Sweet Heat Meatballs

A sweet and spicy glaze makes these sweet heat meatballs a great appetizer for holiday parties, game days, or just about any time you feel like having meatballs on a stick. We use frozen homestyle meatballs to make things easy so you can focus more on the eating part of this delicious appetizer.

These sweet heat meatballs are a great party or game day appetizer. Serve them at Sunday night football, the Super Bowl, or at dinner and holiday parties as cocktail meatballs. We use frozen meatballs in this recipe as a shortcut to make things easy so you can focus more on the eating part.

The sweet and spicy meatballs are coated in a delicious sauce made from a combination of molasses, brown sugar, pineapple, garlic, ginger, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder and cayenne. The cayenne adds a little heat without it being too spicy and you can adjust the amount used to your tolerance level. The sweetness from the molasses, brown sugar and pineapple balances out the heat perfectly to make an addictive sauce.

If you’re a huge meatball fan like me, you might want to also try these other meatball recipes like homemade Parmesan meatballs, slow cooker Italian meatballs, grape jelly meatballs, or a meatball pasta bake.

SWEET HEAT MEATBALLS RECIPE TIPS

• Meatballs – I used a bag of frozen homestyle meatballs. Frozen meatballs are usually pre-cooked so the only thing you need to worry about is heating them and glazing them up in the sauce. Homestyle meatballs work best with this recipe – Italian-style meatballs might change the taste a lot and have not been tested with this recipe.
• Molasses – Molasses has a very distinct sweet and smoky taste and tastes a little like burnt caramel. I used dark (not blackstrap) unsulphured molasses like Brer Rabbit. The type of molasses you use depends on personal taste – the darker it is, the more bitter it will be. The dark grade with a little bitterness works well to balance out the sweetness of the sauce.

Recipe Notes:

There are 3 types of molasses by grades of color and sweetness which are light, dark and blackstrap. Light molasses is the sweetest and used for baking like gingerbread cookies.

• Molasses substitute – If you can’t find any molasses or don’t feel like adding some to your pantry because you won’t use it often enough, a good substitute would be maple syrup or honey.

• Brown sugar – This is added on top of the molasses for a little more sweetness.
• Garlic powder – Garlic powder can be substituted with fresh minced garlic if needed.
• Ginger – Ginger adds a warm, pepper flavor to the sauce. You can use fresh minced ginger or substitute it with ground ginger – just make sure to use less ground ginger since it’s highly concentrated. You can also skip ginger completely if you’re not a fan – this won’t break the recipe.

• Chili powder – Chili powder is a blend of savory spices like cayenne, cumin, oregano, onions and garlic. There’s only a tiny hint of spiciness but it mostly adds an earthy, mildly spiced and smoky flavor.
• Cayenne – A dash of cayenne spices things up and makes the ‘heat’ part of the sauce. Feel free to use more or less, depending on your tolerance and taste.
• Crushed pineapple – Pineapple adds more sweetness and some tartness to the sauce.
• Worcestershire sauce – Worcestershire sauce is a flavor enhancer and works especially well with meats. I use it a lot in my spaghetti sauces or meat patties like Salisbury steak.
• Slow cooker method – Place all the ingredients in a 6 qt. slow cooker and stir to coat the meatballs fully in the sauce. Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 3-4 hours or until meatballs are warmed through and sauce is bubbly. If the sauce is too thin, add a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up a little and simmer until thick.

And that’s about it. Enjoy the meatballs and let me know how you liked them and any substitutions you made in the comments below!

MORE MEATBALL RECIPES TO TRY

• Parmesan Meatballs
• Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs
• Slow Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs
• Cheesy Meatball Skillet
• Meatball Pasta Bake

Sweet Heat Meatballs

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 5 reviews

• Author: The Cooking Jar
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Yield: 50 meatballs 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

A spicy and sweet glaze makes these sweet heat meatballs great for parties. Meatballs on a stick for meatball lovers!

---

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 bag (32 oz.) frozen, pre-cooked homestyle meatballs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper, to taste

---

Instructions

1. Over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or large pot, bring the water to a boil.
2. Add molasses, brown sugar, garlic powder, ginger, chili powder, cayenne, crushed pineapple and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine.
3. Do a taste test and season with salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
4. Add in meatballs and stir to fully coat the meatballs in the sauce.
5. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the sauce reduces, about 10 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Notes

• Molasses substitute – If you can’t find any molasses or don’t feel like adding some to your pantry because you won’t use it often enough, a good substitute would be maple syrup or honey.
• Slow cooker method – Place all the ingredients in a 6 qt. slow cooker and stir to coat the meatballs fully in the sauce. Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 3-4 hours or until meatballs are warmed through and sauce is bubbly. If the sauce is too thin, add a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up a little and simmer until thick.

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins