Meatballs are a family favorite at our house. My husband and kids devoured these Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs. What sets these easy slow cooker meatballs apart as “Hawaiian” is the sweet and tangy sauce made with pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce. We also add in a little cornstarch to make it a thick, sticky glaze. We also added some pineapple, red bell pepper and green bell pepper in with the meatballs for some Hawaiian flavor.
We like to eat these Hawaiian meatballs over rice for dinner, but you could easily serve them plain as an appetizer. Whichever way you serve them, the will disappear in minutes!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make slow cooker Hawaiian meatballs, you need the following ingredients:
- Precooked frozen turkey meatballs
- Canned pineapple chunks
- Green bell pepper
- Red bell pepper
- Brown sugar
- Cornstarch
- White vinegar
- Soy sauce
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs
- Spray a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place frozen meatballs in the slow cooker and top with drained pineapple (reserve the juice and set aside), green pepper and red pepper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together pineapple juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and soy sauce.
- Pour sauce in slow cooker and mix everything to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through.
- Serve over cooked rice.
Freezer Meal Modification
To make this recipe into a freezer meal, follow the steps listed below:
- Place meatballs, pineapple chunks with juice, diced bell peppers, brown sugar, corn starch, white vinegar, and soy sauce into a gallon-sized freezer bag.
- Place freezer bag into the freezer, and it will last up to 90 days.
- When ready to use, dump ingredients from bag into the slow cooker. Add ½ cup of beef broth or water in with the frozen food.
- Cook as directed above and until heated through.
Recipe Notes
You do not need to thaw frozen meatballs before cooking. Simply place the frozen meatballs directly into the slow cooker, and let the slow cooker do the work for you!
Enjoy More Delicious Hot Appetizers
Whether meatballs, chicken wings, nachos, or quesadillas, there’s nothing to start out a party better than an appetizer. Browse our comprehensive list of hot appetizer recipes.
- Honey Sriracha Ground Turkey Meatballs
- Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs
- Instant Pot Italian Meatballs
- Porcupine Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs
- Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
- Sweet Polynesian Meatballs
Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 ounces precooked frozen turkey meatballs, 1 package
- 20 ounces pineapple chunks, 1 can, drain and reserve juice
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅔ cup white vinegar
- 2 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 6 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Spray a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place frozen meatballs in the slow cooker and top with drained pineapple (reserve the juice and set aside), green pepper and red pepper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together pineapple juice, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and soy sauce.
- Pour sauce in slow cooker and mix everything to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through.
- Serve over cooked rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Can I pin this to pinterest from here?
Looks yummy!
Yes. There is a small “Pin It” button just above the picture. That should take you to your sign in page or directly to your pin it page where you choose which board.
do you all know of any storebought meatballs that are gluten free? Any kind I can find have some kind of binder in them we can’t eat
I think that I will try this on the weekend… but with my own meatballs (don’t like the packaged stuff) 🙂
Make it a great day!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! This is the same as my mother’s “Sweet and Sour Pork” although I have always wondered about the sour part… anyway~ She would just slow brown cubed pork and then follow this same recipe. I have to say I am so excited to see it with meatballs and as a slow cooker recipe! Tonight’s dinner here we come!
hmmm this sounds interesting. Plus I love my crock-pot and easy meals. Thanks!
I love that you used store bought meatballs because that is all I ever buy:-) Thanks for always sharing your great recipes!!!
You can make your own meatballs and use gluten free bread crumbs in them. I recently went GF and have adapted meatball recipes I made to be GF. =)
What I love the most is that any recipe that has pineapples in it automatically becomes “Hawaiian something or other” (i.e. Hawaiian Pizza, Hawaiian Haystacks ~ which I had never had until I went to Japan because we don’t make that in Hawaii). We call these Sweet & Sour Meatballs in Hawaii and yes, that sauce is AWESOME!!
Any idea how many this serves? And, if I wanted to adapt it to a freezer meal would I freeze everything together before cooking the meatballs or after? Thanks so much!
