Easy Hawaiian Meatballs Recipe

These Easy Hawaiian Meatballs are made with ground turkey and covered with a sweet pineapple teriyaki sauce. Serve this delicious Hawaiian Meatballs Recipe with rice or wrapped in fresh, crisp lettuce with microgreens for an easy, low carb, 30-minute meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Servings: servings

Chef: Jessica Randhawa

Ingredients

For the Turkey Meatballs

▢ 1 pound ground turkey
▢ 1 large egg - whisked
▢ 2 tablespoon teriyaki sauce - store-bought or homemade
▢ ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
▢ ½ cup green onion - finely chopped
▢ ½ cup white onion - minced
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Sweet Pineapple Sauce

▢ 20 ounces pineapple chunks in syrup - (1 can)
▢ 2 tablespoon brown sugar
▢ ¼ cup teriyaki sauce - homemade or store-bought
▢ 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
▢ 2 tablespoon ketchup
▢ 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
▢ 2 tablespoon cornstarch
▢ ¼ cup water

For the Lettuce Wraps (optional)

▢ 1 head butter lettuce
▢ chopped green onion
▢ diced red onion
▢ fresh micro greens

Instructions

For the Hawaiian Meatballs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the ground turkey meatballs. Shape into approximately 14-16 small meatballs and transfer to your prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Transfer to the oven and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until internal temperature reads 160 degrees F.

For the Sweet Pineapple Sauce

Drain pineapple, reserving syrup in a separate bowl. Set pineapple chunks aside.
Add the pineapple syrup, brown sugar, teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, and red chili flakes to a saucepot set over medium-high heat. Bring to a gentle boil then immediately reduce heat to low.
Dissolve cornstarch into water and transfer to simmering pineapple sauce. Stir frequently.
When meatballs have finished cooking, add the meatballs and pineapple chunks to the sauce and continue to cook until sauce has thickened.

Serve

Assemble your pineapple meatball lettuce wraps with all your favorite toppings or serve with cooked rice and a side of steamed veggies such as broccoli. Enjoy.

Notes

Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
Check out this post to make your own teriyaki sauce recipe.
Prefer to cook these sweet and sour meatballs in the slow cooker? Read the full instructions in the post.
I used canned pineapple, but feel free to use fresh pineapple and fresh pineapple juice.
Sometimes I'll add a dash of garlic powder or onion powder to my meatball mixture for extra flavor.

Originally published July 2,2018

Nutrition

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