Pineapple Glazed Meatballs

I will admit, years ago I tried making meatballs and failed miserably. Whatever I did, it was all wrong because they ended up in the trash. It was actually Gabi who found a recipe and made them with some pasta that changed my meatball game.

This recipe is simple and tasty and easy to cook. You could jazz them up with more spices such as thyme and sage or cayenne for a kick! Eat them with spaghetti or serve them as an appetizer. For this recipe, I have covered them with a pineapple glaze. Add a toothpick (because as the man with the yellow hat from Curious George says, “It’s not a party without small food on toothpicks.”) and serve as party food!

For the pineapple glaze, I juiced a whole pineapple but you could just buy pineapple juice and it would work just as well. I used cornstarch as the thickening agent. At first I used 2 tablespoons and it was fairly thick so I changed to 1 tablespoon and I thought it was better. If you like the glaze thicker, go with 2 tablespoons. Make sure to mix the sugar with the cornstarch before adding it to the pineapple juice or else the cornstarch will end up in clumps – gross. Happy cooking and enjoy these pineapple glazed meatballs!

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Pineapple Glazed Meatballs

Tasty meatballs covered in sweet pineapple glaze.  

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey I use half of each
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbls vegetable or coconut oil

Pineapple Glaze

• 3/4 cup pineapple juice
• 1 Tbls soy sauce
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbls cornstarch

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl place all the meatball ingredients except the oil and mix with your hand until combined.  Be careful not to over mix or the meat will be tough.  Roll meat into balls the size of a golf ball.  You should have about 25.

2. Heat the oil in a 12″ frying pan on medium heat.  Place half of the meatballs in the pan.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes and turn.  Do that until the entire meatball is cooked and the internal temp is 165 degrees F.  

3. While the meatballs are cooking, place pineapple juice and soy sauce in a small sauce pan over medium heat.  Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl until it is all combined.  When the pineapple juice comes to a boil, add the sugar mixture and stir until it thickens.  Set aside.

4. Once all the meatballs are done, pour the pineapple sauce over them and toss until they are completely coated with the glaze.  Place on a serving platter with toothpicks.  Enjoy!