I am making this right now in my crop pot. It has been 1 hour in and so far the sauce hasn’t thickened up at all. Is it ever going to?
crock**
Making this right now and the sauce smells AWESOME. Can’t wait for dinner!
My sauce didn’t thicken until the last hour or so. I hope it turned out okay!
Hi Laura!
This serves 6-8 (or more depending on serving size. We usually can feed my family of 3 twice with this). I have never tried them as a freezer meal, so I am not sure the best way to go about doing it. I would maybe freeze the everything together before cooking the meatballs so they aren’t cooked twice. Let us know how it goes!
YAY!! We have this same recipe and I LOVE it. In fact I had almost forgotten about it until now. I’m going to have to make this next week! 🙂 Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy!
Should I mix the corn starch with water before adding it to the sauce or do i just put in the with the rest of the ingredients?
Just mix the corn starch in with the rest of the ingredients! Thanks!
What kind of vinegar do you use? Apple Cider? White? Or doesn’t it matter?
This was great! The only thing I did differently was add in 3 carrots that I sliced. We used the Sutton & Dodge meatballs found in Target’s meat department. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
I made this yesterday. After 4 hours my sauce still never thickened. Any ideas?
Sorry about the confusion. Just use white vinegar!
So glad you liked it!
Hi Kari!
I am so sorry about that! I am not sure why it wouldn’t have thickened. If you make them again, you could add more corn starch until it reaches your desired consistency.
Great recipe, even my teenage daughter who thinks that meatballs are ‘gross’ liked it!
Well I just saw you said you used white vinegar…hmm..I used apple cider vinegar and it’s in the crock pot now..hope it turns out ok..I didn’t scroll down until I actually had time to sit down, I just read the recipe. 🙁 usually it states the type of ingredient: dark brown sugar, light brown..white vinegar, apple cider 🙁
Sorry about that. It has been fixed. Thanks!
Made these tonight. They were very YUMMY and super easy. Sharing with my FB friends and Pinterest followers. Thanks for sharing and for all the great recipes!
I am really lookng forward to making this tomorrow night for dinner.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Even my picky 2 year-old loved it. Thanks for sharing this super simple recipe with us!
Jennie O makes Turkey GF meatballs and I believe Costco carries a brand that is GF as well 🙂
It says to keep the juice off the pineapple….why? What do you do with it…??? Thanks…it’s cooking right now and smells wonderful!
seriously how hard is it to make balls of meat? no fresh pineapple? there’s not even the SUGGESTION of using anything fresh. Use tons of sugar and other unhealthy ingredients! This kid of so called food is why kids (and adults) are unhealthy, overweight, and have no clue about food- it basically sums up everything that is wrong with lazy, pre-bought, no effort “cooking”. bravo.
We use this same recipe & the kids LOVE it – what a fun share – thanks for reminding me about this recipe…now I HAVE to make it this week to gather up some smiles here! xo
If you don’t like their recipes, get off their site and don’t make their recipes. There is no reason to post rude comments like this. Who do you think you are?
This was ammmmmaaaazing!!!!
I didn’t use a crock pot, but rather opted to use my plain old non-stick and the results were super.
However, i reduced the amount of sugar and increased the amount of vinegar to have a more tangy than sweet taste.
Thanks for uploading this recipe.
Twitter: @penelopekirui
I am so sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner! I hope they turned out okay! The reserved juice just gets mixed with other ingredients for the sauce. Let us know how it went!
This is made to be an easy meal for people who work or have plans and need something quick. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that you can substitute for fresh ingredients. And if you don’t like it, don’t make it. It’s a simple as that.
I’ve had this in the crock now for about 3 hours and my sauce still hasn’t thickened. I added more cornstarch to try but all it did was turn the sauce a weird color! And suggestions?
