Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs are a delicious and easy recipe! Meatballs, pineapple and peppers are all coated in a homemade sweet and sour sauce!
FROZEN MEATBALLS WITH A HOMEMADE SAUCE
I could not wait to share this recipe for Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs with you today. It turned out so good that even my picky eaters enjoyed it. It was so simple to make and my house smelled AMAZING while it cooked. The sauce is a wonderful blend of sweet and tangy. And the meatballs came out so tender! It may sound like a weird combination of flavors but it really works so well. If there is one recipe I wish people would make from my site, it is definitely this one!
I made this recipe tonight. It was amazing! I received great reviews and was told to make this again. Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe!
– Michelle
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Nope! The meatballs go in frozen.
I wouldn’t suggest it. Mainly because homemade meatballs will release a lot of fat as they cook and you might end up with a greasy mess. Perhaps if your meatballs had already been pre-cooked that would work. Just make sure they aren’t Italian style meatballs. Those flavors do not work well with this. Also, I have only made this with frozen meatballs so this is all just guessing on my part. If you try it and it works for you, please let me know!
If you want to serve these as an appetizer, just serve them as-is and with small bowls and forks on the side for guests to help themselves. Or if you want to make it more like a meal, you could serve them with rice.
Technically yes, but at some point, you’ll want to switch it over to high to help the sauce thicken. Getting it hot helps that cornstarch activate to thicken the sauce. Unless maybe you have a slow cooker that naturally runs hot, you may not need to. I’ve only ever tested this out this one particular way but if you have tips or have tried making it a different way, please comment below.
Leftovers can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheating in the microwave or on a pot on the stove is your best option.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- frozen homestyle meatballs – use your favorite here, I know different areas carry different brands and it seems like there are varying sizes of the bags too. I used a 28 ounce bag but if yours is a little less or a little more – that’s fine, it will still work. Just make sure you don’t get the Italian flavored meatballs because the seasoning in those won’t work well with this recipe.
- canned pineapple chunks in 100% juice – you need the kind in 100% juice not syrup because you are going to use that juice to make the sauce and the syrup is just too sweet and not the right consistency to make this sauce. If you can’t find the pineapple chunks, you can use pineapple tidbits.
- green pepper – you could also go with a red or yellow pepper here. I suppose you could leave it out if you really hate peppers.
- brown sugar – this is the sweet part of the sweet and sour sauce. Because brown sugar has molasses in it, it’s also adds a nice depth of flavor. I would not substitute this with regular sugar or a sugar substitute if possible.
- vinegar – I have not tried this with apple cider vinegar so I honestly couldn’t say if that flavor would work well here. I like apple cider vinegar but I’m not sure I would like it in this.
- soy sauce – if you are sensitive to sodium, you could go with a low sodium soy sauce here.
- cornstarch – this is going to help thicken the sauce. Don’t use flour, it doesn’t work as well and you’ll end up with lumps in your sauce.
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS
First, drain the juice from the can of pineapple into a medium bowl (you’ll need that later for the sauce.) It should give you about a cup of pineapple juice.
Place frozen meatballs into a 4-6 quart crock pot.
Then top meatballs with pineapple chunks and green peppers.
Add brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch to the pineapple juice you set aside earlier. Whisk it all together well.
Pour sauce over meatballs.
Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. After a couple of hours, switch the crock pot to high and cook for an additional hour. Doing this will thicken the sauce. After an hour, the sauce should be thicker and bubbling around the edges.
You can serve them just like this or over some rice to make it a meal!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Crock Pot Honey Garlic Meatballs
- Crock Pot Swedish Meatballs
- Crock Pot Mississippi Meatballs
- Crock Pot Salisbury Steak
- Sweet and Sour Pork Chops
- Salisbury Steak Meatballs
- Bacon Wrapped Meatballs
- Crock Pot Ultimate Party Meatballs
- Porcupine Meatballs
- Air Fryer Meatballs
- Homemade Turkey Meatballs
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Meatball Sub on a Stick
- Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken
Originally published: December 2015
Updated photos and republished: May 2023
Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
- 28 ounce bag frozen meatballs
- 20 ounce can pineapple chunks in 100% juice (save juice)
- 1 green pepper diced into chunks
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ⅔ cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- First, drain the juice from the can of pineapple into a medium bowl (you'll need that later for the sauce.) It should give you about a cup of pineapple juice.
- Place frozen meatballs into a 4-6 quart crock pot.
- Then top meatballs with pineapple chunks and green peppers.
- In the bowl where you put the pineapple juice you set aside earlier, whisk in the brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch.
- Pour sauce over meatballs. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
- After a couple of hours, switch your crock pot to high and cook for an additional hour. Doing this will thicken the sauce. The sauce should be thicker and bubbling around the edges when ready.
Video
Notes
- The meatballs do not need to be thawed first. They go in frozen.
- Don’t like peppers? Just leave them out!
- Frozen meatball packages all come in varying sizes depending on the brand. This recipe will accommodate all standard size bags of meatballs – as long as it isn’t family size, it will work.
