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Home Collections Party Food

Cocktail Meatballs with Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce

By:Nagi
Published:27 Nov '17Updated:3 Sep '20
93 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Plump, juicy and soft, these Party Cocktail Meatballs are baked and served with a fabulous Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce that’s super quick to make. Great make ahead for parties!

Plump, juicy and soft, these Party Cocktail Meatballs are baked and served with a fabulous Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce that's super quick to make. Great make ahead for parties! www.recipetineats.com

I know it’s Monday so I should be sharing a sensible quick ‘n easy meal, but it’s Monday Meatball Mania* today and the party season is upon us so cocktail meatballs it is!!

Plump, juicy and soft – as all meatballs should be – these Cocktail Meatballs are served with a Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce. Individually, you’ll find both tasty. Combine them together – and woah. It’s kind of like Chimichurri Sauce. By itself, you wonder why people go bonkers over it. Eat it with steak and you understand. 🙂

* Monday Meatball Mania is a “thing” that my friend Jo from Jo Cooks and I started at the beginning of this year where we each agreed to share a meatball recipe on the last Monday of every month. Why are we doing this? Because we both agree that all foods that come in ball shapes are exceptionally tasty, there should be more of it, and meatballs are arguably the King of all Ball Shaped Foods, so this is our contribution to making this world a better place.

How to Make Cocktail Meatballs www.recipetineats.com

↑↑↑ Note how I roll out my meatballs: measure and dollop it all out, then roll them into balls. I’ve made a lot of meatballs in my time. Pending the invention of a meatball maker, this is the most efficient way I’ve been able to come up with for rolling meatballs.

↑↑↑ Also note: pork + beef. Because this = optimum tenderness, juiciness, flavour and texture for cocktail meatballs (in my humble, meatball obsessed opinion).

↑↑↑ Also….  baked not fried. Because this = rounder, easier, healthier. Wait until you see me giving these babies a squeeze in the video to show you how soft they are …..  😂

These Cocktail Meatballs are served with a Sweet & Sour Sauce that I coat the meatballs with as well as serving on the side for dipping. If you usually use store bought, I really urge you to try homemade just once – I am pretty sure you’ll be converted for life! It’s incredibly easy to make with pantry staples – vinegar, ketchup, sugar, cornflour / cornstarch, water and soy sauce (<– No, it doesn’t taste Asiany, soy sauce provides the salt + extra flavour). Just plonk it all into a saucepan, whisk and simmer for a couple of minutes until it thickens.

Sweet and Sour Sauce for Cocktail Meatballs www.recipetineats.com

Sweet and Sour Sauce for Cocktail Meatballs www.recipetineats.com

These Cocktail Meatballs reheat really well, so they’re ideal for gatherings. Bake them, let them cool, then cover and refrigerate or freeze. Microwave to reheat and they’ll become nice and soft again. The Sweet & Sour Sauce keeps for days too – I’m not exactly sure how long, but it’s the sort of thing I’d still consume even a week after making it.

Put them out with toothpicks and serve them at your next party. Or… make them for DINNER!!! I mean, I know I call them Cocktail Meatballs. But really, they’re just Sweet & Sour Meatballs. That’s a dinner meal, right?! – Nagi x


More cocktail food for parties

  • Cheeseburger Party Meatballs

  • Smoked Salmon Stacks

  • Spinach Ricotta Rolls or Puffs

  • Ham and Cheese Puffs

  • Sausage Rolls

  • Chorizo Bites in Sweet & Sour Sauce

  • Coconut Shrimp / Prawns with Thai Mango Dipping Sauce

  • Truly Crispy Baked Wings – or Buffalo Wings

  • See all Dip Recipes, all Party Food and the Top 25 Party Foods!

