Slow Cooker Pineapple Brown Sugar Meatballs are smothered with the most amazing sweet and tangy sauce! Frozen meatballs are slowly cooked to perfection in that sauce with pineapple chunks and bell peppers.
⅛-¼teaspoonred pepper flakes(or more if you like it spicy!)
Meatballs:
2lbsprecooked or browned beef meatballs*(fresh or frozen)
2medium bell peppers(cut into 1/2" pieces)
1½cupspineapple chunks(fresh or canned, drained)
Sliced green onion or parsley for garnish
Instructions
Whisk together pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, corn starch, garlic, onion powder, salt and red pepper flakes.
Place meatballs, peppers and pineapple chunks in a 4 quart or larger slow cooker.
Pour sauce mixture over top and stir until combined.
Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until thickened. Taste and serve.
Notes
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Pineapple juice: I love the pineapple flavor in here with the pineapple chunks, but you can substitute for apple or orange juice for a different flavor.
Brown Sugar: any sweetener will work here and you can reduce it to suit your tastes if you like your sauce less sweet.
Ketchup: ketchup adds rich tomato flavor, sweetness and tang. You can swap it for crushed tomatoes, but you will want to add sweetness, acidity and seasonings to compensate.
Meatballs: my homemade Easy Meatball Recipe or these Turkey Meatballs work great in this recipe, but you can also use frozen, store bought meatballs in a pinch. I like to add my meatballs to this recipe frozen (homemade or store bought) so that they don't fall apart while slow cooking.
Vegetables: feel free to mix up the veggies and clean out your fridge! Onions, snap peas and carrots are great in here.