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Polynesian-American

Pineapple Glazed Meatballs

Sweet and savory meatballs glazed with pineapple, brown sugar, and soy

hot_biteEasyPolynesian-American
Prep25 minCook20 minTotal45 minServes40Temphot
✓ dairy-free
⚠ Contains: 🌾 Gluten, 🫘 Soy, 🥚 Egg
Recipe
Ingredients
  • 2 lbsground pork(or beef-pork blend)
  • 0.5 cuppanko breadcrumbs
  • 1 largeegg
  • 2 clovesgarlic(minced)
  • 1 tspfresh ginger(grated)
  • 0.5 tspsalt
  • 20 ozcrushed pineapple(with juice)
  • 0.5 cupbrown sugar
  • 0.25 cupsoy sauce
  • 2 tbsprice vinegar
  • 1 tbspcornstarch(mixed with 2 tbsp water)
  • 2 tbspgreen onions(sliced, for garnish)
Make Ahead

Meatballs can be baked and frozen up to 2 months. Sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Combine and reheat before serving.

Instructions
  1. 1Preheat oven to 400°F and line baking sheet with parchment
  2. 2Mix ground pork, panko, egg, garlic, ginger, and salt
  3. 3Form into 1-inch meatballs and arrange on baking sheet
  4. 4Bake 15-18 minutes until cooked through
  5. 5Meanwhile, combine pineapple with juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar in saucepan
  6. 6Bring to simmer and cook 5 minutes
  7. 7Stir in cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened
  8. 8Add baked meatballs to sauce and toss to coat
  9. 9Transfer to serving dish and garnish with green onions
  10. 10Serve warm with toothpicks
Notes
Pro Tips

Ground pork has more flavor than beef for this recipe. Don't overmix the meat or meatballs become tough. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. These hold well in a slow cooker on warm for party service.

History & Origin

Sweet and sour meatballs became a fixture of mid-century American entertaining, with the pineapple version particularly popular at tiki-themed parties. The combination of pineapple and soy sauce became shorthand for "Polynesian" flavor in American cuisine.

Cocktail Pairings
Pairs Well With
mai-tairum-punchpina-coladabeer
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Polynesian-American◆Easy