Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Pour meatballs are succulent, juicy and tender. Quick and easy to make, they are the perfect dinner any night of the week. With homemade pork meatballs and a store bought tangy sauce dinner is ready in under 30 minutes. The whole family will enjoy these delicious sweet and sour pork balls.

Recipes like the Meatball Pesto Pasta, Baked Meatball Subs and Meatball Bolognese allow us to get a role on and make meatballs at home.

The Garlic Pepper Beef and Mongolian Beef Noodles are take out style recipes that are much cheaper when homemade!

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Simple ingredients: there is nothing in this recipe that calls for you to drive all over town to locate. We keep things nice and simple. Some of the ingredients are also pantry staples that you may already have on hand!
• Store bought sauce: you remember what I said in the point above, that the ingredients are simple 😉👍. Hence the reason for choosing a store bought sauce with tangy flavour that saves you time, energy and effort.
• Budget friendly: there is nothing in the recipe that will break the bank. Making it a fabulous choice for night's when you want something similar to take out yet something doesn't come with the expense of take out.
• Taste and texture: there is the juicy pork meatballs, the smothering of tangy textured sauce and chewy rice if you please. All of your tastebuds will be ticked!
• Homemade take out: is awesome. It saves time, money, heading out or waiting for delivery. Plus you know exactly what ingredients have gone into the dish. Sometimes with store bought takeout, your never really too sure!

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Pork mince (ground pork): an economical cut of meat that is readily available at the local grocery store. This can also be purchased in advance, frozen and thawed prior to use.
• Peanut oil: we use this to cook the meatballs in. It has a lovely aromatic flavour and is great for Asian recipes!
• Panko breadcrumbs: most likely found in the Asian foods section of the supermarket. They are bright, white and larger than regular breadcrumbs.
• Garlic powder: available in the spice aisle at the shops. A great way to use garlic in a convenient format.
• Onion powder: as above, this is a handy spice to have in the pantry. It saves time, energy and tears!
• Brown sugar: the sweet ingredient for the meatballs! We only use a tiny amount 🥰👌.
• Ginger: ground, powdered ginger is our 'sour' component for our meatballs! It balances out the sweet to perfection.
• Salt and pepper: a little of each of these is used to season the ground pork.
• Egg: free range of course! This helps the meatball ingredients to stick together.
• Optional: I like to use a store bought sweet and sour sauce for these meatballs to keep the recipe along the minimal effort maximum yum lines. You can also use precooked rice that simply needs to be reheated. (Some night's call for easy peasy and this recipe delivers that! 😉).

Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making the recipe. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. The first step is making the pork meatballs. You will need a medium sized bowl.

• Gather the meatball ingredients (Photo 1)
• Use clean hands to combine (Photo 2)
• Roll the mixture into balls (Photo 3)
• Cook the meatballs (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Sweet and Sour Pork Meatballs

We start the recipe by gathering the ingredients to make the meatballs and mixing these together.

Add the pork mince, panko breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, ground ginger, egg, salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Use clean hands to mix this together till consistently combined.

Next take a small portion of the combined mixture and roll it in your hands to form a ball. Place it onto a clean chopping board and then repeat till all of the mixture is rolled.

Next add the peanut oil to a large sauté pan, turn the heat to high and add the meatballs.

Cook the meatballs, stirring as you go until the outsides have browned and the insides are cooked through. If using a meat thermometer, the internal temperature of the pork should be 145° F or 62°F.

• Cook the meatballs (Photo 5)

Once the meatballs are cooked, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat through. You can also use this time to cook or heat rice if choosing to serve with that.

• Add sauce and heat (Photo 7)

Once the meatballs and sauce are hot, you are ready to portion and serve! Grab some bowls and forks, spoons or chopsticks. Then get ready to dive in!

🍽 Serving Suggestions

These meatballs are great with a starter like the Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls. You can easily pair them with rice for a fuss free dinner option or serve them as a party starter.

Rice is a natural, easy pairing and for busy work night's you can use the store bought pre cooked pouches of rice to make it easier for you.

Simply heat and pair with the meatballs and sauce.

Or you have the option to serve them as an appetizer, party starter or 1 to 2 bite finger food.

Either way you will find that the juicy meatball with or without tangy sauce combination will be right up your alley!

Are they Asian - yes, are they Western, yes, are they delicious, why of course my friend yes!!! 🤣👌.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftover meatballs in sealed, airtight containers in the fridge. They can be refrigerated for 3 days and are best consumed hot.

How to Freeze

Allow the dish to fully cool. Then portion into air tight containers or zip lock bags, squeeze the air out then seal. Frozen portions of the dish can be kept in the freezer for 3 months.

How to Reheat

Allow frozen portions to fully thaw in the fridge overnight or on the bench during the day before reheating. Reheat in the microwave (fastest) covered for 2 to 3 minutes. Or you can add the cooked meatballs and sauce back to a pan on the stove, turn to medium heat and stir till the dish is heated through.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can use turkey mince, chicken mince or beef mince if you would like to try a different protein for the meatballs.
• You can add some drained pineapple chunks to the sauce for extra texture if you wish.
• As well as chopped bell peppers (capsicums) or onion.
• I usually garnish the dish with green onions, but you can also use sesame seeds if you wish too. Toasted or fresh will both work well!
• Noodles are an alternative to rice that you could choose to cook and pair with the sweet and sour balls.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• If your hands are getting too wet when rolling the meatballs, give them a rinse and pat dry with paper towel before continuing.
• There is no need to take the meatballs out of the pan when cooked and clean or rinse it. Simply cook the meatballs and once cooked, pour in the sauce.
• If you want the sweet and sour meatballs but not the sauce, you can serve them with soy sauce for an easy appetizer!

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

What do you serve with sweet and sour meatballs?

The best thing to serve sweet and sour meatballs with is rice. Some options are Jasmine rice, brown rice, coconut rice or basmati rice.

What are pork meatballs made of?

Pork meatballs are made of ground pork, panko breadcrumbs, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar and ginger.

Should I cook meatballs before putting in sauce?

Yes, meatballs should be cooked in a large sauté pan with a little bit of oil before being put in sauce. The edges should be browned and the insides of the meatballs no longer pink but a light grey colour.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

I have for you, options. Through taste, texture, cooking method, protein and cook time. There are a million ways to get dinner sorted with ease. Here are some more recipes I hope you will love:

• Crumbed Lamb Cutlets
• Greek Lamb Chops
• Kottbullar (Swedish Meatballs)
• Macaroni Alfredo
• Meatball Tray Bake
• Mexican Ribs
• Pesto Rigatoni
• Penne Alfredo
• Mexican Ribs
• Pesto Pasta Bake

You can also find all of my homemade take out recipes in the one spot. It's time to get our pork on my friend, meatball style!

Adrianne

PIN and save this recipe for later! 

Hunger still got you? You can SUBSCRIBE to receive the latest recipes, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.