Plump, juicy and soft, these Party Cocktail Meatballs are baked and served with a fabulous Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce that's super quick to make. Great make ahead for parties! www.recipetineats.com

Plump, juicy and soft, these Party Cocktail Meatballs are baked and served with a fabulous Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce that's super quick to make. Great make ahead for parties! www.recipetineats.com

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Plump, juicy and soft, these Party Cocktail Meatballs are baked and served with a fabulous Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce that's super quick to make. Great make ahead for parties! recipetineats.com

Cocktail Meatballs with Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce

Author: Nagi
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 45 mins
5 from 23 votes
Servings25 meatballs
Tap or hover to scale
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  • 93
Terrific for gatherings because they reheat so well! These baked meatballs are extra juicy and tasty due to: a) using a combination of beef and pork; b) my little trick to soak the breadcrumbs in grated onion which is a technique I used in most of my meatballs, including the wildly popular Italian Meatballs and Swedish Meatballs (read the rave reviews!). The Sauce and Meatballs individually are lovely, but combined together they are sensational. Recipe VIDEO below.

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
  • ½ onion
  • 250 g / ½ lb beef mince (ground beef) (Note 2)
  • 250 g / ½ lb pork mince (ground pork) (Note 2)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 1½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Sweet and Sour Sauce (makes ~ 1 cup):

  • 1 tbsp cornflour/ cornstarch
  • ¼ cup / 65 ml water
  • ½ cup / 125 ml apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup / 100g brown sugar (adjust to taste)
  • ¼ cup / 65 ml tomato ketchup
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce (Note 2)

Garnish (optional):

  • Finely chopped chives

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 220C / 430F (standard) or 200C / 390F (fan / convection).
  • Grate onion into a large bowl using a standard box grater. Add breadcrumbs and mix to coat. Leave to soak for a few minutes.
  • Add remaining Meatballs ingredients. Mix well with your hands until combined.
  • Measure out level tablespoons and dollop onto work surface. Roll into balls. (My way of rolling balls - fast!)
  • Place a rack on a baking tray (optional, Note 3). Spray rack generously with oil. Place balls on the rack.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until browned. Remove tray from oven, immediately transfer meatballs in a large bowl (if you leave them, they stick).
  • Drizzle with enough sauce to coat the meatballs. Toss gently, then transfer to serving bowl / plate. Garnish with chives, if desired.
  • Serve meatballs with toothpicks and remaining Sauce for Dipping.

SWEET and SOUR SAUCE:

  • Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine.
  • Bring to simmer, stirring / whisking regularly, then simmer until it thickens to a syrup consistency – or thicker if you like. (about 3 minutes)
  • Pour meatballs in a bowl, pour a bit of sauce to coat. Serve with remaining sauce, garnished with chives.

Recipe Notes:

1. Panko breadcrumbs are larger than normal breadcrumbs, yielding softer meatballs. You’ll find panko breadrumbs in the Asian section in most supermarkets, or sometimes alongside regular breadcrumbs.
2. MEAT: Feel free to use all beef or all pork, or even chicken and turkey would be terrific for these. I use a combination of beef and pork because it’s a great combination for flavour, juiciness and tenderness in a meatball. Using all beef will be firmer, all pork is… well, porkier. And juicier, because ground pork is more tender than beef.
3. Rack is optional. It keeps the balls rounder and allows them to brown more even all over.
4. SAUCE: This Sweet & Sour Sauce is not obscenely sweet, it’s got a nice balance of sweet and tang. If you want sweeter, just stir through more sugar at the end, or more vinegar for more tang. The soy sauce adds salt but doesn’t make it taste Chinese / Asian at all. It smells sharp when cooking so avoid breathing in the fumes!!!
5. MAKE AHEAD: These reheat very well because they are so juicy. Remove meatballs from rack as soon as you take them out of the oven. Cool uncovered, then cover and store in the fridge or freezer until required. Store Sauce separately. To serve, thaw (if frozen) then reheat in the microwave. Warm Sauce slightly, then toss meatballs in some Sauce and serve the rest as a Dipping Sauce on the side.
KEEPING WARM while serving - slow cooker on warm setting is ideal!
6. SERVINGS: This makes about 25 meatballs, about 2.5 cm / 1" each. 
7. Nutrition per meatballs, assuming all the Sauce is consumed which it probably won't be, so the actual calories per meatball will be lower. 
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

 


WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT


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93 Comments

  1. Carol says

    February 7, 2022 at 2:53 pm

    5 stars
    I made this tonight with American wagyu beef. I used champagne vinegar because that was what I had. You are right that the fumes cooking the sauce is a lot but wow! These might be the best meatballs I have ever eaten.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 7, 2022 at 3:48 pm

      Very fancy Carol! I bet they were awesome with wagyu!! N x

      Reply
  2. Julie says

    January 18, 2022 at 4:04 pm

    5 stars
    These meatballs are absolutely delicious and the sauce is an absolute must to have with them. Meatballs hold together really well and baking them in the oven is simply and easy. A gem of a recipe.

