Sweet and sour crockpot meatballs are a super easy and family friendly recipe. Slow cooked meatballs in a homemade sweet and sour sauce with peppers and pineapple!
Recipe Highlights
- How they taste: Sweet and sour crockpot meatballs are made with frozen meatballs. The sauce is homemade and has that classic sweet and sour flavor. For a mix of different flavors, there are bell peppers and pineapple used in the recipe. Everything comes together nicely for a delicious crockpot meatballs recipe.
- Skill level: The slow cooker meatballs are started with frozen meatballs. The only thing that is made on the stove top is the sauce (optional) and it’s a very simple sweet and sour sauce. You toss all the ingredients into a pot and let them come together.
- Serving suggestions: These crockpot sweet and sour meatballs pair perfectly with rice for a complete meal. They can also serve as an appetizer that you can place a plate to toothpicks and allow guest to serve themselves as the main dishes are being prepped.
Ingredient tips
- Meatballs: Frozen meatballs are used for ease. For a normal crockpot you’ll need two pounds of frozen meatballs. That’s great for a family dinner or appetizer for a minimum of 6 people.
- Pineapple: Canned pineapple is great for ease and what I used in the recipe. You’ll want pineapples in its juice, avoid the syrup. But, fresh pineapple can be used but you’ll have to omit the pineapple juice in the sauce with water. The sauce will still be good but the pineapple juice does add an extra layer of flavor.
- Bell peppers: The standard bell peppers used with sweet and sour recipes are red and yellow bell peppers for the sweetness. But, it’s your recipe have fun with it!
- Vinegar: Sweet and sour sauce is an Asian-style recipe. Which typically calls for rice vinegar. But, through my years of cooking I find white vinegar to be a great substitute and it’s typically what people have in the home already. I would not use apple cider vinegar because it has a much stronger flavor.
- Cornstarch: This is what thickens the sauce. Using flour is not a substitute due to how the recipe is made.
- Soy sauce: These sweet and sour crockpot meatballs should be made according to taste. So, if you’re sensitive to salt use low sodium and add more as needed.
How To Make Sweet And Sour Crockpot Meatballs
- Chop up all the veggies first. Then in a bowl, add the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce and whisk.
- In the slow cooker, add in the frozen meatballs. Then, the chopped up peppers and pineapple bits.
- Next, pour the sauce over the meatballs and stir everything together.
- Cook on high for 3 hours. When finished, you’re ready to serve.
Chef’s tip
In the instructions below I will instruct to whisk the sauce together and then pour into the crockpot. However, this is the easiest method but not the best.
Slow cookers don’t get very hot which makes it difficult to thicken things. I suggest making and thickening the sauce on the stove top first then pouring it into the crockpot. This guarantees a thick sauce without any issues.
Serving suggestions
The most simple way to serve these sweet and sour crockpot meatballs for dinner is over white rice. They also work perfectly for game day or an appetizer.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do the meatballs have to be thawed first?
No, you toss the meatballs in the slow cooker frozen.
Can I sub the frozen meatballs for homemade?
I do not recommend that. The slow cooker does not get very hot and what will happen it the meatballs will slow cook and sort of boil in the crockpot. This is very different than what happens in the oven or stove top when cooking meatballs. Frozen meatballs are best and easiest.
You could make meatballs prior then allow them to become cold or frozen and add them later. But to do all that it’s best to make them on the stove top.
Can I cook the sweet and sour crockpot meatballs on low?
Only if you made the sauce on the stove top first. The low setting on the slow cooker doesn’t get hot enough to thicken the sauce.
Can I make them ahead?
Sure, sweet and sour crockpot meatballs are a great recipe to make ahead and reheat later or leave the crockpot on the warm setting.
How to thicken the sauce more?
This is a very common issue with crockpot recipes that require a sauce or thickening. If the sauce isn’t thick enough for you, the best way to thicken it will be the stove top. The cornstarch does the best it can with the low heat provided in a slow cooker even on the high setting.
Meatball recipes to try next
- Meatball Sliders
- Creamy Chicken & Spinach Meatballs
- Honey Lemon Chicken Meatballs
- Marry Me Chicken Meatballs
- Meatballs & Gravy
- Cheesy Bake Meatballs
- Crockpot Asian Meatballs
- Keto Turkey Meatballs
- Crockpot Tuscan Chicken Meatballs w/ Gnocchi
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Sweet And Sour Crockpot Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 pound meatball (frozen)
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 20 ounce pineapple (tid bits)
Sweet & sour sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (light)
- 1/3 cup white vinegar (sub with rice vinegar )
- 3 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Start by draining the pineapple juice then chopping the bell peppers.
- Add the frozen meatballs to the slow cooker. Then, add the drained pineapples and chopped bell peppers.
- In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce. Then, pour over the frozen meatballs in the crockpot.
- Turn on high and cook for 3 hours. Return to stir the ingredients to prevent the cornstarch from settling on the bottom each hour. Note, if you follow the chef's tip about you can avoid the stirring each hour.
- After the 3 hours the sauce will be thickened and the meatballs will be thawed and heated through. You're ready to serve!
Nutrition
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.