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mini sweet and sour meatballs from The Jewish Kitchen
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Mini Sweet & Sour Meatball Appetizer

The bite size, tangy meatballs are the perfect party appetizer. They are juicy, delicious, and the perfect combination of sweet and sour. Make sure to make a double batch because they never last long!
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Jewish
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 30 mini meatballs

Ingredients

For the Sauce

  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 can condensed tomato soup 10 3/4 ounces
  • 1 can jellied cranberry sauce 14 ounces

For the Meatballs

  • 1 lb. Kosher ground beef 90% or leaner
  • 1 lb. Kosher ground beef 80% or leaner
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 4 slices white bread crusts removed, processed into crumbs
  • 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs plain
  • 2 tbsp. fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 tsp. Kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1 lemon, cut in half

Instructions

For the Sauce

  1. Saute onion in large stock pot without any oil over low to medium heat until onion is translucent but not brown, about five minutes.
  1. Add soup and cranberry sauce and stir together. Cook over low heat until soup and cranberry sauce melt and combine, about another five to 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
  2. While sauce is cooking, prepare the meatballs.

For the Meatballs

  1. Put meat, eggs, dried breadcrumbs, fresh breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and parsley in large bowl. With hands, gently combine. Add warm water and combine once more. Do not over mix or meat will be tough. Before you roll the meatball, stir the sauce on the stove to make sure it is well combined.
  2. Roll out 30 mini meatballs (2 per person) and place gently into sauce. You can layer them if you need to. Spoon a little sauce over the bottom layer of meatballs before you place additional meatballs on a top layer. Add more sauce to the top layer.
  3. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes on low to medium heat, stirring every few minutes. After 30 minutes Add the juice of a 1/2 lemon. Hold the 1/2 lemon that you squeezed in reserve. Stir. Check in 5 minutes to see if you have added enough lemon to give it that extra kick. If more is needed, you can also toss in the squeezed 1/2 of the lemon. Stir and cook for another 10 minutes.
  4. Serve on a pretty platter. Put some of the sauce in a bowl for dipping. Insert toothpicks into the meat balls. Enjoy.