Best Pineapple BBQ Meatballs Recipe

These pineapple BBQ meatballs are juicy, tender, and glazed to perfection in a sauce made with sweet pineapple chunks. You can serve this as a quick and easy dinner, or stick a toothpick in each meatball for a crowd-pleasing make-ahead appetizer.

How to form the meatballs:
The key to keeping your meatballs tender and juicy, not tight or tough, is to use a light hand when mixing the ingredients. Using your hands instead of a wooden spoon or spatula gives you more control as you incorporate the mix-ins, in this case, scallions, bread crumbs, and onion, into the ground beef. Use just the tips of your fingers, not your palms, to avoid overworking the meatball mixture—remember, you’re making meatballs, not kneading dough!

The sauce:
These pineapple meatballs cook in the oven while you make the easy BBQ sauce in a skillet on the stove. This way, you can keep your stovetop clear of any splatters from searing meatballs, and you can multitask while the balls bake. The sauce is nicely balanced between sweet and savory. Depending on the barbecue sauce you use, it can have some spice as well.

The pineapple:
Look for pineapple chunks canned in juice, not syrup, to avoid an overly cloying flavor, and remember to retain some of the juice when draining the fruit, as you’ll need it to finish the BBQ sauce. The best part of this dish is how the thick sauce coats every meatball, adding tons of flavor and preventing the meatballs from drying out. Cook your sauce until it’s reduced enough to generously coat the back of a spoon.

How to serve:
To finish, transfer the cooked meatballs from the oven directly into the sauce on the stove and give everything a good stir. You can serve the meatballs as-is as an hor d’oeuvre or enjoy them with rice for a well-rounded meal.

If you make these pineapple meatballs, be sure to let me know what you think with a comment and rating below!