Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
Asian inspired savory sweet chicken meatballs coated in an irresistible sticky homemade sweet and sour sauce….err yum!! I am always completely satisfied after this meal of Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs combined with roasted red peppers and fragrant Jasmine rice…and then I get so excited about tomorrow’s dinner…because leftovers! 🙂
Brace yourself because you are about to experience some meatball magic!!
Okay true story. When I first attempted homemade chicken meatballs I didn’t have much expectations for it. I just wanted some clean eating in my diet, a meal prep friendly meal to prepare for a busy week, and I figured they would taste…decent. I was on what I like to call “practical eating” mode.
Here’s what I got instead: meatballs that were out-of-this-world flavorful, juicy and delicious, us oo-ing and ah-ing at the dinner table, me getting EXCITED about eating meatballs (is that even a thing!?) for dinner the next day…and the next day…and the next day. Because having leftovers after a long day is a wonderful thing.
I knew the sweet and sour sauce was the bomb because it’s the same sauce as my equally bomb Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe that we have on repeat in our household. But I truly did not expect to fall in love with homemade chicken meatballs.
The rumors are true and they are indeed so much better than store-bought. No fillers, no fake chicken, just the real thing!
Since then, Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs became a thing in our household. We are ALWAYS excited when it’s Sweet and Sour Meatball night.
We still oo and ah over it like we have never had it before.
How to make Homemade Asian Chicken Meatballs
Here are all the yum things that make up these Asian inspired chicken meatballs:
- Lean ground chicken
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Egg
- Crushed pineapple (canned or fresh)
- Garlic cloves
- Ground ginger
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
Combine it all and roll into 1 1/2 – 2 inch balls…
Then panfry!
The meatballs are juicy, soft, and SO flavorful! It has Asian-inspired notes from the soy sauce and sesame oil, are for the most part savory with hints of sweetness from the crushed pineapples.
Sweet and Sour Sauce for Meatballs
The meatballs are amazing. But it gets even better. OH YES.
The sauce, my friends. THE SAUCE.
Sweet and Sour sauce that is tangy, sweet, slightly savory….I never fail to clean off my plate when this sauce is present.
And here are the deets:
- Ketchup
- Rice vinegar or while vinegar
- Sugar
- Soy sauce
- Garlic
- Sesame oil
Cook everything in a pot under medium heat until it is nice and thick…giving it that sticky, sticky texture that we all love, and then evenly toss chicken meatballs in it.
How to Serve Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
I was inspired to serve this with bell peppers because Sweet and Sour Chicken is typically served with crunchy bell peppers and pineapples.
I incorporated the pineapples into the meatballs so it’s only fair to the bell peppers (and for our own selfish enjoyment) to include them somewhere in the dish, right?!
With that said, I highly recommend sautéing some red and/or orange bell peppers with cooking oil and a little salt and serving it on the side because that tangy sauce and the bell peppers compliment each other in taste and textures so very well!
And last but by no means the least, a little Jasmine rice to soak up every last bit of the sauce and not let it go to waste. Because you just must.
More Tips and Tricks
A few tips to note while cooking!
- Add more Panko breadcrumbs if you want to the meatball mixture to be firmer. If you are not using lean meat, you will probably need to add more Panko breadcrumbs to firm it up as well. As a reference, I am using 97% lean 3% fat ground chicken in this recipe.
- When panfrying meatballs, cook on medium low heat so that meatballs cooks all the way on the insides without burning the outsides. Cover skillet to retain heat and cook it faster if needed.
- Use a spatter guard to prevent oil from spattering and burning you!
- Avoid overcrowding meatballs when cooking them on a skillet – use a large skillet and cook in two batches if necessary!
Can I make this with Ground Turkey or Ground Pork?
Yes! They are just as tasty!
Substitute ground chicken with ground turkey or pork and follow the rest of the instructions!
Can I freeze this?
The uncooked meatballs are the perfect candidate for freezing! Roll the meatballs and save them in an airtight bag or container in the freezer for up till a month.
Thaw completely in refrigerator overnight before panfrying them.
