Baked Honey Garlic Meatballs — These honey garlic meatballs are easy, can be prepped in advance, and hold well at room temp. They’re juicy, tender, and the honey garlic sauce gives them so much flavor!
Sticky Honey Garlic Meatballs
Recently I was having an informal get-together with friends and was thinking about what to make that most everyone would enjoy. And that’s easy on me as the cook, that can be prepped in advance, and that holds reasonably well at room temp.
I decided that cocktail meatballs would be great and everyone loved these. You can either serve these honey garlic meatballs more fancy with toothpicks or in a big ole bowl.
They’re juicy, tender, and the honey garlic sauce gives them so much flavor. They’re perfect for parties, events, holidays, game days, tailgating, or just because.
After baking, it’s as easy as tossing them in the delectable honey garlic sauce. The sauce is how the word awesomesauce came to be, I’m sure.
What’s in Honey Garlic Meatballs?
This honey garlic meatball recipe has two components: the baked meatballs and the honey garlic sauce.
Here’s what you’ll need for the homemade meatballs:
- Ground beef
- Egg
- Milk
- Breadcrumbs
- Sweet Vidalia onion
- Salt and pepper
And for the honey garlic sauce, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic
- Ketchup
- Honey
- Low-sodium soy sauce
How to Make Honey Garlic Meatballs
Cooking meatballs in the oven is a breeze! Here’s a look at how the meatballs with garlic are made:
- Combine the ground beef meatball ingredients in a large bowl.
- Scoop the mixture into 2-tablespoon balls.
- Bake until the centers of the meatballs are no longer pink and are cooked through.
- Meanwhile, stir together the honey garlic sauce in a skillet over medium heat.
- Once the meatballs are baked, gently stir into the sauce and continue cooking until the honey garlic sauce has thickened.
How Long to Bake Meatballs?
These honey garlic baked meatballs need to bake for roughly 17 to 20 minutes. Keep in mind that I used a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out the meatballs. Larger meatballs will need more time in the oven.
Can I Prep Honey and Garlic Meatballs in Advance?
Yes! I prepped these honey garlic meatballs the night before by forming the balls and keeping them covered in the fridge until I was ready to bake them off the day of my event.
Tips for Making Garlic Meatballs
Be sure to mix the meatball ingredients together until just combined. You don’t want to over work the ground beef, otherwise you’ll wind up with tough meatballs.
To make cleanup easier, I always line my baking trays with aluminum foil. This ensures the honey garlic meatballs don’t stick to the pan.
These cocktail meatballs are best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Honey Garlic Meatballs
These garlic and honey meatballs can be enjoyed as an appetizer or as an entree. If serving as an entree, trying pairing the sticky honey garlic meatballs with one or more of the following:
- Steamed white or brown rice
- Roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.)
- Oven baked fries
- Salad (edamame salad, sweet and sour zucchini corn salad, Thai peanut salad, etc.)
- Mashed potatoes (I also have a slow cooker version)
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Honey Garlic Meatballs
These honey garlic meatballs are easy, can be prepped in advance, and hold well at room temp. They’re juicy, tender, and honey garlic sauce gives them so much flavor!
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef or ground sirloin (I used 90% lean ground sirloin)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened cashewmilk)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup sweet Vidalia onions, diced small (yellow or white onions may be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Honey Garlic Sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or finely pressed
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl add the beef, egg, milk, bread crumbs, onions, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop (or your hands) form approximately 18 to 20 meatballs. After scooping out the meatballs with a cookie scoop, use your hands to roll into smooth balls and place on prepared baking sheet, spaced about 1-inch apart.
- Bake for about 17 to 20 minutes, or until centers of meatballs are no longer pink and are cooked through; set aside.
- To a large skillet add the butter and heat over medium heat to melt.
- Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, stirring frequently, or until garlic is tender and fragrant.
- Add the ketchup, honey, soy sauce, and stir to combine.
- Add the meatballs, toss and stir gently to coat evenly, and simmer over low heat for about 3 to 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened some and meatballs well coated; stir intermittently.
- Transfer meatballs to a serving platter or bowl, insert a toothpick into each meatball if desired, and serve.
Notes
- Meatballs are best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 317mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 9g
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These meatballs are OUTSTANDING! Easy to make and have TONS of flavor.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad they were outstanding!
Hi! I just prepped these for New Year’s festivities. They are quite on the wet side initially. Is this normal? Tks!
Yes I recall them being fairly moist.
Needless to say but this is the best party-starter ever! Yummy and juicy meatball will make anyone satisifed :) Thanks so much for this Averie!
I agree, perfect party starter!
I made these tonight and they’re amazing! My husband is so picky but he loved them! Your recipes never fail! Made the honey pumpkin dinner rolls tonight as well and they are wonderful. My all time favorite is the soft batch cream cheese chocolate chip cookies! Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And glad picky hubby approved :) Glad you love the cream cheese CCC’s, too! Thanks for all the compliments!
Averie, I made these tonight. They are flavorful. Btw I love what you posted today.
Glad you enjoyed them and thanks for the post compliments!
These meatballs look bursting with flavor, Averie! thanks for sharing!
These look so delicious! Like Dorothy said, I’m drooling! You have an amazing knack for creating perfect and beautifully styled photographs, Averie! Pinning, stumbling, etc. etc. etc.
Thanks for the compliments and shares!
I’m drooling looking at them – the perfect party food!
Exactly! Let’s have a party :) It’s Monday, I’m ready!
I feel like you can never go wrong with meatballs at a party. Everyone loves them! These look fabulous!
I don’t have a game or party coming up this weekend but I would love to make these anyway (and Jon loves meatballs). The sauce looks incredible! Those oven baked fries would be good with them as well.
They’d be great with fries and yes the sauce…it’s so good!