Easy Dinner Recipe, Teriyaki Meatballs
Recently I shared a recipe for Freezer Friendly Meatballs. I love having them in the freezer to make an easy dinner recipe like the recipe I’m sharing today.
By having the meatballs already waiting in the freezer makes getting this meal on the table a snap. You can prepare the meatballs in the slow cooker or in the oven which ever will work out best for you. I have made them both ways.
In the Slow Cooker
For the slow cooker method, I add the cooked meatballs to the slow cooker then add a cup or two of teriyaki sauce, depending on how many meatballs I’m making. I also add half a can of pineapple tidbits to the slow cooker. With about 1/4 cup of the pineapple juice.I stir the meatballs to coat them well. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Oven Directions
When I making them in the oven I place the cooked meatballs in a baking dish, add the teriyaki sauce, pineapple juice and the pineapple. Stir to coat and bake on 375 for about 30 minutes or until heated through.
How I Serve the Meatballs
I usually serve the teriyaki meatballs over rice. For added vegetables you can add in some sliced carrots and sliced green peppers too. I find it’s easier to get my picky eater to eat his vegetables if they are in the sauce too. Broccoli would also be a good addition.
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
I like to make my own teriyaki sauce (recipe included below). But the store bought sauces work really well too. I just make sure to purchase a glaze type sauce as it seems to work so much better in this recipe than the thinner sauces.
The teriyaki sauce recipe below also works well on chicken too. It only takes a few minutes to make and is so very good.
Teriyaki Meatballs
Ingredients
- 20-25 Meatballs Cooked
- 1/2 can Pineapple Tidbits
- 1 teaspoon Ginger ground
- 1/3 cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Garlic Clove finely minced or 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/4 cup Pineapple Juice
- 1/4 cup Water or 1/2 cup Water (if not using Pineapple Juice)
- 2 tablespoon Corn Starch
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder and pineapple juice.
- In a small bowl mix the water and corn starch to make a slurry.
- Heat the soy sauce mixture until it comes to a boil.
- Add in the cornstarch slurry and stir while cooking until mixture thickens.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Place the meatballs into a baking dish. Add the pineapple tidbits. Then stir in half to all of the teriyaki sauce.
- Stir to coat and bake 375 for 30 minutes or until heated through.
Slow Cooker Directions
- Prepare the sauce as above and set aside.
- Place the meatballs and pineapple tidbits into the slow cooker. Add half to all of the sauce.
- Stir to coat well.
- Cook over low heat 4-6 hours or until heated through.
What is your favorite way to eat meatballs?
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Yum, this looks good! I’ve never made my own teriyaki sauce at home, but yours looks pretty easy. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Let me know what you think of the teriyaki sauce when you make it.
Do you drain the pineapple?
Mary, I do drain the pineapple but I save the juice to add to the sauce. 🙂
It doesn’t state whether you use beef, or pork, for your meatballs? Which do you prefer that is best with the teriyaki sauce? What seasoning do you use in your meatballs if any? This looks really good, but I just need a little more detail with the ingredients. Thank you so much! Geri from AZ.
Geri, I use beef in all of my meatballs, that’s just what my family prefers. Here’s the link to the freezer friendly meatballs I use in this recipe. I don’t add to much seasoning to my meatballs when I make big batch of them for the freezer. But if you were making meatballs just for this recipe, I would season them with garlic powder, onion powder, and a little soy sauce too. Hope this helps!
Is the oven section for raw meatballs, fully cooked at room/fridge temp or frozen?
Madison, the oven section is for fully cooked and thawed meatballs. Sorry for any confusion. I always make my meatballs ahead of time and pre-cook them and keep them in the freezer. I should have added that to the oven section.
Such a nice dish! I think that you should try to use honey instead of brown sugar to make teriyaki sauce for the dish, since 1/6 cup of honey can replace 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
Yeah
The teriyaki meatballs are realy good
Thank you! Finally something ELSE I can do with frozen meatballs in my freezer for dinner (there’s only so much spaghetti one can take lol). I threw the sauce together cold and chucked the frozen meatballs and sauce in a baking dish – but put tin foil on top of the baking dish to keep the meatballs moist since I’d obviously have to cook it longer. Took it off 2/3’s the way through. Reserved some of the sauce for the veg in the wok. Rice in the rice cooker. Great dinner.
Was tasty, thanks!
Laura, glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! you might also try the hoisin meatball recipe too.
Shelly, if you make this in the oven, is the baking pan supposed to be open or covered? I would assume UNcovered as your instructions read, but I want to be sure that that isn’t an oversight. Looks delicious and I’m going to make it as soon as I’m sure about covered or uncovered. I enjoy Frugal Family Home very much, love your down-to-earth, frugal, family-friendly recipes, and I just wanted to say THANK YOU!
Nella, I bake mine in the oven uncovered. I hope that helps.
I just added a quick shake of cayenne pepper to make it slightly spicy. It was a hit at my house. Making it for the second time again today. This time I will be adding a sliced green and a sliced red pepper along with some sliced onions at the suggestion of my son.
Val, thanks for sharing your adaptation. It sounds delicious!