Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs with Carrots, Bell Peppers, and Pineapples tossed in a sweet and sour sauce is a favorite takeout recipe. This easy Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatball recipe takes just 20 minutes to make from scratch.

This Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatball is a take on our favorite takeout Sweet and Sour Chicken. The sauce is sweet and sour and the crispy Meatballs are equally delicious.
I just love Meatballs. Have you tried my other Chicken Meatballs recipe like Sticky Thai Meatballs with Peanut Sauce or Ginger Sesame Chicken Meatballs | Asian Chicken Meatballs or KETO Zucchini Meatballs (No Breadcrumbs) or Salsa Chicken Meatballs or Gochujang Chicken Meatballs Recipe or Authentic Butter Chicken Meatballs (in just 30-minutes) or Chicken Parmesan Meatballs stuffed with Mozzarella or Firecracker Chicken Meatballs in Air Fryer

💯 Let's Talk Taste
These Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs are one of my favorites. The Chicken Meatballs are juicy and flavorful. Also, the Sweet and Sour Sauce is seriously the best. It's made with Pineapple Juice, Ketchup, Brown Sugar, Vinegar, and Soy Sauce. So it's got amazing Asian flavors along with the tropical taste of Pineapple!
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
To make the Meatballs
- Ground Chicken
- Salt & Pepper
- Cornstarch
- Egg
To make the Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Ketchup
- Pineapple Juice
- Brown Sugar
- Vinegar
- Soy Sauce
- Sriracha
- Pineapple chunks
- Bell Pepper (finely chopped)
- Carrots (finely chopped)
- Red Onions (finely chopped)
See recipe card for quantities. Also watch the video for a quick visual.
👩🏻🍳 Instructions
STEP 1: Make the Chicken Meatballs
- Combine all the ingredients to make the meatballs in a bowl

- Make small balls
- Heat Olive Oil in a pan. As the oil shimmers, add the Meatballs and cook them in oil until crispy and golden brown on the edges.
- Once cooked, take them off the pan.

STEP 2: Make the Sauce
- In the same Pan, pour all the sauce ingredients and stir to combine.
- Throw in the chopped Bell Pepper, Carrots, Pineapples and Red Onions

- Toss to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat
- Finally toss the Chicken Meatballs with the sauce.
- Garnish with chopped Cilantro and serve immediately with rice.
Hint: This can also be made using frozen meatballs. You can toss frozen Meatballs directly in the sauce and simmer for few minutes until cooked through and then serve.

📋 Substitutions
- Ground Beef - instead of Ground Chicken you can use Ground Beef or Ground Turkey to make this recipe.
- Frozen Meatballs - Use gluten-free frozen meatballs instead of homemade Meatballs for a quick and easy dinner recipe.
- Vegetarian - Replace Ground Chicken with Chickpeas to make Vegan Meatballs.
📋 Variations
- Spicy - You can make the sauce spicy by increasing the amount of Sriracha. Many people do not like Pineapple in an entree as it makes it exceptionally sweet. However, just a hint of Sriracha will balance the flavors well
- Frozen Pineapple- You can choose Frozen Pineapple Chunks from Costco for this recipe. It's adequately sweet and makes for an easier alternative to fresh Pineapple.
- Frozen Meatballs - Frozen Meatballs will make it so much easier to cook this meal.
Have you tried my Pineapple Sweet Chili Sauce or Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken with Pineapple recipe?
✔️Baked Chicken Meatballs
Baked Chicken Meatballs are a perfect alternative to cooking the Meatballs in a skillet. You can easily make the Meatballs by rolling 1-inch sized balls and place them in one line in a greased baking dish and bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes.
After the Chicken Meatballs gets baked, toss them with the sauce.
🧊 Storage
You can make these Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs and then freeze them in a glass lid-covered container for 2-3 months. You can also refrigerate this for up to a week. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat it in the oven at 350F for 8-10 minutes before serving.
💯 Top tips
- Pineapple - Be it fresh or frozen Pineapple, make sure your Pineapple is sweet. If you're choosing a fresh Pineapple then learn how to check if it'll be sweet. Or you can replace it with frozen Pineapple chunks which you can find at Costco.
- Pineapple Juice - You can use Fresh or store-bought Pineapple Juice.
- Lean Meat - Use Chicken Meat which is about 93-95% lean. Lean Meat shall make sure that your Meatballs are moist and don't dry out after getting cooked.
- Ground Beef - You can make Sweet and Sour Meatballs the authentic way using Ground Beef. Just replace Chicken with Beef, the recipe shall remain the same.
🥗 Serving Sides
There is nothing more satisfying to watch the family gobble up on these Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs. We love this so we store them and reheat them whenever we want to enjoy this. You can serve this with...
- Schezwan Noodles
- Instant Pot Sesame Noodles (10-minutes) {Takeout Style}
- Black Pepper Noodles
- Easy Lo Mein Noodles
- Spicy Ramen Noodles Stir Fry with Vegetables
- Coconut Rice
- Jasmine Rice
I hope you liked this recipe. If you happen to make this recipe, then comment below and rate this recipe. Also, tag me with #recipemagik on Instagram.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
INGREDIENTS
To make the Chicken Meatballs
- 1 lbs Ground Chicken
- 1 whole Egg
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil more to cook the Meatballs
To make the Sweet and Sour Sauce
- ½ cup Ketchup
- 1 tablespoon White Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce light or all purpose
- ½ cup Pineapple Juice
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 medium sized Carrot thinly sliced
- 1 medium sized Bell Pepper thinly sliced
- 1 medium sized Red Onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup Pineapple chopped into chunks (sub with frozen)
- chopped Cilantro for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine all the ingredients to make the Chicken Meatballs in a bowl. Make small balls with by rolling Balls between your Palms of about 1-inch size. Heat Olive Oil in a skillet. As the oil shimmers, add the Chicken Meatballs and cook over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes or until they get golden brown on the edges. Once the Meatballs gets cooked, get them off the pan.
- To make the sweet and sour sauce combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl or pour directly in the skillet. Toss to combine. As it simmers, add the chopped Carrots, Bell Peppers, Red Onions, and Pineapple. Cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Throw in the Meatballs and simmer for 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped Cilantro and serve.
Video
Notes
- You can replace Ground Chicken with Ground Beef or Ground Turkey.
- You can use Frozen Pineapple Chunks instead of Fresh Pineapple.
- You can Bake these Chicken Meatballs. Roll 1-inch sized balls and place them in a single layer in a greased baking dish. Bake @400F for 20-25 minutes. Then toss them in the sweet and sour sauce.
Gina Smith says
Wow! This recipe for sweet and sour chicken meatballs is so good. The taste was simply perfect.