Jewish Sweet and Sour Meatballs – Traditional holiday recipe with pineapple and chili sauce. A perfect easy appetizer or entree, with dozens of possible variations.
I started this website on January 1, 2010, when food blogs were somewhat new to the web and the internet felt a bit like the “Wild West.” Let’s be real, it still feels that way sometimes. One of the ways I connected with readers was by launching recipe contests, where people could submit their favorite family dishes. Blog reader Susan Fedrow submitted a Sweet and Sour Meatballs recipe back in September 2010. At the time, I launched the contest to encourage readers to share their family recipes and holiday traditions. I loved Susan’s simple recipe made from pineapple chunks and bottled chili sauce.
Over time I developed my own version of this classic dish with a from-scratch sauce and optional modifications for Passover. These Jewish Sweet and Sour Meatballs are always a crowd pleaser, and they couldn’t be easier to make. Though the preparation method is a bit different from Susan’s recipe, the result is every bit as tasty as the original.
Susan’s mother made a similar meatball dish growing up, but she used different ingredients. Susan learned her own twist on the recipe just after she got married:
“I got this recipe when I was a newlywed,” she told me. “We met a few couples on our honeymoon and got together every month at each other’s houses and made a dish… this dish was made by one of the women, and since it was so delicious and easy, it became an instant family favorite.”
Susan usually prepares these tasty mini-meatballs for Hanukkah, but I think this dish would make a great addition to pretty much any holiday buffet. Throughout the years other readers have shared their twist on the dish in the comments. Apparently there is more than one way to make sweet and sour meatballs! However you decide to make them, enjoy in good health. L’shana tova!
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Jewish Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
- 40 ounces pineapple chunks in their own juice (no sugar added) (2 cans)
- 3/4 cup tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar (for Passover use a KFP vinegar)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
- 3/4 pound lean ground beef
- 3/4 pound dark meat ground chicken
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3-4 tablespoons matzo meal or breadcrumbs (use matzo meal for Passover, or omit breadcrumbs to make gluten free)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne (or more to taste-- add carefully, it's very spicy!)
NOTES
Instructions
- Drain your two cans of pineapple chunks and reserve the juice.
- In a medium pot, mix together tomato sauce, ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and the juice from the pineapple cans. Stir together and turn heat to low to let the sauce slowly warm.
- Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl use a fork to mix together the ground beef and chicken, egg, 3 tbsp matzo meal, paprika, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, and cayenne. I like a little heat in the meatballs, so I add a heaping 1/4 tsp of cayenne. If you don't want them spicy, you can omit it completely-- or just add a pinch for depth of flavor.
- Form the meat mixture into small 1-inch meatballs. If the mixture seems too moist or stick, add another tablespoon of matzo meal to the mixture. Place the meatballs into the warming sauce.When all the meatballs are formed, bring the mixture to a boil and stir to cover the meatballs with sauce. Lower the heat to a low, even simmer and cover the pot.
- Let the meatballs cook for 40 minutes, stirring frequently, till sauce thickens and meatballs cook all the way through. If the sauce seems to be reducing too fast or losing too much liquid, lower the heat and add a little water to thin it.
- After 40 minutes, add the pineapple chunks to the sauce and stir to coat. Let the chunks warm in the sauce for 5 minutes.
- Serve. You can serve this as an entree with a Passover-friendly starch, as a side dish, or with toothpicks as an appetizer. Enjoy!
Joyce Feldman Rind says
One of our all time favorite. The very best any time of year. Thank you!!
Joey Kaleniecki says
Looks great.yum yum 🙂
Reli Silver says
Our favorite!!!!
Ricki Spinner says
Here is my favorite recipe. You can add chunky pineapples. For Passover I substitute instant mashed potato mix for the minute rice.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Meatballs:
1 lb. of ground beef
1 egg
½ cup minute rice (uncooked)
¼ cup matzo meal
Sauce:
2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 can of water
½ cup of sugar (white or brown)
¼ cup of lemon juice
1 large or 2 small onions
Preparation:
Put meatballs in sauce, cover pot tightly. Cook at least 1 hour.
Art Simon says
Got to have this.
Thea Steggall says
That looks really delish!
Julia Waterfall-Kanter says
I like the Bitter Herb Martini! Actually, I’m going for the Broccoli Potato Gratin!
BJ says
I make these year round, and they’re always a hit.
Rebecca says
Actually on passover we cannot use regular white vinegar because it is chametz! but you could use kosher wine vinegar or other vinegars with a kosher l Pesach certification. But certainly not regular vinegar.
Tori Avey says
Rebecca– at my local kosher market you can get Passover-approved white vinegar from Lieber’s, Kedem and Glick’s brands. As always, those who are strictly kosher should look for a hechsher on everything they use during the holiday.
Ricki Spinner says
Can always substitute lemon juice for vinegar.
Ronnie Pittman says
Indeed it looks delicious!
Melanie Cear Shourek says
Yummers!
Bertha DeMoss Spencer says
Look delicious
Karen Dowie says
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
Christine Cooper says
Yum!
Janet Brown says
I can’t wait to try this
Janet Brown says
My mother made sweet and sour meatballs using sour salt (citric acid) and tomato sauce and sugar. she used this to make stuffed cabbage and then would make just the meatballs for me (the cabbage tore my stomach up) but I got the flavor from them being cooked together. Jack I would love your recipe if you would share it
Jack Epstein says
Tori, Sweet & Sour meatball recipe attached for your approval…give it a try…hope you had a great Hanukkah!