    Reply
  3. Leah says

    December 30, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    Is there any chance you could leave the tomato sauce out? Will this ruin the recipe? Thanks

    Reply
  4. Dima says

    December 20, 2021 at 7:19 am

    The video link does not work:/

    Reply
  5. Sophia says

    November 24, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    I want to make these for a friend who can’t eat onions or the white part of any onions such as spring onions. What can I use as a substitute please? I was thinking maybe celery. What do you recommend?
    Many thanks. I love your recipes.

    Reply
  6. Sophia says

    November 24, 2021 at 2:49 pm

    I want to make these for a friend who can’t eat onion or the white part of any onions such spring onions. Any suggestions for how I can change up this recipe? What can I soak the breadcrumbs with instead of onion please?

    Reply
  7. Julie says

    November 14, 2021 at 8:54 am

    5 stars
    These meatballs were so delicious and super easy to make. The sauce is an absolute highlight as well. Made them for a birthday party and they were the first to go. Everyone loved them.

    Reply
  8. Lozza says

    September 30, 2021 at 7:58 pm

    Can the meatballs and sauce be prepared but not cooked, the day before and stored separately in the fridge?

    Reply
    • Sudha says

      December 3, 2021 at 1:03 am

      I hope she replies. I’d like to make in the morning and keep it in the fridge and bake it in the evening.

      Reply
  9. Louise says

    September 26, 2021 at 10:01 am

    5 stars
    This recipe is awesome! I made it tonight, meatballs are perfect and the sauce is the best!! So tangy and delisciuos.

    Since I live in rural Alberta, Canada and my sons are hunters, we used venison, (Deer Meat). The method for the meat was amazing and venison is very lean since we buther it ourselves. The meat was moist and very flavourfull! We will adopt this method to making homemade burgers from now on. Our challenge is coming up with a name…Nagi Burgers or simply Dozers! Lol

    Than you again Nagi for such a simple and perfect recipe! Another new family favourite.

    Reply
    • cindy says

      January 1, 2022 at 5:35 am

      Louise, same here! But I’m using elk and moose. Did you add the pork or just use the venison?

      Reply
      • Louise says

        January 1, 2022 at 1:38 pm

        5 stars
        Hi Cindy

        I just used the plain venison as the grated onion adds enough moisture.

        Reply
  10. Leah says

    September 21, 2021 at 12:07 pm

    Made these the other night and am addicted. They went way to fast so want to double the batch this time. Would I double everything including the egg? Or stick to one egg?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 22, 2021 at 6:44 pm

      Hi Leah, if you click the servings and scale up, all the ingredients will scale up for you 🙂 N x

      Reply
  11. Erin says

    September 11, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    These were delicious! I made them for a small party and they were gone within a few minutes. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 12, 2021 at 10:16 am

      Awesome Erin! N x

      Reply
  12. Lill says

    September 10, 2021 at 2:56 pm

    5 stars
    Best quick and easy sweet sour tangy sauce ever. 😘 thank you

    Reply
  13. Laura says

    August 20, 2021 at 7:03 am

    Could I use 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of brown sugar?
    Also, I’m going to try using 1/2 chicken & 1/2 turkey. Will I have to manually turn the meatballs to brown them on both sides?

    Reply
  14. Laura says

    August 20, 2021 at 7:02 am

    Could I use 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of brown sugar?
    Also, I’m going to try using 1/2 chicken & 1/2 turkey. Will I have to manually turn the meatballs to brown them on both sides? Thanks! First time trying this recipe for friends.

    Reply
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