If you love sweet and sour chicken, you will adore these Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs!
The meatballs are mixed with crispy stir fried veg and tossed in a glossy, tangy, sweet sauce that's just the right balance of sticky, sweet and savoury.
The meatballs are ground chicken and unlike traditional sweet and sour chicken, which is often deep fried, these meatballs are lightly browned and then finished in the air fryer. (You can pan cook them too if you don't have an air fryer)
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Ingredients Notes
These notes are here to help make this recipe a success; they cover some but not all ingredients. For a complete ingredient list, with quantities, check out the recipe card below.
Ground Chicken/Chicken Mince: I like to buy ground chicken that combines thigh and breast meat, as I feel this gives you a juicer meatball. But not all grocery stores sell it or label it as such. So use what your local store has.
Garlic: As with every recipe on my site, please measure garlic with your heart. You can add more or less to suit your family.
Chinese Cooking Wine: This is also known as Chinese Rice Wine, Shaoxing Cooking Rice Wine, Shaoxing Wine or Shoaoxing Cooking Wine. You can find it in most grocery stores in the Asian section, on Amazon, or in your local Asian grocery store. Use dry sherry or sake if you don't have Chinese cooking wine.
Panko Breadcrumbs: You can find these easily in grocery stores. They have a great crispy texture, which, when mixed with the ground chicken, makes the meatballs easier to form. You can substitute with regular unseasoned breadcrumbs.
White Pepper: White pepper adds a more authentic flavor, but you can substitute with black pepper.
Onion: I use a regular brown onion, but you can use a red, yellow or white onion.
Bell Peppers: We like to do a mixture of colors. Red and green look pretty but yellow would also be great. Or use two red peppers if that is what you have.
Ketchup: The regular kind that might have with your French fries. (Called tomato sauce in Australia.)
Canned Pineapple Chunks: Buy the canned pineapple chunks that come in juice, not syrup. The juice is used in the sauce. You want to buy chunks as they are the biggest; don't go for tidbits (USA) or pieces (AU), as they are smaller and are more prone to fall apart. As a can of pineapple differs from country to country, go for a can that is between 17oz-20oz/435g-550g.
Brown Sugar: You can substitute it with white sugar if you prefer.
Recipe Tips
We've tested this recipe at least 3 times to ensure it works well for you. Have a look at our tips for getting the best dish you can!
- Some supermarkets ground chicken is wetter than others, so if your chicken mixture is too wet. You can either put it in the fridge for 30 minutes, or if it is really wet, add a little extra breadcrumbs. Don't add too many, they can give the meatball a firmer, denser texture.
- When rolling the meatballs, have a bowl of cold water next to you, and after each meatball, dip your hand in there to make it easier to roll them.
- You can cook the meatballs in a skillet or air fryer. As the mixture is quite soft, it is almost impossible to keep them perfectly round. Don't stress about them!
- Chop the onion and bell peppers into large chunks so they don't lose their crunch when cooked.
- Once you add the pineapple to the sauce, stir gently, as you don't want the pieces to break apart.
- If your sauce is a little thin, this is usually due to more pineapple juice, thicken it with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch/cornflour mixed with 1 teaspoon of cold water. Pour this in and boil the sauce for 2 minutes.
Why Is This Recipe Special?
I developed this recipe for as I love sweet and sour chicken but wanted to find a way to have it without the fried chicken. It is delicious with just chunks of chicken, but ground chicken is a really affordable protein. Plus everyone loves meatballs! I love that you can make the meatballs during the day, which really helps take the stress out if dinnertime! This was a massive hit with my family, and I think you will love it too!
- It is a kid-friendly meal that adults love just as much.
- You can adapt the veg to suit your family.
- The meatballs can be prepped in advance, making mealtime less stressful.
- The meatballs can be cooked in a skillet or in an air fryer.
- Leftovers reheat well.
Recipe Adaptations
These are just suggestions and things that have worked in my test kitchen for my family, but it is your dinner, so adapt it to suit your family. That is the beauty of cooking; we can all create our own delicious meals.
- Add extra veg to your stir fry. Snow peas, carrots, broccoli florets, mushrooms, baby corn, bamboo shoots, beansprouts, or water chestnuts would all be great additions.
- Add extra spice with some red pepper flakes or some sweet chili sauce.
- Add crunch with some peanuts.
- Sweap the ground hciken for ground turkey and make turkey meatballs.
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FAQ's
These are some of the questions our testers have asked. If you have any other questions, please drop me a comment below, are I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Although I have not personally tried this, as the meatballs are cooked and then added to the sauce, I see no reason why you couldn't use storebought pre-cooked meatballs. Or buy the fresh uncooked ones you get in the meat section and cook them yourself.
You sure can! This sauce is excellent with chunked or shredded cooked chicken. Just add the meat to the sauce when you add the pineapple.
