Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs is an easy recipe for mini meatballs 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.

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

Jump to:

• Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe
• How to serve mini meatballs with sweet and sour sauce
• All about Veal FAQs
• How to make sweet and sour meatballs
• Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips
• Substitutions
• Ingredients
• Related Recipes 
• Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe

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.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs is an easy recipe for homemade meatballs and sauce. Ground veal, or your favorite ground meat, is flavored with fresh ginger, cilantro, scallions and garlic, shaped into mini meatballs and simmered in a homemade sweet and sour sauce.

Yes, 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.

Ground chicken or ground turkey will also work in this recipe and let the stir-in flavors shine through.

If you prefer using ground beef, the flavor will be delicious but the beefy flavor will also be prominent.

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

Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below

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

Substitutions

• Use ground chicken, ground turkey or ground beef in place of ground veal.
• Light brown sugar can be used instead of dark brown sugar.
• Finely minced yellow onion or red onion can replace scallions.

Ingredients

• 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

Related Recipes 

If you love meatballs the way I love meatballs, then you will love them on a pizza, in a soup and on a roll just to name a few ways! You can always substitute ground veal for the ground beef in these recipes.

Did you know that you can have your spaghetti and meatballs and eat your pizza too with Deep Dish Spaghetti & Meatball Pizza?  The kids will love this pizza for sure!

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup is a fun twist on the all-time favorite comfort food. All the elements of a traditional spaghetti and meatball dinner, spaghetti, meatballs and tomatoes, are combined in a bowl of soup! An easy recipe that's on the table in less than 30 minutes and so much fun for kids too!

Baked Meatballs Parmesan is a cheesy, saucy, beefy recipe that will warm you up tonight! Serve over pasta or zucchini noodles, on a long roll as a meatball hero or just on it's own with a salad! The choice is yours. so shape those meatballs, smother them with sauce and let them bake themselves in the oven. dinner will taste so good tonight!

You’re going to love that this Italian Wedding Soup recipe is a cinch to make with store bought meatballs and baby spinach! It’s a homemade soup that's ready in about 30 minutes!

Basil Provolone Meatball Heroes is a sandwich recipe for homemade meatballs that simmer in a marinara sauce. Top with provolone cheese and fresh basil for a sandwich filled with the flavors of Italy.

Get out your slow cooker for these Cranberry Sweet & Sour Meatballs. Simply put frozen meatballs in your favorite slow cooker, top with just a few ingredients and let them cook themselves. You’ll end up with amazingly saucy meatballs that your guests will go crazy over! Bet you can’t eat just one!