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There are a million different ways to enjoy meatballs at home, with all kinds of different flavors. One of the least known about, yet possibly one of the most delicious, is the strange-sounding Hawaiian meatballs.
Why I Think You’ll Love This Recipe
- These meatballs work great on a bed of rice or even in a sandwich such as a meatball sub!
- The meatballs are tender and delicious thanks to the cooking method, making them a surefire hit for the whole family.
Tender and Delicious Hawaiian Meatballs
Whenever anything has the prefix of “Hawaiian,” you can be pretty confident that it is going to have pineapple in it.
However, the key component of this recipe isn’t just the pineapple but the sweet and sour sauce that goes over everything.
How To Make Hawaiian Meatballs
- Mix the ground beef, cracker crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger, and milk together and shape into rounded tablespoon sized balls
- Cook, drain and set aside
- Prepare the sauce
- Heat, combine and serve!
What pineapple should I use for the sauce?
In the case of a sweet and sour sauce such as this one, I recommend using pineapple tidbits from a can.
While you can certainly use a fresh pineapple if you wish, the preparation is a bit tougher and prepared tidbits from a can have already softened up, are full of pineapple juice and flavor and tend to work better for this recipe (it also massively cuts down on the prep time).
When it comes to pairing these meatballs for main meal, nothing beats a simple bed of rice, unless of course, you want to make a meatball sub using these meatballs (I can’t see how that would be bad).
Happy Cooking
Love,
Karlynn
More Meatball Recipes
Hawaiian Meatballs
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Course
- Main Course
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 6
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Lbs ground beef
- 2/3 cup cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup onion (minced)
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 cup milk
- One 13.5oz can Pineapple tidbits (drained, reserve syrup)
- 1/3 cup green pepper (diced)
Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Mix the ground beef, cracker crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger, and milk together and shape into rounded tablespoon sized balls.
- In a large saucepan on medium heat, cook the meatballs for 10 minutes turning often to brown all sides. Place the meatballs in a bowl to the side and drain any fat from the meatballs. Set the pan aside to use for the sauce.
- In a small bowl mix the cornstarch and the sugar until combined. Add in the reserved pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce and whisk until well combined.
- Return the pan to medium heat and add the sauce. Bring to a boil and stir for about 1 minute until it thickens up.
- Add in the pineapple and the green peppers and stir to combine. Gently add in the meatballs and return the mixture to a simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and serve.
Recipe Notes
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Marie says
cracker crumbs? what exactly is cracker crumbs?
MarieK says
Hi Fellow Marie. I am not sure what type of cracker crumbs Karlynn is using in the above recipe, but I would use crushed unsalted saltines. I use them in my turkey stuffing anyway, which offers a different texture than bread crumbs. Hope this is helpful.
Danielle Porter says
I was wondering the same thing…”cracker”
Crumbs is very generic.
Any reason why Panko wouldn’t work?
Martine says
How much pineapple juice did you add to the sauce. I bought deli pineapple chunks which have very little juice in the carton. Can OJ sub for whatever quantity of juice you added to the sauce?
B says
Nutrition information?