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!
TIPS FOR MAKING SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS:
- These meatballs can simply be an appetizer or you can serve over rice for a meal.
- 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.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- frozen homestyle meatballs
- canned pineapple chunks in 100% juice
- green or red pepper
- brown sugar
- vinegar
- soy sauce
- cornstarch
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. 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 Sweet and Sour Meatballs (+Video)
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 can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: December 2015
Updated and republished: December 2021
Conni Butler
Hi there, I am wondering if I can use plant based meatballs for this recipe? I have made this before however at that time we were still eating meat and they were delicious!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
I don't cook with plant based food -I'm sorry. So I couldn't honestly say how it would turn out. It might have to be a test you try yourself at home. I would assume if its a frozen meatball it should still theoretically work but I don't know how different they are from the traditional meat based in terms of holding up to slow cooking.
Virginia Vierra
I love the taste. I used the small italuan meatballs. I did the 2 hours on low and then 2 hours in high but a friend came over and it cooked an additional 44 minutes. The sauce was bubbly and thick. I added a small onion but should have done 2 plus 2 bell peppers.
Donna
I want to make this for a large gathering, 24 people. Do I just quadruple everything? Thanks.
Julia
Can I make this with thawed meatballs? I was going to follow a different recipe for sweet and sour meatballs and it called for the meatballs to be thawed. I found this recipe last minute and it looks better!
Kristen
This recipe was so easy to follow and the meatballs were delicious!! I served over brown rice to cut down on the carbs a little!
Rut
Made this today and it was so good and easy. I've passed this recipe on to my daughter in law.
Brandie @ The Country Cook
I love hearing that!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Joanna
We loved these - thank you!