Easy Ground Chicken Meatballs (Sweet and Sour)
Kids love these ground chicken meatballs in sweet and sour sauce. Adults do too 🙂. Soft, tender meatballs in sweet tangy sauce that only take 10-15 minutes to prep with a few simple ingredients in one pot.
Servings (change as needed): 4 main dish (7-8 appetizers)
Ingredients
Meatball ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs (or matzo meal)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or a bit more if using kosher salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, white or dark meat, Note 1
- Optional extras: Note 2
Sauce ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 2 cups Ginger ale
Instructions
- PREPARE GROUND CHICKEN MIXTURE: In a large bowl, mix together the egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Add ground chicken and combine evenly but lightly. Don't over mix or meatballs will be tough. I shape one clean hand like an open claw and mix it that way.
- BOIL SAUCE: Add ketchup and ginger ale to a medium to large pot. Bring to boil over medium high heat.
- FORM MEATBALLS AND ADD TO SAUCE: Have a bowl of water nearby to wet your hands. as the mixture is sticky. Grab a little blob of chicken mixture and flop it back and forth between your two hands to lightly form a ball - about 1 1/2 inches/3.8 cm. Doesn't have to be perfectly round. Try not to handle too much. Gently drop the meatball in the boiling sauce. Repeat using the entire mixture. You will get about 25-30 meatballs. Alternatively, form all meatballs and then drop them in one at a time. Gently swirl the pot on the stove top to 'stir' the meatballs and sauce. Stirring with a spoon can break them apart. After 5 minutes they will be solid enough to stir.
- COOK MEATBALLS: Lower heat to medium-low heat and simmer for 1 hour, covered. Partially uncover the pot and cook another 30 minutes. Stir, then uncover pot and cook another 30 minutes. Sauce will thicken (it will coat the back of a spoon) and even thicken more with standing or in the fridge. Total cook time is 2 hours. If you're in a rush, 90 minutes will be fine with the cover off for the last 45 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed e.g. a squeeze of lemon juice if too sweet or a bit more salt.
Notes
- Chicken options for meatballs: I use ground chicken (preferably dark meat which is more flavorful). White meat chicken, ground beef, ground veal, ground pork, ground turkey or a mixture are all good options.
- Add-ins for more flavorful meatballs:
- 1 tablespoon of finely grated onion or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder.
- 1/3 cup/20 grams chopped fresh parsley.
- Variations:
- Lower calorie version -
- Use chicken instead of beef. Saves about 75 calories per serving.
- For the sauce, you can also use diet ginger ale. You will save approximately 10 grams of sugar and 40 calories per serving.
- Passover version: substitute bread crumbs with matzo meal.
- Too sweet? add a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Sauce too thin? Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water to the simmering sauce. Or uncover the pot and cook the meatballs longer.
- Want it spicy? Add a good pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce.
- Lower calorie version -
- Shortcut: I am not suggesting this because the recipe is so easy, but in a pinch, you can buy your favorite cooked meatballs and simmer them in the sauce uncovered for 45-60 minutes.
- Make ahead:
- Store in the fridge: Make the full recipe, cool the meatballs and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: The meatballs freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw the frozen meatballs in the fridge them warm them in the microwave or stove top. Freeze meatballs in flat containers or ziploc bags for quicker defrosting.
Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 187mg | Sodium: 1560mg | Potassium: 1172mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 522IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 2mg