If the mixture is sticky and hard to roll, pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
Also, keep your hands wet while you rill the meatballs. This stops the meat from sticking to your hands. You can use oil on your hands if you prefer.
As the ground chicken is quite wet, you may need extra breadcrumbs o help the meatballs stay together. Don't add too many, they can make the meatballs dense and hard.
Serving Suggestions
If you're wondering what to serve with this recipe, I've pulled together some of my (and my kids) favorite ideas so you can mix and match sides and drinks to make a complete meal.
What to eat with Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
This is the perfect meal for serving with rice. My kids love it with plain white rice, but it is excellent with fried rice. As it is a saucy dish, I often add a side of steamed mantou buns. It is also great over stir-fried noodles. If you want vegetable sides, try stir-fried wok-choy, garlic green beans, steamed broccoli or snow peas.
What to drink with Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
My white wine of choice would be a Gewürztraminer, It has a wonderful floral tropical fruit taste. Or an off-dry Riesling is perfect too. The slight sweetness in both wines and bright acidity balance the brown sugar and tangy vinegar in the sauce. Or, if you don't want an off-dry wine then try a Grüner Veltliner, which is a crisp Austrian white with citrus and peppery notes. It should balance the sauce without overpowering it.
For red wine drinkers, the lesser-known Zweigelt would work well with the sweet tangy sauce. It is another Australian wine that is fresh and fruity. A great everyday red would be a light, fruity Pinot Noir or a Gamay. They both will compliment the sweet and sour elements but work well with the chicken meatballs.
For a fun drink, try a Lambrusco. The refreshing bubbles work well with the sauce and the lower alcohol content means it is great for mid-week.
More Recipes to Try
If you enjoyed this dish, here are a few more recipes I think you'll love! They're all easy, tasty, and perfect for adding to your weekly meal plan.
Enjoy x
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Any questions about the recipe? Use the comment section below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Get the Recipe
Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken (see note 1)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs (see note 3)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
To cook meatballs
- 2 tablespoon oil skillet (see note 4)
- spray oil air fryer (see note 4)
For the stir fry
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 bell peppers chopped (see note 5)
For the sauce
- ¾ cup tomato ketchup
- 3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoon brown sugar (see note 6)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (see note 2)
- 1 can pineapple chunks in juice (see note 7)
Instructions
Make the Meatballs
- Add all the meatball ingredients into a bowl and mix until just combined.1 lb ground chicken2 cloves garlic1 teaspoon Chinese cooking wine1 teaspoon soy sauce⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs½ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon white pepper
- Measure out a heaped tablespoon of mixture and place it on your chopping board. Repeat with all the mixture.
- Wet your hands with cold water and roll each tablespoon into a ball. Wet your hands between each meatball.
To cook the meatballs in a skillet
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 8 minutes, turning regularly.2 tablespoon oil
To cook the meatballs in the air fryer (in batches)
- Preheat the Air fryer to 400F.
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil and place your meatballs on it, leaving space between them.spray oil
- Air fry the meatballs for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Remove and cook the next batch of meatballs.
To make the sauce
- Add the oil to a large frying pan/skillet or wok and heat over medium-high heat.1 tablespoon oil
- Add the chopped onions and bell peppers and cook for 3 minutes until just cooked but still quite crunchy.1 onion2 bell peppers
- Add the tomato ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine and stir. Then, add the tinned pineapple with its juice and stir gently.¾ cup tomato ketchup3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar6 tablespoon brown sugar1 teaspoon soy sauce1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine1 can pineapple chunks in juice
- Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes until everything is hot and the meatballs are cooked through.
Notes
- I like to buy ground chicken that combines thigh and breast meat, which gives a juicer meatball. But not all grocery stores sell it or label it as such. So use what your local store has.
- Chinese Cooking Wine is also known as Chinese Rice Wine, Shaohsing Rice Cooking Wine, Shaoxing Wine, or Shaoxing Cooking Wine. You can find it in most grocery stores in the Asian section, on Amazon, or in your local Asian grocery store. Use dry sherry or sake if you can't find Chinese Cooking Wine.
- You can substitute the panko with regular breadcrumbs.
- If you cook the meatballs in a skillet, you will need 2 tablespoons of oil. Using the air fryer, you can spray the basket with oil.
- We like a mixture of bell peppers; red and green look pretty, but red and yellow would also be great. Or use two red bell peppers if you like.
- You can substitute the brown sugar with white if you prefer.
- Ensure you buy the canned pineapple chunks that come in juice, not syrup. The juice is used in the sauce. You want to buy the chunks as they are the biggest; don't go for pineapple tidbits (USA) or pineapple pieces (AU), as they are smaller and are more prone to fall apart in the sauce. As the can size of pineapple differs from country to country, go for a can that is between 17oz-20oz or 435g-550g.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
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