You’ll love Hawaiian Meatballs and Rice – ground beef meatballs, with pineapple, red and green bell peppers in sweet and sour sauce, served on a bed of rice.
When my husband and I were newlyweds (over 36 years ago) he decided to cook dinner for us one evening. He made Hawaiian Meatballs and Rice, with pineapple chunks, red and green bell peppers in a sweet and sour sauce. It was love at first sight. This is the recipe he used. Needless to say I was impressed with his “culinary skills” and by the fact that he prepared a delicious meal for us. Ah…young love!
Well…fast forward to many, many years later, and we STILL have this meal for dinner occasionally. I still love him, but now I am the one who cooks our meals. Neither of us remember where he found the original recipe, so I dug through my recipe box , pull out my trusty handwritten 3×5 index card I wrote down the recipe on ages ago… and off I go into the kitchen to make this dish.
We had these meatballs and rice two nights ago… so delicious! The sweet and sour sauce that coats the meatballs, along with the green and red peppers and pineapple is fantastic! It really is a quick and easy recipe to make.
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At the Bottom Of The Page
How To Make Hawaiian Meatballs and Rice
Tip: It would be very easy to pre-cook the meatballs and pre-make the sauce (throw them both in the refrigerator); then pulling this recipe together at the end of a long day would be a snap. Here’s how to make this dish: Drain the pineapple, making sure to reserve the juice. Set the pineapples (and the saved juice) aside.
Mix up the sweet and sour stir fry sauce in a medium sized bowl… easy!
Chop up the red and green bell peppers, and set them aside with the pineapple chunks.
Make The Meatballs
Mix up the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Once the ingredients are fully combined, form the meat into 2″ meatballs, by rolling them between your hands.
Heat oil or shortening in a large skillet. Brown the meatballs on all sides, and cook until fully cooked through.
Remove the cooked meatballs from skillet; transfer them to drain onto paper towels.
Finishing The Hawaiian Meatballs
Add the reserved stir fry sauce to the skillet you cook the meatballs in, and cook until it thickens. Stir the sauce occasionally while it cooks.
Once the sauce has thickened, add the bell peppers and pineapple back into the skillet.
Add the Hawaiian meatballs back into the skillet, and gently stir to combine all ingredients (and coat them with the sauce). Cook only until the dish is heated through.
Time to Eat Some Hawaiian Meatballs And Rice
Serve the Hawaiian meatballs on top of a bed of rice. Spoon any leftover sauce over the top, and enjoy this delicious meal!
Sure hope you will give these delicious Hawaiian meatballs a try in your own kitchen. They are absolutely delicious! Thanks for stopping by today, and please come back soon.
Looking For Recipes Featuring MEATBALLS?
You can find all my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have some delicious recipes featuring meatballs, including:
- Meatballs Stroganoff
- Albondigas Soup (“little meatball” soup)
- Easy Meatballs For Spaghetti
- Mom’s Swedish Meatballs and Rice
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Original Recipe Source: unknown (been making them for over 40 years)
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup onion , finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon shortening or oil (for browning meatballs)
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 - 13 oz can pineapple chunks (drain the chunks over a bowl-save the pineapple juice!!)
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper (I usually mix red and green peppers - the colors are nice in the sauce!)
- *OPTIONAL* Original recipe also calls for 1 small can mandarin oranges.
Make sauce: Drain pineapple, reserving juice (set pineapple chunks aside). In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and brown sugar together. Add pineapple juice, vinegar, ground ginger, and soy sauce to brown sugar mixture. Stir until smooth. Set bowl aside.
Chop red and green peppers and set aside (with pineapple chunks).
Make meatballs: In a large bowl, mix ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger and milk until thoroughly blended (I use a fork to mix). Using your hands, shape mixture into meatballs (approx. 12-15 -2" meatballs). In large skillet, heat shortening (or oil) on medium heat. When skillet is very hot, add meatballs, one at a time. Cook meatballs, making sure to turn so that all sides brown. When fully cooked (5-6 minutes), remove meatballs from pan; place on paper towel lined plate to absorb grease. Keep meatballs warm.
Drain oil from skillet after removing meatballs. Wipe skillet with paper towel to remove grease or leftover "crumbles". Over medium heat, add sauce to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly until it thickens and boils for 1 minute. Add pineapple, peppers and meatballs back into skillet; gently stir until meatballs are evenly coated with sauce. Cook only until heated through (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat.
Serve meatballs and sauce on top of steamed rice. ENJOY!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
This is a really delicious recipe! Very easy to make too. Five stars.