Name: Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 10 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 3 pound package frozen meatballs; 20 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained BUT save the juice!; 1 cup brown sugar; 3 tablespoons cornstarch; 2/3 cup white vinegar; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional

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Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs are delicious meatballs in a sweet and sour pineapple sauce. A kid favorite and so simple! Just a few ingredients and a few minutes of prep and you will come home to a yummy dinner!

I love making meatballs in the slow cooker for parties. Some of my other favorites are Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs!

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs - easy weeknight dinner recipe! Meatballs in a sweet and sour pineapple sauce. Kid-friendly and made in the crockpot!

My kids have been obsessed with meatballs lately.

I guess I should say more obsessed because meatballs have always been a favorite. But lately, they can’t get enough. I made spaghetti the other night and all the meatballs were gone well before the noodles were!

Since a couple of my boys are currently going through weird picky stages, I’ve decided we’re having meatballs for every meal!

Okay maybe not, but I figured I could make them more often and switch it up from the usual spaghetti.

My kids ate the entire batch of these Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs!

In one sitting.

The sauce is sweet and sour but it isn’t the usual red sweet and sour sauce like the one I use in my sweet and sour chicken – this one is made from pineapple juice, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce.

Ingredients

Frozen meatballs – whatever your favorite brand is. I buy frozen turkey meatballs most of the time to keep it a little lighter.
Can pineapple chunks – if you don’t want big chunks, you can use the tidbits.
Brown sugar – you have to have sweetness for the sweet and sour sauce!
Cornstarch – this thickens the sauce so that it coats the meatballs nicely
White vinegar – the sour part of the sauce
Soy sauce – this adds some saltiness and deepness to the dish
Cayenne – you can leave this out if you don’t want any spice

What To Serve with Hawaiian Meatballs

You can serve these Hawaiian Meatballs as a party snack, right from your slow cooker. Just set the slow cooker to warm and put some toothpicks next to it.

If you want to make it an easy weeknight dinner, I usually serve it over rice to soak up all that sauce. And then I’ll add roasted broccoli or green beans on the side.

Can You Make Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs Ahead?

Yes, you prep these meatballs ahead of time!

Since the recipe calls for frozen meatballs, you really just have to make the sauce. So if you are super short on time, go ahead and make the sauce and store it in your fridge overnight so that all you have to do is put the meatballs and pineapple in and then pour the already mixed sauce on top.

Can You Freeze Hawaiian Meatballs?

Yes, these Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs freeze beautifully!

I’ve done the ziploc bag method where you just put all the ingredients (meatballs, pineapple, and sauce) in a ziploc freezer bag so that all you have to do is dump the entire bag into the slow cooker and it makes preparing this dinner even easier!

You can also freeze them after cooking. Just make sure to use an airtight, freezer-safe container (ziploc freezer bags work here, too!) and consume within 3 months. You can defrost them overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stove or put them frozen into the slow cooker to cook all day.

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Yield: 12 servings