These sweet and sour meatballs are a delicious and easy twist on a classic takeaway favourite. Juicy pork meatballs are simmered in a sweet and tangy homemade sauce with capsicum and pineapple, then served over rice for a super satisfying, and full of flavour, weeknight dinner in around 40 minutes.
This recipe is part of my budget-friendly meal series and comes in at approximately $2.58 per serve!
This recipe is the product of my brain wanting to recreate some of the most popular takeaway dishes at home in an attempt to encourage more home cooking, and my love of using meatballs as the protein (see my green curry meatballs as a reference!).
Meatballs are so much more interesting to eat than just a simple stir fry with pork strips, and pork mince is also super affordable.
But what I always say makes a dish is the sauce. And oh my this sauce is so delicious. It’s really simple, and the only thing you probably don’t already have in your pantry is the can of pineapple. It’s sweet, it’s sticky, it’s tangy, and it really is the hero of this plate. I really hope you enjoy this one!
Budget Friendly Recipes
Last year when the cost of groceries started to climb, I introduced a dedicated budget-friendly meal series on Instagram which gained a lot of support. With grocery prices still increasing, the topic of food cost is one that is constantly in conversation and while I love making delicious and interesting meals I also feel like it’s important to share meals that we can actually afford and want to make each week.
So, I am back sharing weekly recipes that have a conscious effort to be low cost. I am talking under $3 AUD per serve, with most recipes serving 4. That’s $12 per meal time. Now I do disclaim that grocery prices fluctuate and may be different wherever you live, but these recipes are to provide you with inspiration and a guide to show you that you can still use budget ingredients to create exciting and delicious meals.
Key Ingredients
This sweet and sour meatballs recipe is designed to use mostly pantry staple ingredients, or affordable and easy to find groceries.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Pork mince – I just used regular pork mince which was the cheapest at $6 AUD for 500 grams at Coles at the time of publishing.
- Breadcrumbs – I always use panko breadcrumbs as they don’t contain any additives like some regular breadcrumbs, but you can also use homemade breadcrumbs from any leftover stale bread which is even more budget friendly!
- Egg – helps to bind the meatballs so they don’t fall apart as they cook.
- Soy sauce – used to season both the meatballs themselves as well as the sauce.
- Garlic and onion powder – not only keeping it affordable but also kid-friendly as we don’t have any onion chunks in the meatballs!
- Tomato ketchup – I will guarantee most family homes will include a bottle of tomato sauce in the fridge or pantry (not here to start that debate!). I prefer to use ketchup as it’s a bit thicker and sweeter than Australian tomato sauce, but either will work.
- White vinegar – adds that extra tang for our sour element.
- Brown sugar – adds that caramelised, sweet taste to the sauce.
- Canned pineapple – pick up one of the smaller cans of pineapple chunks, making sure it’s in juice not syrup for this recipe. You will use the juice in the sauce and then optionally throw the chunks into the dish to finish. Some people wont like this, but I think it’s delicious with the sweet and salty combinations of flavours.
- Cornflour – also known as corn starch in the US, this is added at the end to thicken the sauce and give it that glossy finish.
- Capsicums – I used a red and a yellow capsicum or bell pepper if you’re in the US but you can use any combination of vegetables you like depending on what’s in season and what you prefer.
You’ll Also Love: Sweet and Sour Chicken
Step-By-Step Instructions
These sweet and sour meatballs are so easy to make. They will come together in around 40 minutes, so yes there is a little more time involved to make the meatballs but it’s not difficult and the result is so delicious and definitely not just a boring budget dinner.
I always like to start with my prep just so everything is ready to go. This usually means chopping up the vegetables (in this case my capsicums), and mixing together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl so that’s done when I need it.
Next, get stuck into the meatballs. In a large bowl, mix together the pork mince, breadcrumbs, egg, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. You can do this with a wooden spoon but honestly I find it so much quicker and easier to just get in there with my hands.
Once combined, roll the mixture into small meatballs, about 1½ tablespoons each. You should get around 18-20 meatballs.
Heat a little oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the meatballs in batches until browned all over. They don’t need to be fully cooked through as we’ll cook them again at the end. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and set them aside.
In the same pan, add the chopped capsicums and cook for 2-3 minutes, until they are starting to soften.
Pour the sauce that you prepared earlier into the pan with the capsicum and bring to a gentle simmer. Add in the pineapple piece if you want to use them. It should be smelling incredible about now!
Return the meatballs to the pan, and add the cornflour slurry. Stir to coat everything in the sauce and simmer for around 5 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is thick and glossy.
Serve over steamed white rice and garnish with sesame seeds.
Meal Prep and Storage Tips
I don’t know if it’s just because I ate some leftovers reheated literally just before sitting down to write this post, but this recipe tastes even better the next day, so I definitely recommend this one for meal prep!
You can cook the meatballs and sauce up to 3 days in advance. Store in individual portions with cooked rice in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat gently in the microwave until hot throughout.
This recipe is also suitable for freezing! Just let the cooked meatballs and sauce cool completely, then freeze in portions (with or without rice) for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Recipe FAQs
Yes you can! While pork is the classic, you can definitely use chicken or turkey mince instead.
Yes! Use gluten free breadcrumbs in the meatballs and make sure your soy sauce is gluten-free (like tamari). Everything else should be naturally gluten free.
Pineapple adds that classic sweet and tangy flavour to the sauce, but it can be a polarising fruit in savoury foods, so if you don’t have it or prefer to skip it, you can use water or orange juice in place of the juice. The sauce will still be tasty, just slightly less fruity.
Yes! I love baking meatballs as it’s more hands off and less messy. Place the meatballs on a lined baking tray and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15-18 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Then simply add them to the sauce as directed.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More classic takeaway style dinners:
Honey Soy Chicken
20 Minute Cashew Chicken and Broccoli
15 Minute Garlic Prawn Noodles
Budget-Friendly Fried Rice
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 500 grams pork mince
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil for cooking
For the sweet and sour sauce:
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce ketchup
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 x 225 gram can pineapple pieces in juice juice reserved
- 1 teaspoon cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Vegetables:
- 2 small capsicums/bell peppers red, yellow, or green, roughly chopped
To serve:
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the pork mince, breadcrumbs, egg, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until just combined.
- Roll the mixture into small meatballs, about 1½ tablespoons each. You should get around 18-20 meatballs.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the meatballs in batches until browned all over (about 5-7 minutes). Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the chopped capsicums and cook for 2-3 minutes, until starting to soften.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, and the reserved pineapple juice.
- Pour the sauce into the pan with the capsicum and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the pineapple pieces.
- Return the meatballs to the pan, add the cornflour slurry, and stir to coat everything in the sauce. Simmer for around 5 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is thick and glossy.
- Serve over steamed white rice and garnish with sesame seeds.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
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