On a side note, it still smells delicious! I just can’t imagine eating it without the thick sauce 🙂
Can you cook on high so it gets done quicker? Also, I made my own meatballs…do you think they will fall apart if I cook it on high? Thanks!
I am not sure how it would work on high because the sauce needs time to thicken up. I think homemade meatballs would be fabulous! Let us know how it goes!
Okay I will keep it on low then thank you! Im also using turkey meatballs so it will be a little healthier. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
I’m having the worst time finding frozen meatballs at any of my local grocery stores would it be okay if I made my own, would I have to brown them first and how would that change cooking time? I have all the other ingredients but the meatballs. Would any other meat work? Any easy meatballs recipe suggestions?
Great recipe. Would you be happy to link in to my Meatball edition of Food on Friday? This is the link
I was looking for a perfect recipe for my Hawaian Party & I came accross this & I have to try it because I too have 5 sisters, no brothers. We have all moved apart (accept for two of them live near eachother). I miss my sisters and all of us getting together for family meals & celebrations. Thank you!
I am making this now but the sauce is soooo watery 🙁
Just to say that I made this in a normal pan, with less vinegar and the meatballs were of cow and still in 45 minutes was donne! Delicious!!! Love it!
From Portugal!!!!! Thanks for the wonderfull site!
Tatiana
Some people may be having trouble with watery sauce because they are using a large can of pineapple which would be about 20 ounces instead of the 13.5 ounce can called for. In fact, I can only find pineapple in 8 oz. and 20 oz. sizes, so I either just use an entire small can or only part of the large can and juice. Thank you so much for this recipe – my family absolutely loves it!
Hi!
I think it would be delicious using homemade meatballs! I would brown them first so they stay together and follow the cooking directions on the recipe making sure they are cooked all the way through before serving.
Hey I love no effort cooking, in fact its in my crockpot right now! I happen to be putting all my effort in carpooling, PTA’ing, Cheerleading,Gymnastics and Laundry today…..I can keep it fresh and healthy tomorrow night, oh wait thats Pizza Night its Friday! Thanks Ladies for the amazing recipes! You all are awesome!
^^^^ THAT is exactly what the problem is! (at least in my case)!!
It didn’t dawn on me until I saw this…4 hours in the pot & complete water for sauce 🙁 I added about 2 1/2 tbl more of cornstarch…problem solved 🙂
I had the same issue. Didn’t thicken at all 🙁
Hey, this is better for you than McDonalds! Give people credit for at least trying to keep healthy on a busy schedule! Yes, I’m all for healthy and all natural…but you are just being rude. There are better ways to get your message out than bashing people.
About how many servings does one batch yield? I’ve heard your recipe is the BEST and so I’m going to make it for about 30 people… Quite an undertaking I have a feeling. I just need to know how many batches to make so no one goes hungry 🙂
Thank you!!!
Depending on how big the servings are and if you are feeding adults. A 2 pound bag should have around 64 meatballs in it. So I’m thinking around 6 to 8 servings. You may want to read through the comments. We had no problem with the sauce thickening up, but some people did. Hopefully their comments will be of help to you! They are yummy meatballs. Hope all goes well with you big gathering!! 🙂 -The Six Sisters
I’m trying to make this recipie, but I don’t have a crock pot is there an alternative for the crock pot
These should work just fine in a covered baking dish in the oven at about 325 degrees. Hope it all turns out well. Merry Christmas! -The Six Sisters
What size crock-pot is this for? I just got a 2-quart one, which I think is smaller than normal. Should I maybe cut this recipe in half?
You will definitely need to cut it in half. We used a 5 quart crock pot when we made this. 🙂
I actually cooked the sauce on the stove first and used 3 tbsp cornstarch and made a cornstarch slurry…came out perfect….
This was my problem. I added another tbsp corn starch, and then cooked it in my electric wok. The high heat thickened the sauce right up.