- If your can of pineapples doesn’t give you a full cup of pineapple juice, you may need to supplement with a little more or just add a touch of water to get you up to one cup.
- For a meal, serve with rice. For an appetizer, serve with toothpicks or set aside bowls for your guests to serve themselves.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
If I double the recipe, do I add more time?
Loved this the first time. So making again! Will purchase two cans of pineapple this time, as not enough juice last time. Also, will be adding in a red pepper, along with the green pepper. Of course serving over jasmine rice. This is a quick and super easy meal, with minimal prep and cleaning, for my work week. Thank-you!
Thanks so very much Jaklynn! I really appreciate you coming back to comment! ❤️
This was very good. I used to make something similar to this 60 years ago and was eager to try it again. I might use 2 green peppers next time.
Can I just double the recipe and add an hour or two on cook time?
Delicious!
I used celery and carrots, diced as I didn’t have green peppers on hand
Put on jasmine rice.
Also used instant pot. (10 minutes)
Delicious. I used toothpicks instead of rice but I didn’t like the woody taste. All kidding aside, these were VERY DELISH!
I’m making this tonight but was curious why does it call for vinegar?
That’s the sour in sweet and sour
This dish is awesome. I made it as is but I did add some little smokies sausages and some maraschino cherries. So festive looking.
Making this today. Question: do you pack the brown sugar like in baking, or just measure it loose?
Can I use frozen Italian meatballs?
I don’t think the Italian flavors would work well with the flavors in this sauce
Just wondering, if I were to cook this while at work, do you think it’s ok on low for 6-7 hours?
Is your slow cooker digital where it automatically goes to a “keep warm” setting because that would be best
what kind of vinegar do you recommend?
Just white vinegar (please see my ingredient image above for reference) 🙂
Can this recipe be assembled and frozen for cooking later? Would the bell pepper and pineapple and the sauce ingredients all freeze ok if I made the sauce then just poured it over all the other ingredients in a freezer bag?
I would be concerned they wouldn’t freeze then thaw well but having said that, I haven’t personally tried it to be able to say that for sure.
Absolutely perfect! Major yum!
I’m so glad I finally made this! It turned out so good and that sauce is amazing!!
Made this tonight to RAVE reviews! Forgot to put this on early, so ended up putting everything together then letting it cook on the stove while my rice cooker did its thing. Threw in a bag of frozen stir fry veggies at the end for more variety. 100% going in the rotation!
Hi Brandie! Thanks for posting this one. I’ve had the rice/porcupine style meatballs in the freezer a while and want to try them. The brand is “No Name” and I have liked all of their products.
Thanks so much Lona – I will have to look out for those!
I have yet to find frozen meatballs I found edible, so made this with my homemade meatballs. It was delicious. I always make a double or triple batch of meatballs and flash freeze them for use later.
Love hearing that!! Thanks so much!
Made this for lunch for friends of ours who were visiting for lunch. It was super easy, and turned out everyone loved the meatballs!
I made this with Amylu Chicken Meatballs and it was wonderful. My guest loved it and I loved that there was very little prep work! Chop (red bell pepper), open can and everything else was in my pantry. The red bell gave a nice contrast of color. I followed the recipe exactly as posted but did have to add a little more corn starch slurry at the end to get the thickness I liked. This will be a new “go to” recipe.
I will have to look for those chicken meatballs! Thanks so very much Cathy!
I really wasn’t sure about these but we love anything sweet and sour. WOWSERS! This really surprised us. It couldn’t have been easier to make and it came out phenomenal. Glad I took a chance on it!
I made this recipe tonight. It was amazing! I received great reviews and was told to make this again. thank you for sharing this yummy recipe!
Too bad that Canadians apparently don’t have access to the same Internet as everyone else on the planet?
Google is your friend, Eh??
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cooking-calculator.php
Not only easy, but tasty. Thanks!
Thanks so very much Barb!
Sadly my favorite Canadian bloggers don’t all give imperial measurements. I’m an American who caters to Americans. There are tons of amazing Canadian & British food bloggers out there who you should try to follow instead of leaving rude comments.
I’m Canadian, it’s not hard. So many recipes are in imperial & there are tons of online conversion charts. I know most of it by heart by now but you’re really making a mountain of a mole hill here & making us looking like entitled brats.
Great recipe by the way Brandie! Thank you!!
I’m Canadian & have never had a problem figuring out the conversions. It’s not hard & I don’t mind. I don’t expect Americans to cater to me as we don’t cater to them on our websites. The world doesn’t revolve around us – isn’t that what we always complain Americans do?
Also, I suggest you go to a website ran by a Canadian who lives in Canada, not America. Even she doesn’t use metric. She caters to Americans & she’s not even American. It’s called Spend with Pennies. Great recipes, have followed her for years and she mentioned on her last FB live that she’s Canadian and still lives here! Color me shocked! So maybe you should go be upset at Canadians not catering to Canadians.