How to Serve Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
Serve it with some of my other favorite sides!
- Easy Mixed Vegetable Rice
- Asian Style Green Beans
- Egg Drop Soup
- Sautéed Garlic Brussel Sprouts and Carrots
- Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Okay, am I the only one or are you also wishing you could GRAB THAT FORK and inhale those sticky juicy meatballs?!
This is a meal I could eat all day everyday! (Insert drooling emoji, thank you very much)
DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍
Other Asian inspired Meals!
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Asian Salmon Salad with Ginger Soy Dressing
- Easy Chicken Fried Rice
- Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Easy Baked Orange Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
Asian Chicken Meatballs
- 1 lbs lean ground chicken
- 1 1/4 cups Panko breadcrumbs more if needed
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup crushed pineapple drained
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- cooking oil
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
Other
- cooking oil optional
- 2 red or orange bell peppers sliced
- a pinch of salt to taste
- cooked white or brown rice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all Asian Chicken Meatballs ingredients except cooking oil. Mix well. If mixture is not firm enough to roll into balls, add more Panko breadcrumbs 1 tbsp at a time.
- Grab a small piece of the meat mixture and roll into 1 1/2 – 2 inch balls (see Note 1).
- Add cooking oil to skillet and set to medium heat. Once oil is heated, bring meatballs to skillet. Avoid overcrowding and cook in two batches if needed. Sear on one side for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, then continuously flip and sear other sides to make sure the entire meatball is cooked.
- Cover skillet and lower to medium low heat if needed (see Note 2).
- Once meatballs are cooked or reaches 165º F, remove from skillet and bring to a large bowl.
- Using the same skillet (add more cooking oil if needed), saute sliced bell peppers until softened. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove from heat.
- Heat a small pot to medium heat and bring all the Sweet and Sour Sauce ingredients to a boil. Lower to medium low heat and cook for another few minutes until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat.
- Toss chicken meatballs evenly in sweet and sour sauce.
- Bring Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs, bell peppers and rice to bowl.
- Serve and enjoy!
I’ll fight you for this dish! You and me, fork and fork! LOL! Love this MinShien, printed and planning on making this week! Thanks!
Haha! You had me LOL so hard! I can’t wait to hear what you think! 🙂
I was looking for a recipe that used ground chicken instead of beef, and these chicken meatballs were delicious! The sauce was easy to prepare and tasted better than bottled sauces from the store. I made the dish last night with jasmine rice and broccoli, and my husband and I really enjoyed it. We had plenty left over for tonight’s meal, and it was just as yummy on night 2! Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you so much for the kind review! Makes me so happy to hear that you guys enjoyed it! 🙂
Super yummy! Served it with rice and broccoli for dinner then as left overs the next day with rice and asparagus! Very filling and high in protein, happy the meat balls fit into my macros!
Thank you so much! Happy to hear that!
Had the family recently for our Easter get together and made the chicken meatballs with the peppers & rice….
Was definitely a great dish and everyone loved it….especially the sticky Asian inspired sauce….
A big tick from me ✅……I’ll be making it again and also requested by 2 of my family for the recipe…..
That’s fantastic! Happy to hear everyone enjoyed it so much!
Very easy and tasty. I used a bit less sugar.
Thanks for sharing Jeff!
I rarely leave comments for recipes, but wow this was good! it was very easy to make, didn’t require a whole lot of ingredients, and it turned out amazing. Will definitely be making this regularly. thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks so much for the feedback, Christy! Love hearing from you!
You know the best thing is that I didn’t have to go and do an almost endless scroll to get to the recipe. I am so grateful for the to-the-pointness of the entire thing and the cherry on top is the recipe is a 5/5. The plates were licked clean.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Dee!
Wonderful recipe! ove been making this for my tiny household for awhile now but now we’re starting to count our calories! how many calories are the meatballs without the sauce per serving? Thank you so much 🙂
I’m so glad you’ve been making this and enjoying it! Unfortunately, I am not able to get the calorie information for just the meatballs without the sauce.