Oops. Have this in the crockpot now — before I came back to read the comments. I didn’t see a use for the pineapple juice, so I drank it. lol! I made my own meatballs and added onion and carrots to this. Super fast and easy, other than making the meatballs. I’ll be serving with brown rice. I’m not worried about the final results too much, as my large crew eats just about anything.
This is very similar to my Sweet n Sour Pork recipe only in a slow cooker. In addition to the green pepper and pineapple, I add small wedges of fresh tomato right before serving (warm for 3 min.). Oh yes, and the sauce also includes cider vinegar for a little tang. It is absolutely delicious.
Sinea from Ducks ‘n a Row
http:/www.ducksnarow.com
I’ve made this several times for parties and it’s always been a huge hit. Just a quick suggestion – use crushed pineapple instead of diced. It helps the sauce thicken more easily and ensures bits of pineapple in each bite.
For the record?
Cost of premade meatballs: $2
Cost of pound of burger: $4
Cost of canned pineapple: $.50
Cost of fresh pineapple: $3
That is a HUGE deal to some of us.
I have these in Crockpot now, I bought chicken meatballs. I just tried one because I couldn’t resist any long and there is still 90 mins to go. Very nice flavors, I think my family will like these!! 🙂
I am going to make this tonight with homemade venison/pork meatballs. I was looking for a recipe that didn’t require a bottle of sweet and sour sauce so this is perfect. For those of you having issues with the cornstarch not thickening, just hold that back out of the recipe and add the cornstarch with water AFTER it is cooked and stir it in until you get the desired consistency.
we added red onion and some ginger. Sounds good.
As in white distilled vinegar or white wine vinegar?
I believe the green pepper would need to be fresh, no? I make my own meatballs, but can’t eat fresh pineapple so this is perfect for me.
Totally using homemade meatballs! The frozen ones are yuck-o!!! Can’t wait to try this and I am also using a dutch oven instead of a crockpot!
Hi! I was wondering if I could feature this Meatball recipe on my blog? This would be delish for summertime!
http://www.bugsbeans.blogspot.com
Hi there- just threw this into the crockpot! Super excited to try it, however had no white vinegar and so I googled substitutes, bringing up the options of malt or cider vinegar. I had both on had and choose to use malt… Was just wondering if anyone has tried this before and how it turned out?
Thanks!
Sure, just be sure to put the link back to our blog and that you got it from Six Sisters. Thanks so much!!
Thanks! Wonderful recipe. I loved it. What side dish goes well with this? Sure white steamed rice…but any other ideas? I’m serving a large party and this will work perfect.
I made these meatballs for a work luncheon, and everyone loved them. I used the Kroger brand turkey meatballs and low sodium soy sauce, and I thought it was delicious. Since I needed to serve 20 people, I basically doubled the recipe. I used a 20 oz can of pineapples instead of 2 13.5 oz cans because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too sweet. I also let everything warm in the crock pot a little longer and stirred once during cooking to make sure all of the meatballs were heated. Several people asked me to share the recipe, so I know it was a hit. Thanks!
I am big on fresh. This lady is right; it?s no problem making meat balls. Take one night out to do these things, make healthy hamburgers, pies, meat sauces, whatever, and then freeze them. Whoops, is frozen fresh. LOL, there may be one or two domestic goddesses out there but for the norm especially with children, this is a great recipe, I am a single old fart and don?t like processed meat balls, never found one good so will make those and if you want a fresh pineapple, no problem, use one, I would substitute the sugar with local honey if I was also anal about sugar but this is one bloody cup. I am sure the recipe is Hawaiian Meatballs. You didn?t expect glazed sweet? ?Ladies in dispute?, when I raised kids, 4, close in ages, 4 into everything and worked many long hours to support them and when a kid?s activity was scheduled, I was at every event. ?no matter what? they came first. They were good participants lots of energy, (must have been the ice cream on the way to the game) the big M on the way home because it was generally late and my wife had done enough in her day. I have 4, very healthy (far from fat) productive nice adults who call me Dad, they turned out well in spite of a few fast food meals. You want good healthy kids, stay with their extracurricular activities. You can have a clean organized house and join a culinary club when they leave home which happens over night.
