Sweet and Sour Meatball Sheet Pan
Sweet and Sour Chicken is almost a guaranteed item on everyone’s takeout order and for good reason, something about hitting those two flavors together is like magic. I wanted to make that flavor but make it healthy and easy because we all know that we can always use those things in our lives. The sauce is super simple and you make it in the blender and heat it in a small pan. Sheet pan meals are on the same level of easy as slow cooker meals, you could even prep all the components ahead of time and add them to the baking sheet when you are ready.
I was naive thinking that once the girls started school, life would be little less hectic, boy was I wrong! Now there is homework and activities and parties, and the list goes on, and on, and on… So, easy meals are the name of the game around here. If you have caught my recent Instagram stories, you know that I am trying to clear out my freezers to help with clutter, money, and giving this mama an extra helping hand. I do have a pound of frozen beef calling my name to make these…
Now side note - I have mentioned before that my kids will eat anything in meatball form. Yeah, I said that the night I was making these and my girls refused to even try them… My husband loved them and I loved them at least. I am sure most kids will love this though, the sauce is made out of pineapple, soo tasty! You might want a side of rice or cauliflower rice too to make it really feel like takeout!
Sweet and Sour Meatball Sheet Pan
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef or chicken
2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons Coconut Aminos
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup almond flour (if nut free, use gluten free flour)
Veggies
2 bell peppers, roughly chopped
10 oz package or 1 head of chopped broccoli
1 small onion, halved and thickly sliced
1 can sliced pineapple
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons oil
Sauce
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks in juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons coconut aminos
1/4 cup compliant ketchup
2 Tablespoons tapioca flour
2 Tablespoons water
Extras
Cooking Oil spray
Everything but the Bagel Seasoning (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 400, spray a baking sheet with oil
- Mix all the meatball components in a bowl and form into meatballs, about 3 Tablespoons each ball, I got 13 out of mine. Add the meatballs to the baking sheet, distributed throughout.
- Mix the veggies with the oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl making sure everything is evenly coated and seasoned. Arrange in a single layer on the pan around the meatballs add the pineapple as well. Sprinkle with a little additional salt and pepper.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- While the dinner is baking, make the sauce. In a blender, add the onions, pineapple, rice vinegar, coconut aminos, and ketchup and blend until smooth. Put into a small saucepan on low heat. In a small separate bowl, mix the tapioca and water to create a slurry. Increase the heat to medium-high and drizzle in the tapioca mixture, whisk and stir occasionally until the sauce is bubbling and thickened.
- Take the sheet pan out and spoon sauce over each meatball and over the veggies. Sprinkle with Everything but the Bagel seasoning or some sesame seeds and serve alone or with some cauliflower rice.
Mix up the meatball components and then form into the meatballs. Arrange on the sprayed baking sheet.
Get those veggies to hang out with those meatballs on that pan.
Pineapple, a little salt and pepper and this pan is ready for the oven. It only needs about 20 minutes which is the perfect amount of time to make the sauce.
What could be more simple than blending it all up?
Pour that sauce into a little pan, make a slurry (just like a cornstarch one), bring it to a boil and add the thickener in, whisk until it is perfect and lower the temp to low until you are ready.
Pan done and ready for some sauce!
