Dinner Lunch

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Hey college students! Looking for a quick and easy recipe? One that you can make in bulk and is not too hard on your wallet? These Sweet and Sour meatballs by Melskitchencafe is what you’ve been looking for! This savory meal is an American dish (a variant of many other kinds) that is great for lunch or dinner. We will be baking the meatballs as our method of cooking. It is one of the best ways to cook meatballs. This recipe is beginner friendly and only takes an hour of your time.

Budget-Friendly

For limited budgets, some of the ingredients can be found at the USU SNAC pantry or your local food pantry. The food pantry may have quick oats, eggs, and rice. These are not always in stock, but you could go and look. Buying generic brands of food and using coupons can also help to save some money. The generic brands work just as well as the name brand foods.

Cost Breakdown of Recipe
IngredientsAmountUnit Cost of IngredientRecipe Cost of Ingredient
Lean ground meat1.5 lbs$3.96/lb$5.94
Quick oats or old-fashioned oats3/4 cup$1.99/18 oz$0.22
Eggs2 eggs$4.29/12 count$0.72
Onions1/2 cup$0.78$0.39
Milk1/4 cup$2.98/gallon$0.05
Salt1 tsp$0.57/26 oz$0.004
Pepper1/2 tsp$5.98/6 oz$0.08
Worcestershire sauce2 tsp$1.00/10 fl oz$0.03
Brown sugar1/4-1/2 cup$1.84/32 oz$0.12-$0.23
Apple cider vinegar1/4 cup$2.12/32 oz$0.13
Yellow mustard1 tsp$1.12/20 oz$0.009
Barbecue sauce1/4 cup$2.49/18 oz$0.35
Rice1 cup, uncooked$1.64/32 oz$0.41
Broccoli2 cups$1.48/lb$1.48
TOTAL RECIPE COST$9.93
Cost per serving (serves 6)$1.66
Nutritional Pointers

When cooking with meat there are several different kinds of meat to use, for example there is 93% and 80% lean ground beef. The difference between the two is that 93% beef only has 7% fat whereas 80% beef could have up to 20% fat. Since 93% lean ground beef is low in fat it is great to use in meatballs, making homemade hamburger patties, meatloaf, sloppy joes, and several other dishes. With meat that is lower in fat, it has more protein and fewer calories per serving. We used 93% lean ground beef in our recipe.

NutrientNutritional Benefit
BroccoliExcellent source of folate and fiber.
Lean ground beefHealthy meat option and great source of protein, iron, and zinc.
OatsNutrient dense and an excellent source of protein and soluble fiber.
RiceExcellent source of protein and potassium.
MilkGreat source of calcium, vitamin D, iodine, and protein.
Our Experience Cooking These Meatballs

This recipe is very easy and straightforward to make. It is best to start off by creating the meatballs and the sauce (we doubled the sauce recipe), then setting them aside to start the rice (as that rice takes a bit longer to cook than the meatballs). After the rice starts boiling, place your meatballs in the oven. There are a few different ways to make broccoli, you can roast, steam, or boil. We prepared our broccoli by steaming. Another quick way to make broccoli is to set it in a little bit of water and add chicken bouillon to it then microwave or boil/steam until you can stick a fork into the broccoli, this adds a little more flavor. 

We placed the meatballs on top of the rice and poured the extra sauce over the meatball and the rice. You could add the broccoli to the rice and meatballs for a one bowl dish (yay less clean up!). The end product is delicious and savory. There’s different ways to incorporate your favorite spices or no spices if preferred, into the meatballs. The sauce being good as is, could be made creamier by adding a roux. It’s all up to your preference. That’s what makes this dish so great!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 30 minutesTotal time:1 hour Servings:6 servings Best Season:Suitable throughout the year

Description

These Sweet and Sour meatballs by Melskitchencafe is what you’ve been looking for when it comes to a satisfying, quick, and hearty meal! This savory meal is an American dish (a variant of many other kinds) that is great for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

    Meatballs:

  • Sauce:

  • Serve With:

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix well. Form into about 12 meatballs (about 2-inches each) and then place in a lightly greased 9×13-inch pan.
  3. For the sauce, whisk together the ingredients until well combined.
  4. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake for 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened.
  5. Serve over hot, cooked rice, and broccoli. 

Notes

  • There are a couple different ways to help keep the meatballs together. Eggs and oats are binders, meaning they help to keep the meatballs together. You could also use breadcrumbs instead of the oats, but either way works. Using eggs helps to hold the meat together because the proteins in the liquid eggs coagulate or firm up, holding the ground meat together kind of like glue in a ball. Then adding the oats or breadcrumbs helps soak up any added moisture and  prevents the meatballs from drying out during baking.
Keywords:Meatballs, Sweet and Sour

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