“Cost of premade meatballs: $2
Cost of pound of burger: $4
Cost of canned pineapple: $.50
Cost of fresh pineapple: $3”
WHERE do you shop that pre-made meatballs are 2$!?? I can almost always find a cheaper deal for ground beef than pre-made stuffs.
Also, WHERE can I find .50 can of pineapple? ha
I agree that some things could be substituted – Light sugar free canned pineapple, The syrup with your own slurry of juice and maple, etc as a compromise for still being easy but a little more healthy. Convenience does prevail over health, but at least make the effort to meet halfway.
Excited to try this with my own adaptions to suite my needs. Thanks for posting and it sounds like the original recipe was a hit!
Same thing. Sauce not thick. But absolutely delicious. Made these for a wedding reception. Ate the entire thing!!
I made these today, they were delicious!! Ty for posting the recipe.
I like to add a small onion and a coup,e cloves of garlic to this. I also sauté my veggies just a little before I throw them in the crockpot so they aren’t half way done and still mostly raw when the meatballs are done.
Anyone with half a brain and cooks could easily figure out how to make this healthier. No need to be a debbie downer. If people are concerned about making it healthier, they will make things from scratch and experiment.
I am so glad I found this recipe on pinterest and tried it! I loved it. I served it over brown rice. I will freeze the leftovers for future meals. I had best results turning my crockpot on high for the fourth hour and needed to stir occ. Loved it. Thank you girls!
Tiana if you want to do it the “hard” way and have the time then substitute. They do not claim to be a “Clean eating recipe” site. This is a simple comfort food recipe. Why so hateful? Not everyone has time to make homemade meatballs. Nor core a friggin pineapple and canned or frozen pineapple can be just as healthy. Doesnt have to be a fresh one. And “Tons of other unhealthy ingredients”… Ummmmm white vinegar, green pepper, and meatballs are all pretty fair ingredient wise. Some corn starch, brown sugar, and soy sauce are not whats making this country fat…..
This is an amazing response; ) Couldnt have said it better!
I’ve made this once and the family loved it! Tonight I’m making it again… But I added lots of broccoli. Carrots, and snow peas to make it go farther and have fresh veggies in it! I also added extra pineapple and doubled the sauce. I plan on serving it with brown rice. So YES… You can take a delicious recipe and tweak it to fit your lifestyle. I’ve also made this once with frozen chicken breasts & shredded them at the end. So good!! Thanks for the great recipe!!
For anyone who is stuck with a completely liquidy sauce at the end, separate the sauce from the meatballs and just simmer it on the stove with some extra cornstarch and re-add it to the crockpot and then leave it on low for another hour.
As for Tiana, you could’ve just made those fresh ingredient substitutions yourself, but we’re all glad you made sure to voice your dismal opinion, thanks! :). Glad I’m not your husband.
Haha Awesome Ralph! Love this 🙂
(There is always a sanctimonious twit like Tiana!) I love this recipe. As a matter of fact, I doubled it and froze some. Love the pineapple, green pepper and meat flavors!
I’ve made this many, many times for work parties, friends and family gatherings. Always a hit!
I actually also add in kielbasa and make extra sauce. Awesome!
I usually don’t comment, but thought I would this time. I always wonder why someone’s comment was “removed by auther.” lol lol I once had a lady who posted pictures of what she’d been knitting. Well, one day I received her usual email and it had pictures of a naked lady in a laundry room posing. Don’t know if it was the blog lady or if someone hacked her account. I actually laughed my head off at myself because I was so shocked. Never expected that. lol lol
Do you thaw the frozen meatballs first, or should you out them in the crock pot while they are still frozen?
Just put them in frozen! So easy!
