Hi everyone! I have something a little different for you today. I know I normally bring you baked goods, but everyone needs quick and easy dinner recipes, and I have one for you today. This was one of my favorite meals growing up – a sort of sweet and sour meatball served over rice. It’s definitely not your standard Italian or Swedish meatball recipe, but it is really delicious. And kids love them!
You start by making pretty basic beef meatballs. Then you cook them in the sauce – no browning ahead of time needed. The sauce is really simple – just four ingredients (plus water) that you probably have in your pantry. Ketchup, mustard, flour, and sugar. Four simple ingredients, but together they are more than the sum of their parts.
My mom always cooked these in a casserole dish in the oven, but I converted it to a slow cooker recipe. She thinks her aunt, who gave her the recipe, often made them in a slow cooker as well. Use whichever method works best for you and your schedule.
Although I haven’t strayed too far from the original recipe, I feel confident you could use your favorite meatball recipe with this sauce. Just don’t cook the meatballs ahead of time. I would probably skip on highly flavored recipes like sausage-based ones, but I think this would be a great place to substitute ground turkey or chicken. Since the meatballs cook in the sauce, there is less chance they will end up dry.
We always ate these meatballs over minute rice, but any type of rice or other starch would work well. You definitely want something to help soak up that sauce. Add in a vegetable, and you’ve got a quick, easy weeknight meal!
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people
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- 1 pound ground beef
- 3/4 cup store-bought bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups water 2 1/2 cups for oven method
Ingredients
Meatballs
Sauce
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- Combine all meatball ingredients until well mixed.
- Form into slightly-larger-than golf ball sized balls. I use a regular size ice cream scoop to keep them even. Place into slow cooker (or casserole dish).
- Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk until sugar is dissolved and flour in incorporated.
- Pour sauce over meatballs. Add water if needed to just cover meatballs.
- In slow cooker, cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. In the oven, cook for about 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
- Serve over rice.
- Recipe can be doubled (or tripled if you have a big enough pan.
- Serve over the starch of your choice.
- Feel free to experiment with other meat choices - turkey, chicken, etc.