Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs are a delicious and easy meal that can be made for a quick family dinner or as a weekly meal prep item. This recipe is Whole30 and paleo-friendly which makes it lower in sugar, but still bursting with flavor.

Make some delicious sweet and sour meatballs for a healthy weeknight dinner

This recipe for sweet and sour chicken meatballs is my absolute favorite kind of recipe to create for my blog. It has all of them favorite components. It is easy, makes a delicious sauce and is Whole30 compliant.

This recipe helps prove my point that embarking on the Whole30 does not need to be bland or boring. On the contrary, it was flavorful, but simple meals like these sweet and sour chicken meatballs that helped to keep me on track when I wanted to cheat. If I knew I had something like this waiting for me at the end or the day, it was easier to say no to that cookie in the break room.

All of that said, this recipe is wonderful even if you aren’t on the Whole30, don’t even know what it is and have no plans of ever even attempting it. I kept the spice level low on this recipe and tried to focus on making it flavorful with simple ingredients. This would be a perfect recipe for those picky kiddos that you are trying to get to eat healthy.

How should I enjoy these chicken meatballs in a sticky sweet and sour sauce?

Like I said above, I created this sweet and sour chicken meatball recipe with Whole30 participants in mind. If you’re on the Whole30 then I recommend eating this dish with some zoodles, cauliflower rice or sauteed zucchini.

If you are not on Whole30 and you like to eat grains, then you gotta try this with some fluffy rice. I recently perfected the art of cooking rice in my instant pot and my life is forever change. Check out the caption on this Instagram post to see how I make it.

Can I make these Whole30 chicken meatballs and freeze them?

If you want to make a big batch of these chicken meatballs ahead of time, you can cook a big batch and freeze them. Then when you are ready to eat them, allow them to defrost and warm up in the oven.

You can wait to prepare the sauce when you reheat the meatballs because it only takes a few minutes to make. Then, once the meatballs are reheated, toss them in the sauce and serve them.

What ingredients do you need to make this paleo sweet and sour chicken?

Because I wanted these sweet and sour chicken meatballs to be Whole30 compliant, I knew that I could not make them sweet with any sweetener. I made them naturally sweet by using a little pineapple juice and ketchup. I love using Primal Kitchen Foods or Tesemae’s for Whole30 friendly ketchup options.

In addtion to the ketchup, the ingredients you will need for the meatballs are ground chicken, an egg, almond flour, avocado oil, salt and pepper. For the sauce you will need the pineapple juice and ketchup, as well as coconut aminos, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and sriracha. Feel free to use soy sauce in place of the coconut aminos if you aren’t on the Whole30.

I used arrowroot starch to thicken my sweet and sour sauce. I only use a tiny bit of this at the very end of cooking. If you don’t feel comfortable using this ingredient, or just don’t want to, you can leave it out of the recipe.

Let’s make some Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs

Step 1: Prepare and bake the meatballs

To begin, preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, add meatball ingredients (ground chicken, egg, almond flour, 2 tbsp ketchup, salt, and pepper) to a large mixing bowl.

Mix thoroughly and use a scoop or spoon to scoop eighteen 1 tbsp meatballs on to a baking sheet. Then, bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

Step 2: Prepare the sauce

While the meatballs bake, prepare a sauce by combining pineapple juice, coconut aminos, sesame oil, sriracha, rice vinegar, and ketchup in a small bowl.

When the meatballs are almost finished cooking, add the sauce to a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat until it bubbles. Then, educe to a simmer and simmer for 4 minutes

Next, remove the meatballs from the oven. Then, prepare a slurry of arrowroot starch and water to thicken the sauce.

Step 3: Mix the meatballs and sweet and sour sauce together and enjoy!

Increase the heat of the sauce to medium-high and pour the slurry into the pan. Next, mix vigorously to thicken the sauce and then reduce heat to low.

Finally, toss the meatballs in the sauce until they are coated and then remove the pan from the heat. Garnish with green onion and serve with rice or cauliflower rice.

How long can I keep these Whole30 chicken meatballs?

Once prepared, place the meatballs in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.

Check out these other delicious chicken meatball recipes!

• Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Meatballs
• Chicken Tikka Meatballs
• Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs

You can find the entire recipe down below. If you make my sweet and sour chicken meatballs, please leave me a comment down below or let me know on Instagram!

Recipe

Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs

★★★★★ 4.6 from 12 reviews

Whole30 chicken meatballs in a sticky sweet and sour sauce

Recipe By: Madeline

Prep: 10 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal: 30 minutes

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Servings: 3 Servings 1x

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Ingredients

Chicken Meatballs Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken breast
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos or soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tbsp sriracha
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• Optional: 1/2 tbsp arrowroot starch mixed with 2 tbsp water

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Add meatball ingredients (ground chicken, egg, almond flour, 2 tbsp ketchup, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl)
3. Mix thoroughly and use a scoop or spoon to scoop eighteen 1 tbsp meatballs on to a baking sheet
4. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes
5. While the meatballs bake prepare a sauce by combining pineapple juice, coconut aminos, sesame oil, sriracha, rice vinegar, and ketchup in a small bowl
6. When the meatballs are almost finished cooking add the sauce to a frying pan and heat over medium-high heat until it bubbles
7. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 4 minutes
8. Remove the meatballs from the oven
9. Prepare a slurry of arrowroot starch and water to thicken the sauce
10. Increase the heat of the sauce to medium-high and pour the slurry into the pan
11. Mix vigorously to thicken the sauce and then reduce heat to low
12. Toss the meatballs in the sauce until they are coated and then remove the pan from the heat
13. Garnish with green onion and serve with rice or cauliflower rice

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.