I made this and loved it! I halved the recipe and added some julienned carrots (about 1/4 c which was 4-5 baby carrots), as well as a few extra pinches of brown sugar (I spilled a little extra vinegar when measuring – OOPS). The only canned pineapple I could find was 8oz cans of tidbits… but they worked perfectly. I added the carrots with everything else, cooked on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirred everything, then turned down to warm for the rest of the time – maybe 3 1/2 hours. Served over brown/wild rice. Next time I may add broccoli and a little onion.
I would double the sauce ingredients… there wasn’t a lot left to pour over the rice. My sauce wasn’t too watery, but just in case it did turn out that way I added 1-2 extra pinches of cornstarch. Half of this recipe plus the rice made for a total of 3-4 meals for me.
As I access this recipe again for my Superbowl shopping list, I just want to say that this recipe is awesome! It’s so easy and inexpensive. I use it all the time — as an appetizer, or as part of a main dish. I’ll serve the meatballs over brown rice, or I’ll make subs with Kings Hawaiian sub rolls and white American cheese.
Another wonderful and delicious recipe! This just got done in the crock pot and we are having this for the first time. My husband and I are both giving you and this recipe 2 thumbs up! Another recipe I am sharing with friends and family!
can you make this the night before will it still be the same please can someone letme know I have to have it done in the am for work please help
can they be made the night before
You could make them and cook them the night before and then just reheat before eating.
These meatballs were sooo good! I needed them in a hurry, so I used the stovetop. A 20-oz can of pineapple chunks with its syrup and 2 Tbls cornstarch thickened up nicely. I also added a little ketchup to the sauce ingredients. Really good on white rice. Thanks for sharing, will definitely make again.
I can’t believe this only has two stars! This dinner is heavenly! I usually have leftovers, but not with this! Yum!!!
I ran out of white vinegar so mine will be made with half rice vinegar. Hope it still turns out!
I wanted to make this a bit healthier so I added a package of snow peas, and a diced pepper. Turned out great!
I wonder if you mean you can’t eat raw pineapple. If you cook it in the crockpot, it would be cooked just as canned would be.
I just tried making this recipe and was so excited! it’s been about 4 hours in the crock pot and the sauce came out really soupy so it doesn’t taste good at all! I just started cooking more so I’m still new at this. Any suggestions on what I did wrong or how to fix it because I feel like all the food went to waste 🙁
Not sure what could have gone wrong. We have never had a problem with this recipe. The corn starch is a thickener, so not sure how it went soupy. So sorry it didn’t work out.
I think the reason some sauces aren’t thickening could be because of the amount of water/fat in the meatballs. I have used 2 different kinds, one thickened and one did not. Just an idea.
I tried this for the first time tonight. I had it in the crockpot for about and hour and since time was running short I transfered it to a pan on the stove, brought it to bubbling, turned it on low while I made the rice, and it was delicious! It thickened up nicely on the stove. Even my hubby who is not a fan of pineapple liked it, we will be having it again!
Looking to make this recipe & will be gone all day. Wondering if I could leave the meal in the crockpot for the day or would meatballs dry out if left for too long?
The recipe says cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. I think 8 plus hours on low would be way too long. Not sure if your crock pot has a keep warm setting. The frozen meatballs have been precooked, so the keep warm setting may work. You will want to add more liquid so that it doesn’t dry out.
I actually tried it on high and it works better, low was taking way to long but don’t do that if you’re going to be gone. I subbed rice vinegar for regular and added an extra tablespoon of cornstarch it’s perfect.
Do I stir throughout or just let it cook
WOW…..this was great! I just started getting back into slow cooking because of a busy lifestyle. I made my own turkey meatballs to control ingredients. My husband and I love this dish. I have made it once and bought everything to make it again this week. Since it’s just the two of us now, I freeze half and it freezes great! Thanks for sharing this one!!
You could give it a stir halfway through the cooking time and check it to make sure it’s doing ok! 🙂
Then don’t make it for crying out loud!
