Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs
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If you love easy slow cooker recipes, you’re going to love this recipe for Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs. This delicious crock pot meal is the perfect make ahead appetizer or family dinner for every night of the week!
The Easiest Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Do you love easy dinner recipes? Do you love slow cooker recipes? Do you love recipes that can be prepped in 5 minutes? If you answered yes to all three of those questions (and who wouldn’t), you’re going to LOVE this delicious and easy recipe for Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs.
Sweet and sour meatballs with peppers and pineapples has always been my favorite dinner and making it in the slow cooker makes this recipe even better and easier.
Ingredients Needed To Make This Easy Dinner
- Frozen meatballs: You do not need to thaw the meatballs ahead of time.
- Pineapple chunks: Drain the juice but save it for the homemade sauce.
- Red and yellow bell peppers: chopped into small pieces.
- Brown sugar: to sweeten the sauce
- Pineapple juice: from can of drained pineapple chunks.
- Water: mix with pineapple juice.
- Soy sauce: for extra flavor.
- Ketchup: adds flavor to the sauce.
- Cornstarch: to thicken the sauce.
- Rice: for serving.
- Green onion: for garnishing and is optional.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Meatballs in the Slow Cooker
First, add meatballs to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
Drain the juice from the pineapple chunks into a measuring cup. Add enough water to equal one and half cups of liquid. My can of pineapple chunks had a cup of juice so I added 1/2 a cup of water to the juice.
Add pineapples, peppers, brown sugar, soy sauce, and ketchup to slow cooker. Pour juice mixture over ingredients and stir well to combine all ingredients.
Cook for 3 hours on high, stirring periodically. When cooking time has elapsed, add in cornstarch and mix gently to combine fully. The cornstarch thickens the sauce creating a delicious sweet and sour sauce the covers the meatballs and vegetables.
Cook for another 30 minutes, on high. When cooking time is complete, remove from the slow cooker using a serving spoon and serve immediately.
Top with chopped green onions. If serving as an appetizer, serve with toothpicks or small appetizer plates. If serving for dinner, serve with rice.
Tips for Making this Sweet and Sour Meatball Recipe in the Crockpot
- This is a great freezer meal! Make it ahead of time and add to a freezer bag. To prepare after freezing, warm over stove in skillet until hot. Then serve over rice.
- I prefer using red and yellow peppers because they are sweeter but green peppers can also be used in this recipe.
- Frozen meatballs are available in a variety of sizes. Just grab a bag closest to 32 ounces. If using a smaller bag, I would just reduce water to half a cup.
- Homemade meatballs can be used in this recipe but they need to be precooked. Cooking time will be less if meatballs are not frozen.
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Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
- 32 oz bag of frozen meatballs
- 12 oz (1 can) of pineapple chunks, drained (reserve juice)
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 2 yellow bell peppers, chopped
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup pineapple juice (from drained pineapple chunks)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Rice for serving
- Green onion for garnishing, optional
Instructions
- Add meatballs to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Drain the juice from the pineapple chunks into a measuring cup. Add enough water to equal one and half cups of liquid.
- Add pineapples, peppers, juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and ketchup to slow cooker. Stir well to combine all ingredients.
- Cook for 3 hours on high, stirring periodically.
- When cooking time has elapsed, add in cornstarch and mix gently to combine fully. Cook for another 30 minutes, on high.
- When cooking time is complete, remove from the slow cooker using a serving spoon and serve immediately. Serve on a bed of rice and top with chopped green onions (optional).
Notes
- Refrigerate all leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 4 days after cooking.
- The meatballs do not need to be thawed before adding to slow cooker.