Pineapple Meatballs are an easy to make appetizer or the main dish. You’ll want to pour the pineapple sauce on everything!
This recipe takes Classic Beef Meatballs and adds extra sweet and tangy flavor with a fresh pineapple sauce. It’s the perfect flavor-packed Appetizer to serve at your next potluck or party!
Sabrina’s Pineapple Meatballs Recipe
Pineapple Meatballs are great to serve at a party or potluck. They make a great appetizer or you can even serve it up as the main dish during the week. The pineapple adds a sweet tangy flavor that will have everyone going back for more.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Meatball Recipe:
- 3 slices bread
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/2 yellow onion , minced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , divided
- 2 pounds ground beef , (80/20)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Pineapple Sauce:
- 1 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 cups pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cups pineapple chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking pan with vegetable oil spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add the milk and slices of bread.
- Melt the butter in a pan and add the minced yellow onions. Cook on medium-low until translucent but not browned.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- In your bowl with the milk-soaked bread add the rest of the meatball ingredients including the cooked onions.
- Mix on low until the bread is broken apart and the meat is combined with the ingredients (use the stand mixer instead of your hands to help keep the mixture cold and tender).
- Using a meatballer/ice cream scoop or your hands scoop the meat mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball.
- Cook, uncovered, for 20-22 minutes.
- While the meatballs are cooking, in a large pot add the brown sugar, cornstarch, pineapple juice, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and pineapple chunks.
- Stir well then turn on heat to medium-high.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove meatballs from baking sheet and add to sauce.
- Cook for 1 minute until well coated.
Nutrition
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Table of contents
About This Recipe
This meatball recipe is made with a smoky, and tangy pineapple sauce which gives the whole recipe a wonderful tropical taste. Pineapple Meatballs are perfect to serve as an appetizer for parties during the summer. The pineapple taste is wonderfully refreshing to enjoy on a hot day, and it’s a fun way to change up traditional meatballs. If you like the taste of this savory and sweet pineapple dish, you should also try my Pineapple Ham Casserole.
How to Store
- Serve: Don’t leave cooked meatballs at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: Once they’ve cooled to room temperature, transfer meatballs to an airtight container to store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: You could also store frozen meatballs for 3 months.
Ideas to Serve
You can also make these homemade meatballs into the main course for a weeknight meal. Just plate them with filling side dishes like Brown Rice, Roasted Vegetables, and Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad. It makes a filling and flavorful dinner. Plus, the tangy pineapple sauce would go great with the rice and veggies. It’s so good you’ll want to pour it over everything!
Variations
- Add-ins: There are plenty of simple ingredients you can add to the recipe for some extra flavor. Try adding green onions, green peppers, shredded carrots, or shredded cheese. You could also add seasonings like fresh ginger, paprika, or red pepper flakes.
- BBQ pineapple sauce: Another fun way to experiment with the flavor is by replacing the Worcestershire sauce in the pineapple mixture with Tangy Barbecue Sauce.
- Lightened meatballs: If you want to make a slightly healthier meatball dish, you can use lean ground beef to replace the regular meat. You can also decrease the amount of brown sugar in the sauce. Just test the taste, and add more if necessary.
- Chicken: Another way to make a leaner recipe is using chicken instead of ground beef. Just keep in mind that chicken might cook a little slower, and you want to make sure it reaches 165 degrees before serving.
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Hi Sabrina,
Excited to make this recipe today! I don’t own a stand mixer but will my food processor work?
Thanks