I recommend putting the pineapples in near the end, my husband said they were really mushy. We served them over white rice, with broccoli & mushrooms.
That sounds amazing, Melissa! How did that turn out? I have made this recipe several times and we love it. I am making it for dinner tonight and will try out adding those in with it.
I’m sure they meant regular white (distilled) vinegar. However, I’ve always used apple cider vinegar in my sweet & sour recipes , so that’s how I’ll be making this! Either would be fine I think!
We made this recipe tonight and put it over rice. It turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing!
I have used this recipe several times and add half a sweet onion cut into chunks with the bell & pineapple. It’s always amazing! There is enough sauce to use if you want to add more meatballs; I’ve added an additional 16 oz successfully with plenty of sauce to add on rice. I bake the meatballs first for 15 mins to thaw them (because extra frozen meatballs need more cooking time) and slow cook for 4 hours. The sauce will thicken in the last half hour.
HELP! I’m taking this to a Hawaiian Christmas Party tomorrow night!
Can you all recommend a good brand of frozen meatballs? I have never used frozen, but I’m in a pinch for time right now, so I need to take a short cut. Thanks for the recipe! It sounds wonderful!
Help please! I am making these now. I made my own meatballs a week ago and froze them. There are about 25 or less and golf ball size. The sauce is only covering half of the meatballs. What did i do wrong? Or is this normal?
You could baste the meatballs with the liquid every 30 minutes or so to be sure that they all get some of the great flavor on them. We had plenty of liquid to spread over our meatballs. You could also make more of the sauce if you wanted lots of extra flavor.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I have two toddlers and work full time so I’m always looking for quick easy meals. I added some carrots to have veggies too and the whole family ate it up! No leftovers at all, I’ll double it next time 😉
You are rude and arrogant, and your comment was anything but helpful.
5 stars!
Mine isn’t a little soupy but it is perfect because we add cooked rice to it and let that cook together for the last 15 minutes so the rice absorbs all the extra “soupiness” also makes it more of a meal 🙂
I doubled the cornstarch from 2 to 4 tbsp. worked much better.
Question, if we make our own meatballs (since they aren’t frozen) do I half the cooking time?
You’ll have to watch and just make sure your meatballs are cooked through. Even though the store bought ones are frozen, they are pre-cooked.
Al Fresco Chicken Meatballs are. http://www.alfrescoallnatural.com/products/fully-cooked-chicken-meatballs-frozen
Has anyone made this with the instant pot this is my favorite slow cooker recipie and I want to make it in my instant pot
It’s really good even with frozen meatballs some people like to make there own meatballs but it’s way better with frozen meatballs
Armour meatballs they are really good
I love this recipe. Is there a way to do this with chicken?
You could totally do this with chicken. Dice up chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes. Throw it all in the slow cooker and cook until chicken chunks are cooked through.
Did you ever try this in your InstaPot? I’m thinking about trying it today.
How long should I cook if I need to double the recipe for a party?
Are you putting them all into one slow cooker? If you do, I hope it’s at least a 7 quart slow cooker. You will want to stir them occasionally during the cooking process since there will be a double batch. If you have 2 slow cookers, that would work best. But the main thing is to be sure they are all heated/cooked through well. Maybe add 30 minutes to your cooking time, or until heated through well.
Four hours is way too long. The meatballs are precooked. They crumbled at four hours and made the sauce gravy li ke. Also the sauce was not shiny and glaze looking like the picture. Flavor was just okay. Next time I would bake in the oven 1 hr – enu time to thaw meatballs and heat – and add sauce then cook 20 mi more. Slow cooker is not good for this.
I made this recipe for a church potluck. Everyone loved it. I will make it again kin the future.
Awesome response. You rock!!!!
For future reference. Apple cirer vinegar is a better substitute for white than malt is.
I have made this recipe for years but I add hot dogs cut up or the small dogs
Just WOW…making these tomorrow for 500 meatballs….suggestions ???
