to prepare?

Yes, veal is easy to prepare and can be prepared in many ways including sautéing, stir frying, grilling, stewing and braising. Sweet and Sour Meatballs cooks by simmering in a sauce.

What does veal taste like?

Veal has delicate flavor, is versatile and compatible with many seasonings and flavor profiles.

Visiting a veal calf farm

I was recently invited to a veal immersion tour by the New York Beef Council. It was such an eye opening education on how veal calves are raised and it is totally different from the old fashioned ideas I had in my head.

Along with other food bloggers and culinary instructors, I toured Provitello Farms, a veal farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Veal calves arrive at the farm when they are about 10 days old. They are raised in outdoor pens where they are able to enjoy the fresh air and room to grow. As more calves arrive the groups are moved along to additional pens, including indoor barns that are naturally ventilated, still with room to move around and be together. Click here to read all about how veal calves are raised.

The veal calves at Provitello are fed specially formulated milk replacer and grain and each calf is monitored closely to ensure good health and growth. Veal calves are harvested at the age of 6 months when they weigh approximately 500 pounds.

Take a tour of the farm with this video and I’m sure you’ll be just as impressed as I was!

How to make sweet and sour meatballs

For the sauce:

1. Drain the pineapple chunks and juice. Save the pineapple chunks for later. Stir drained juice and cornstarch together until smooth.
2. Combine pineapple juice, brown sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce and cornstarch mixture in medium saucepot and bring to a boil.
3. Boil 1 minute until thickened, stirring frequently.

For the Meatballs:

1. Combine ground veal, breadcrumbs, egg, scallions, cilantro, ginger, garlic and kosher salt and shape into 30 mini meatballs.
2. Carefully place meatballs in the sauce.
3. Simmer over medium-low heat until meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
4. Add reserved pineapple chunks.
5. Garnish with sliced scallions and cilantro leaves.

Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips

• Make meatballs with ground chicken
• Make meatballs with ground turkey
• Serve as an appetizer
• Substitute orange juice for the pineapple juice

Ingredients you will need to make this recipe

• canned pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice
• cornstarch
• pineapple juice
• dark brown sugar
• apple cider vinegar
• water
• soy sauce
• ground veal
• seasoned breadcrumbs
• egg
• scallions
• cilantro
• fresh ginger
• garlic
• kosher salt

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