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Meatballs in sweet and sour sauce on top of white rice.
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Simple Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This sweet and sour meatball recipe is so easy to make using simple ingredients. Plus, you can make it ahead of time and bake it when you're ready! It's delicious served over rice or mashed potatoes.
Course Appetizer, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 405kcal
Author Amy

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 3/4 cups oats
  • 2 whole eggs beaten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon season salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Sweet and Sour Sauce

  • 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoon prepared mustard
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions

  • Spray 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Whisk eggs. Add oats, seasonings, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix together.
  • Add ground beef. Mix together with your hands. You want to mix it thoroughly, but be careful to not overmix. Overmixing will make the meatballs tough.
  • Shape the meat mixture into meatballs and place in a greased baking dish. 1 1/2 inch meatballs are a good size, about 2 Tablespoons.
  • Whisk barbecue sauce, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl to make the sweet and sour sauce.
  • Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
  • Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Notes

Make-Ahead:
To make this recipe ahead mix the meat mixture, shape it into meatballs, refrigerate until you're ready to bake. Mix the sweet and sour sauce and store it in the refrigerator. Pour over meatballs just before baking.
Ingredients:
I love using quick oats in this recipe because they aren't quite as chewy. If you are using old-fashioned oats you might want to blend them in a food processor a little bit.
Honey may be used instead of brown sugar.
Freezer:
Make meatballs then freeze. Once the meatballs are frozen they can be stored in an airtight container until you're ready to bake. Either thaw in the fridge until you're ready to bake, or add 20 minutes to bake time. Pour sauce on just before baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 1084mg | Potassium: 417mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 88IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 3mg