I’m a little late to the game for your 500 meatballs! Hope it went well! I would have said you needed a lot of slow cookers or convert the recipe into an oven recipe.
I’m not normally a fan of anything Turkey or with pineapple but this really changed my mind and was a super delicious surprise!!!! This was so affordable too and I look forward to making this again
Hi Delilah. Thanks for letting us know that you liked the Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs Recipe. It is so easy and delicious. Even our picky eaters love it. You might also like our recipe titled Mom’s Easy Chicken and Cream Cheese Rollups. Here is the link – https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/moms-chicken-and-cream-cheese-roll-ups/
This recipe calls for white vinegar but the video calls for red wine vinegar. Which is correct?
Sorry, i should have said the video called for apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar.
I watched many of your videos yesterday, and Hubs and I are going shopping for a freezer this week. Hawaiian meatballs will be the first freezer meal I’ll prepare. Hubs has to take a lunch to work two days a week, so I will make mini meals for him, too, because I don’t enjoy getting up at 4 AM to pack his lunch! Hawaiian, Italian, Meatloaf balls, or barbecue meatballs will please his palette and my need for sleep. A busy schedule for both means not having to eat out (I hate that, as I’m severely vision impaired) but still having fast food always available by having freezer meals. Thank you for the wonderful variety and showing how to prep. I will size my Food Saver bags (complete with boxed bottoms) to fit in my Instant Pot or a casserole dish for my new Breville smart oven air. With your help, and my incredible appliances, this newly nearly blind woman will be able to prepare lovely, healthy meals, and I want you to know how grateful I am! 🙏
Hi Barbara. You just made our whole week with your sweet comment. We are so glad that the freezer meal video was helpful. These would make perfect little lunches to heat up at work. Thanks Barbara and have a terrific week!!
Could you make this into a freezer meal? I love this recipe and want to make it for my sister in law that just had a baby
Hello! Your video says to use sweet and sour sauce, but your ingredient list above doesn’t include it? Please advise. Ty!
The recipe in the post and the recipe in the video are 2 different recipes. The blog post is Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs. The video is Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs. They have different ingredients. Hope this helps.
I love these and some does my fam! So I only changed 1 thing on the recipe. I double the recipe and I use 1 can of chunk pineapple and 1 can crushed pineapple. I drain the juice from both and mix with the cornstarch. Throw everything else in a big pot. I also use 1.5 bags meatballs. Bring to boil and then simmer while I make fried rice. Omg it’s so good!!! Been using this recipe for 5+years I think!
Thanks for sharing your changes with us! It’s fun to hear everyone’s twist on a recipe. We love the Hawaiian meatballs!
Can I use frozen UNCOOKED meatballs for this recipe? I’m really looking forward to trying this out, however, I couldn’t find any cooked frozen meatballs where I live. Thanks!
I love this recipe and I’ve made everyone around me love it!! I made a couple changes. I don’t use the peppers cause my kids don’t like them. I also double this recipe and use 1 can of pineapple chunks and 1 can of crushed pineapple. Wheni decide to make this last minute I actually will use a big stock pot and cook all the juices and sugar until they thicken. Then I mix the meatballs in and let them cook until heated through. Love them no matter how I make them!!!
Sounds amazing!! Thanks for sharing your fun changes!
Do you think I can get away with substituting the white vinegar for balsamic?
It would give it a different flavor but it’s worth a shot!
Could you use raw meatballs? I make my own
Different family members rated differently. Some 5 stars and others 1😅. I enjoyed it but felt the flavor clashed a bit. I enjoy pinapple/ham combo more than the meatballs. It was pretty tasty and if you like hawaain meatballs its tops! I cut the sugar in half it it was still plenty sweet for our taste.
Great question. We haven’t tried making the recipe with raw meatballs so we have no recommendations. If you try, I would definitely pre-brown them by searing them in a skillet before adding them to the crockpot.
I can only find italian turkey meatballs at the store. Has anyone tried this recipe with that?