These Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Veggies are healthy and so easy to make! Pineapple chunks, crisp veggies, and perfectly seasoned meatballs are coated in a delicious homemade sweet and tangy sauce. Say goodbye to takeout! This kid-friendly meal is sure to become a new family favorite. 

This yummy recipe is adapted from Trina Holden’s recipe for Sweet and Sour Meatballs. You can find it in her cookbook Your Real Food Journey. I met Trina last year through my daughter, Tricia. We had an immediate connection, and I am so happy that I live close to her now. 

Trina is a mom of six, yes SIX, a blogger, and the author of two books. The year she became a mom, she was suffering from severe panic attacks. She was diagnosed with a toxic liver and given strict dietary guidelines from her doctor. The diagnosis started her on a journey to create healthy meals from scratch using whole, non-toxic ingredients.

Over the years and five kids later, she has perfected recipes that make her whole family happy, nourish their bodies, AND are simple and budget-friendly. 

Trina now helps people create systems in their kitchens through her Kitchen Freedom course. I love Trina’s passion for sharing her systems and delicious recipes! 

These sweet and sour meatballs are a new family favorite. Just as Trina’s recipe stated, we enjoyed our favorite sweet and sour flavor combo without all of the MSG and high fructose corn syrup found in the stuff you get from restaurants.

Tammy’s Tips for Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Veggies

Double Double Double – You know I love to double recipes for leftovers or freezer meals. (Trina is also a huge proponent of doubling recipes.) This is an excellent freezer meal. If you are feeding a family, I highly recommend doubling this recipe and freezing the leftovers for a busy weeknight when you don’t have time to cook. 

I actually tripled the ground beef in this recipe. I seasoned all of the meat according to the recipe and removed 2/3 of it for the sweet and sour meatballs. For the remaining 1/3 of ground beef, I added Italian seasoning, fresh minced garlic, and fennel seed. I formed them all into meatballs and baked them. The meatballs seasoned with Italian seasoning were added to my Marinara Sauce and put into the freezer to have over pasta in a few weeks. Instead of 2 dinners, I made 3! 

Prep Ahead – You could cut up the veggies and make the meatballs a few days ahead of time to make this a quick weeknight dinner.

Make it Your Own – This recipe is very versatile. Trina’s recipe called for 2 green peppers. I added red pepper, onion, and mushrooms. You could use any of your family’s favorite stir-fry veggies. Carrots, broccoli, and/or snow peas would all be excellent additions.

Serving Vegetarians? – No worries! Sub vegetable broth or mushroom broth for the chicken broth. Scoop out the sweet and sour veggies before you add the meatballs.

Enjoy these Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Veggies over brown rice, riced cauliflower, quinoa, or couscous! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us Trina! You can find Trina’s blog here.

Print

Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Veggies

These Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Veggies are healthy and so easy to make! Pineapple chunks, crisp veggies, and perfectly seasoned meatballs are coated in a delicious homemade sweet and tangy sauce. Say goodbye to takeout! This kid-friendly meal is sure to become a new family favorite. 

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Asian

Keyword easy dinner, freezer meal, make ahead meal, sweet and sour meatballs, sweet and sour vegetables

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce

• 2 cups chicken stock can sub vegetable or mushroom broth
• 2 tbsp soy sauce I used organic low sodium tamari
• 1/2 cup sherry or white wine vinegar I used white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup honey or sucanat I used honey
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder or organic corn starch I used arrowroot powder

For the Veggies

• 1 green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbsp butter, coconut oil, or avocado oil I used avocado oil
• 1 red pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced I used baby bellas
• 1 small onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into chunks or one 20 oz can pineapple chunks I used fresh pineapple

Instructions

For the Meatballs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix ground beef, diced onion, oats, egg, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. Mix with hands until combined. Roll into one-inch diameter balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until well browned.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together chicken stock, soy sauce, sherry/vinegar, honey, and arrowroot/corn starch.

3. Heat butter or oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. When pan is hot, throw in chopped peppers and onions. Cook for 2-4 minutes until tender-crisp. Add the pineapple and mushrooms to pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring gently.

4. Add sauce and meatballs to the pot. Stir gently to combine and allow to cook and bubble for a few minutes, or until sauce is thickened*. Add more salt and crushed red pepper to taste. Serve over warm brown rice, riced cauliflower, quinoa, or whole-wheat couscous.

Recipe Notes

*If the sauce is not thick enough, you can create a slurry by mixing a few tablespoons of arrowroot with an equal amount of water in a small bowl. Slowly add some of the slurry to your sauce and stir for a few minutes. Continue adding the slurry to the sauce until you reach your desired consistency. 

We recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible.