These sweet and sour meatballs are some of the most flavorful meatballs I’ve ever tasted! I serve them with a delicious 3-ingredient sweet and sour sauce for an easy dinner or party appetizer.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs with a 3-Ingredient Sauce
My whole family loves meatballs, and these sweet and sour meatballs are a tasty alternative to my everyday Meatball Recipe. I love to serve these for an easy dinner with rice and some quick sautéed veggies. They’re also a great party appetizer, served with my simple 3-ingredient sweet and sour sauce for dipping!
What makes these sweet and sour meatballs so good, besides the sweet and tangy sauce, is the combination of ingredients that goes into the meat mixture. Fresh ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and chopped green onions bring the best Asian-inspired flavors to these ground turkey meatballs.
How to Make Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Baking these meatballs in the oven makes this recipe so easy, and saves you the mess of flipping meatballs in a pan on the stove.
Make the meatballs: Combine the egg, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, green onions, salt, pepper and panko bread crumbs in a large bowl. Stir with a fork until well mixed. Then mix in the ground turkey until just combined. Shape the mixture into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on a greased baking sheet.
Make the sweet and sour sauce: Whisk together the hoisin sauce, honey and rice vinegar in a small bowl.
Bake the meatballs at 400° F for 12-16 minutes, until cooked through. I like to brush a little of the glaze over the meatballs when there is one minute of cook time left. Then serve the meatballs with the glaze, either drizzled over the top or in a small bowl for dipping.
Tips For the Best Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Don’t overmix the meat mixture. To avoid overworking the meat, first I mix together all of the meatball ingredients except for the ground turkey. Once everything is well mixed, mix in the meat with a fork or your hands until just combined.
- This meat mixture tends to be sticky. If it starts sticking to your hands when you shape the meatballs, use slightly wet hands.
- I love these meatballs made with ground turkey, but you could also use ground chicken, ground beef or ground pork. You might also enjoy my classic Turkey Meatballs recipe.
- Baking the meatballs at a high temperature makes for the best meatballs. I bake them at 400° F, which browns them quickly seals in the juices.
Ways I’ve Served These
- With rice and veggies. Pictured here I served them with white rice and some broccoli, carrots and bell peppers that I sautéed in a skillet.
- With stir-fried bell peppers and onions, plus canned pineapple. (Similar to my Sweet and Sour Chicken, but with these baked meatballs in place of the chicken.)
- Over noodles. They’re great in a noodle bowl with sautéed or roasted vegetables and drizzled with the sauce.
- As an appetizer, on toothpicks with the sauce in a small dish for dipping. If I’m making these as appetizers, I like to make the meatballs a little smaller. (They’ll bake a bit faster if shaped smaller.)
Freezing Instructions
You can freeze these meatballs before or after baking:
- Before Baking: Place the uncooked meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet or baking dish. The meatballs can be spaced closely together but should not be touching. Place in the freezer for 2 hours, until frozen through. Transfer the frozen meatballs to a zip-top freezer bag and seal airtight. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Label the bag so you’ll remember what’s inside and when to use it by! To bake, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and then cook according to the recipe instructions.
- After Baking: Let the cooked meatballs cool completely, then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw meatballs overnight in the refrigerator. Then wrap them in foil (to keep them from drying out) and warm in a 350° F oven for 12-15 minutes, until heated through.
Made this recipe? I’d truly appreciate if you leave a comment and star rating below! Your review will help others who want to try this recipe. Thank you! 💛
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger, or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 green onions, white and light green parts only, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 pound ground turkey, I used 93% lean*
Sweet and Sour Glaze:
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, or other white vinegar
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, canola oil or avocado oil.
- Combine all meatball ingredients except for the ground turkey (egg, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, green onions, salt, pepper and panko bread crumbs) in a large bowl. Stir with a fork until well mixed.1 egg, 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger, 3 green onions, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- Add the ground turkey and mix with your hands until just combined.1 pound ground turkey
- Form the mixture into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on the greased baking sheet. (If the mixture sticks to your hands, try forming the meatballs with slightly damp hands.) You can space the meatballs fairly close together, so long as they aren’t touching. You will make about 18 meatballs.
- Bake for 12-16 minutes, until cooked through. The center of the meatballs should register at least 165° F on an instant-read thermometer. Optional: brush some of the glaze over the tops of the meatballs during the last minute of the cook time.
- While the meatballs bake, make the sweet and sour glaze: Combine all glaze ingredients (hoisin sauce, honey and rice vinegar) in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Serve meatballs with glaze for drizzling or dipping.¼ cup hoisin sauce, ¼ cup honey, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- Serve meatballs with brown rice, white rice or noodles, plus sautéed or roasted vegetables, or as desired. These also make a great appetizer, served on toothpicks with the glaze for dipping.
Notes
- Ground Turkey: I don’t recommend using leaner ground turkey than 93% since you need a little bit of fat for moisture and flavor. You can also make this recipe with ground chicken, ground beef or ground pork.
- To Freeze Before Baking: Place the uncooked meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet or baking dish. The meatballs can be spaced closely together but should not be touching. Place in the freezer for 2 hours, until frozen through. Transfer the frozen meatballs to a zip-top freezer bag and seal airtight. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Label the bag so you’ll remember what’s inside and when to use it by! To bake, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and then cook according to the recipe instructions.
- To Freeze After Baking: Let the cooked meatballs cool completely, then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw meatballs overnight in the refrigerator. Then wrap them in foil (to keep them from drying out) and warm in a 350° F oven for 12-15 minutes, until heated through.
I originally shared this recipe in August 2018. Updated December 2025 with new photos, a step-by-step recipe video and more helpful information.
These meatballs were absolutely delicious! Basted the meatballs with the sauce instead of using as a dipper (shook in a mason jar, worked out perfectly). Did the last baste followed by a quick blast from the broiler for a sticky top to the meatballs. Thank you for sharing such a tasty recipe!
THANK YOU for letting me know what you thought! That is a great idea to shake up the sauce in a mason jar and baste the meatballs. I’m going to try that next time!
Awesome, meatballs! My family inhaled them.
Delicious meatballs! The kiddos and hubby really enjoyed these. Will definitely be making again.
I’m so glad your family loved these!
Delicious meatballs, will cook them again.