Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Beef meatballs simmered in a sweet and sour sauce of onions, ketchup and brown sugar. Make them cocktail size or dinner size; they are even better the second day.

Gluten-free with swapsVegetarian with swapsDairy-freeFreezer-friendly

Contains: egg, wheat. Based on the ingredients as written; check package labels, which can change.

From the recipe book of Sandra Mills, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained cook in our family.

Sweet and sour meatballs in sauce in a white bowl
  • Prep 25 min
  • Cook 2 hr
  • Total 2 hr 25 min

Updated

Jump to: Ingredients | Instructions | Tips | Print recipe

These sweet and sour meatballs are a Jewish family classic. A pound of diced onion simmers for an hour with ketchup, brown sugar and water to make the sauce, then beef meatballs go straight into the boiling sauce to cook for another hour.

Sandra Mills notes they taste better the second day, once chilled and the fat lifted off the top. Her family likes them over rice for dinner; make them small for a cocktail party.

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1 pound of onions (2 large), diced
  • 2 cups Heinz ketchup
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 5 cups of water

Meatballs

  • 2 pounds of hamburg
  • 1 medium onion, diced fine
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1/2 cup water

To make it gluten-free

  • For the bread or cracker crumbs, use gluten-free bread crumbs or panko.

See all our gluten-free recipes.

To make it vegetarian

  • For the ground meat, use a plant-based ground meat, or cooked lentils mixed with finely chopped mushrooms.

Meat substitutes change the flavor, texture and cooking time: cook plant-based meats to the package directions, and tofu and mushrooms only need to brown and heat through. See all our vegetarian recipes.

Instructions

  1. Simmer the sauce. In a large pot, combine the diced onion, ketchup, brown sugar and water. Simmer for 1 hour.
  2. Mix the meatballs. Mix the hamburg, onion, eggs, bread crumbs, ketchup and water together.
  3. Cook. Form into meatballs and drop them into the pot of boiling sauce, small for cocktail size or large for a meal. Simmer for at least an hour more.
  4. Serve. Serve over rice for dinner. They taste even better the next day, chilled with the fat removed from the top and reheated.

Dairy-freeBudget-friendlyGluten-free with swapsVegetarian with swaps

Tips

  • To freeze: cool it quickly, pack it in airtight containers or freezer bags, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat to 165°F.
  • The 5 cups of water is handwritten into the typed page in Sandra's book.
  • Ground beef should reach 160°F.

Printable: safe cooking temperatures chart (PDF).

Serve it with

Build the whole dinner: sides, sauce and dessert ›

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