Jack Epstein
MOM’S Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Meatballs:
2 lbs ground Beef (chuck is best, but use what you like)
2 eggs
½ tsp Garlic Powder
½ tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 sweet Onion (minced fine or grated)
1 cup Matzoh Meal or plain Bread Crumbs
All items in a large bowl and mix together with hands…try not to overwork as this can make them tough
Wet hands, and roll into 1-1/4” balls (golf ball size or a bit smaller, whatever works for you
Place on sheet pans lined with parchment paper leaving space between the meatballs
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, turning over halfway through cook time.
This will cook most of the fat out so your dinner won’t be swimming in fat/grease.
Remove from oven, cool slightly, remove from pans and put on a plate on the side.
Sweet & Sour Sauce:
2 Large Sweet Onions (I use Vidalia) sliced thin, top to bottom and separated, not across.
1-2 cloves Garlic, minced fine (to taste, can also omit if it’s not for you)
1 TBS Olive Oil (vegetable or safflower oil is fine too)
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper
1 28oz can Tomato Puree
1 28oz can Crushed Tomatoes
1 or 2 14oz cans Tomato Sauce (based on vessel size your cooking in)
Sour Salt (to taste)
Light Brown or White Sugar (to taste)
In a large Dutch Oven or pot (not cast iron), add the oil and heat on medium high. Separate onions well and cook until slightly transparent, 3-5 minutes, add salt & pepper, stirring often, then lower heat to medium, add garlic for just a minute or two more…do not let garlic brown. Stir frequently so nothing browns.
Add Tomato Puree, Crushed Tomatoes and 1 can of the Tomato Sauce, stir well to incorporate onions and garlic, and turn heat down to low, and simmer slowly for 15 minutes (very low simmer is best) and keep stirring so nothing sticks on the bottom of the pot. Keep lid on, but loosely so there is minimal evaporation. Keep stirring. If you have room in your pot, add the second can of tomato sauce. If you think the sauce is too thick for your liking, don’t add the second can and instead thin out with a little water.
After 15 minutes, taste sauce for seasoning (you may want to add additional salt or pepper)…Season it to your taste. When you’re happy with the seasoning, this is where the fun begins.
While still at a slow simmer. add sour salt…there’s no really saying how much…I add a few shakes, stir it in, and taste…it may take 2 or 3 times to get it as sour as you’d like it to be, but make sure it makes you “pucker” pretty good! If you over sour the sauce, it will just take more sugar to bring it back. Just “sour” in small increments until you “find it”.
Let cook for 5 minutes as the sour salt will “cook in” and mellow slightly, then taste again and make sure it’s still as sour as you’d like. Adjust if needed.
Now stir in the sugar (again, there’s no really saying how much), white or light brown, to your taste…the sour will remain as you left it, but the sugar will come through and sweeten the pot…keep adding sugar until you find “the spot”, where the sour and sweet are just where you like it. It’s different for everybody, therefore no measurements on these.
Let cook for an additional 5 minutes as the sugar will “cook in” and mellow slightly, then taste again and make sure it’s as sweet & sour as you’d like. Adjust to your taste if needed.
Still at a slow simmer, gently add the meatballs, stir gently so as not to “break your balls” and warm in the sauce for 20-30 minutes. The matzoh meal or bread crumbs in the meatballs will slowly soak in that flavor. I’m drooling!!!
Once the meatballs are thoroughly heated through, you’re ready to eat.
You can at this time put the whole pot in a slow cooker and keep warm for hours, if you like.
Generally, I serve these meatballs over baked potatoes with plenty of sauce. That’s just the way I grew up eating them. Other choices would be white rice (or any rice), a good crusty bread or whatever you like. I always keep some good crusty bread on hand when making these for “sopping” up the sauce. Nothing better for me! Also makes a pretty good meatball sub/hoagie!
The meatballs mostly go faster than the sauce and there is usually a good bit of leftover sweet & sour sauce. This freezes well and can be used again for another batch of meatballs, or for a brisket (particularly good), or whatever you think you’d like to try with this sauce. I freeze in jars once the sauce has cooled.
Good luck & enjoy! L’chaim!
Suzanne says
I just made the original recipe using turkey in stead of chicken and am about to freeze all until Passover – hoping for the best. Tastes delicious! I am guessing it would probably have been better to reserve the pineapple and add after defrosting. Next time I will add a few ginger snaps to the sauce – compliments of my mother in law.
Helen says
Hi. Looks great for the latter part of Passover. Fatigue from what to make next free! For gluten intolerant…instead of 3 tsp matzo meal, what would you substitute with? 3 tsp grated potato? Or potato starch..how many? Or 3 tsp ground almonds?
Please advise. Thanks
Reli says
Hi Helen, I made the meatballs at our Seder and used Jeff Nathan’s Kosher for Passover Panko Flakes…gluten free! Family still saying how delicious the meatballs were!! Big hit!!
Tori Avey says
Thanks for replying Reli!
Olivia says
Hi! I am planning a Shabbat dinner on Friday and would love to try this recipe. How would I turn this appetizer into an entree meal? I have to feed about 15 people. This recipe sounds delicious but I just want to make sure that my meat and sauce ratio is enough for everyone. Also, can I make this the day before? Thank you! 🙂
clara says
make baked or mashed potatoes to put along side of the sweet/sour meatballs…or kashe varnishkes…or for pesach any starch allowed….yummy….
Lauren says
These sound perfect!! I was going to use a regular beef meatball recipe and sub in half ground turkey…but I love that your recipe uses both chicken and beef. This sounds like a keeper for sure 🙂 I can’t wait to try them out tonight.
Do you think it will work ok if I use matzo cake meal instead of matzo meal?