Now, I sometimes hear from some folks that just do not like the flavor of frozen meatballs. I get that. In the past, frozen meatballs could be a crapshoot. But Johnsonville has taken frozen meatballs to a whole new level with these Homestyle Meatballs.
These do not taste like your typical frozen meatballs. They have a lot of flavor and they hold up really well to cooking in the crock pot. And there are no hidden or weird ingredients in these. We really, really enjoyed them. As close to homemade as you can get. They are fully cooked so all you have to do is heat them up.
When I first put all these ingredients in the slow cooker, I had my doubts that the sauce would thicken up properly. After a couple of hours, the sauce was still pretty liquid-y. So I decided, for the last hour of cooking, I would switch the crock pot over to high. That was the trick right there. It needed to get up to a high enough temperature to thicken the sauce. Within 30 minutes, I could already tell it was getting thick, which is how you want your sweet and sour sauce to be. So good, y’all! This is the perfect swap-out for the usual sweet and sour chicken or pork.
Directions:
You can serve them just like this or over some rice (my personal favorite!)
Crock Pot Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 28 oz bag Johnsonville Frozen Homestyle Meatballs
- 1 20 oz can pineapple chunks in 100% juice save juice
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- First, drain the juice from your 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 your 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 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.
Recipe Notes
Serve by themselves as an appetizer or over rice for a meal!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville Sausage. The opinions and text are all mine.
I am making this right now… I tasted sauce after mixing it all up and I am thrilled already… I know it will be delicous!
Hey Veronica – Hope it was a winner for you!
I am going to try this tonight, I'm using turkey meatballs instead. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
I made this last night for my company, we all loved it. I used turkey meatballs. Yum! Thanks for the recipe!
I bet you looked like a rock star! So glad it was a hit with the guests.
I'm eating it RIGHT NOW! It's so yummy. Great ratio tang/sweet. Though mine didn't turn out as thick as yours did. Oops!
No time for crock pot right now. How could I do this on the stove?
Made this recipe tonight. It was a hit with the family. The sauce is so good. I will definitely be putting this recipe on the meal plan more often.
It is in my crockpot right now! I added white onion to mine.Can’t wait to get home from church and eat it! Soo easy. My kind of recipe!
Hope everyone loved it!!
If I double the recipe using 2 bags of meatballs and 2 cans of pineapples what are the cooking times?
Has anyone made this with Italian meatballs?
I’m a little confused. Cooking time states 4 hrs but your directions only state 3, unless I’m reading it wrong? Like are you cooking it for another hr after the hr?
I agree. I’m confused but I’m going to cook for 2 hrs then 1 hr and cross my fingers that it is long enough!
Sorry for the confusion. It is three hours total. Two on low and one on high.
Do you the white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
So excited for this recipe! I’m making it right now and I will not be home to turn it up to high after two hours, is that going to mess it up?
I only have a 7 quart crock pot will this change the recipe at all? Or do the times need to be altered?
Just keep an eye on the timing – it may cook a bit faster in the larger pot. 🙂
what kind of vinegar? If these are cooked a day ahead…can they just be heated up in crock pot?
Excellent recipe! This was last minute for me so i cooked it on top of the stove instead of crock pot and used what I had. I made the sauce first using apple cider vinegar and started it cooking on a low heat. I added onions and my meatballs were from Costco. The sauce was the best sweet and sour ever. The family loved it and I will definitely make it again. Thanks for the recipe!